CERTIFICATE/SHORT COURSES

Some of our courses are available as stand-alone options for which you receive a certificate once the course is completed and passed. This means you do not have to register for a full degree. Subject to certain rules, up to two certificates can be turned into credits for an Honours degree, providing you are accepted for that degree.

Classes take place either once a week in the evenings over 14 weeks, or as full-time courses for 2-3 weeks.

What you need to earn a certificate: Attend the course and fulfill the assessment requirements to receive a Wits University Certificate of Competence. If you are accepted into Honours at a later point, you can apply for up to two of these courses to be credited towards your degree.

When to apply: At least one month before the start of a course.

How to apply: All certificate courses cost R5 000. To register, fill out the certificate course online application form or download one to fax to 011 717 4081.

COURSES ON OFFER

These courses do not run every year, depending on demand and the availability of teachers. Please note that entry to all courses is subject to the agreement of the course coordinator since some courses may require minimum levels of previous experience. Please see the 2013 timetable for course days and times.

Find out more about the Wits Radio Academy's certificate courses.

First Semester (11 Feb - 24 May 2013)

Reading the Media
tbc

Creative Writing for Journalists
This course is a writing workshop that shows you how to combine the techniques of fiction with the rigour of journalistic reporting to produce feature stories for the media. Various genres of non-fiction, including reportage, the personal essay, travel writing, humour, the interview and the profile, are examined, and fictional and literary devices that can be used to create excellent stories are identified. Participants are engaged in continual writing, feedback and discussion on work in progress. Many of our writers have gone on to publish in quality publications. Entry to the course is limited to working journalists, writers and freelancers, and a portfolio of work and a short CV must be submitted with your application. Co-ordinator is Lesley Cowling ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Journalism for Communicators
This course is designed for communicators in government, private or NGO sectors, or anyone who would like to learn the basic skills of journalism. These include news judgment, newswriting, interviewing, research, ethics and some basic skills to promote pro-active, strategic communication. Weekly seminars. Co-ordinator is Ruth Becker.
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Certificate courses offered by the Wits Radio Academy 

Block Release courses

Development Communication
This groundbreaking Wits Journalism Development Communication programme questions the chasm between development communicators and the mass media. It investigates new ways for interacting with journalists, as well as utilising conventional communication channels to directly involve target publics in development initiatives. Co-ordinator is Felicity Levine
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Online Journalism (tbc)

This course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of the field. The course will be taught half as a lecture/seminar and half as a technical lab course. In the lecture component, students will examine the origins of online journalism and its current trends, what online journalists do and the particular issues they face, how to conduct effective Internet searches and how to assess the information. The course will look at how people understand information on the Web and how stories should be structured for the best readability. It will examine the phenomenon of participatory journalism and the increasingly important question of who calls themselves a journalist. It will also look at some of the ethical issues facing online journalists. Students will also learn how the web works and gain experience in creating web pages. Students will explore both the practice and theory of online journalism by collectively maintaining an online publication, VuvuzelaOnline. The course runs full-time over two weeks. Co-ordinator is Dinesh Balliah
( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Photojournalism (1-12 July 2013)

This course targets mid-career journalists who want to learn the technique and language of photography. The course will combine hands-on workshops, reading and discussions. Alongside practical work, students will learn how to engage in the issue of representation and its significance in photojournalism. Guest photographers will present their work and share their experiences with the students. Students will learn not only how to take newsworthy pictures but also how to read and analyze images. Weekly seminars and some full-day practical workshops. (Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Radio Journalism (18-28 June 2013)
This course offers a practical introduction to the skills needed in radio journalism, covering everything from fast-paced bulletin work to the richness and depth of longer packages – the features of the airwaves. The course includes live broadcasting experience on campus. Full-time over two weeks, followed by requirements for further practical work in students' own time. Course co-ordinator is Franz Kruger
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Reporting on Children (tbc)
Presented by Media Monitoring Africa in conjunction with Wits Journalism, this course aims to challenge the common representation of children and their issues in and by the media, as well as open up new possibilities for alternative representations. It will allow participants to develop practical strategies in the development of a human rights centred approach to reporting on children and will allow participants to integrate the learnings and experience of other journalists and experts into the way in which they report children's stories. The course runs full time over two weeks. Course co-ordinator is Taryn Hinton ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 082 940 6188) or contact William Bird at Media Monitoring Africa ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 011 788 1284)

TV/Video Journalism (3-14 June 2013)
The course will give students a grounding in television journalism that is applicable to television broadcasting as well as to audio visual journalism on the Internet and mobile media.

Students on the course will learn how to research, develop, plan, shoot and edit television stories. They will gain an understanding of television storytelling and how it differs from other media. They will learn to analyse television news stories and the narrative techniques employed. They will learn basic skills and concepts in shooting and editing television material.

The course is mostly practical with assignments that must be completed against deadlines. Some readings will be given for reading prior to the course.

Click here to read the full course description.

Second Semester (15 July- 21 October 2013)

Advanced Sub-editing
This course deals with high-level skills needed by senior print media sub-editors. It ties in well with the Newspaper Design course in mid-year. Weekly seminars.

Financial Journalism
This course is for those who want to specialize or any journalist who wants to conquer the language of business and finance. At the end of the course, journalists should understand basic principles/techniques of how to cover the economy with a focus on fiscal and monetary policy, companies, the equities and commodities markets. They should have mastered writing on technical subjects clearly and without jargon. They should have a particular understanding of reporting the Reserve Bank and the National Treasury. They should also have basic skills to cover markets and general business. This course can be followed by our Advanced Financial Journalism course (to be introduced in first semester 2010). Weekly evening classes.

Investigative Journalism
This course will teach advanced contemporary researching and reporting techniques such as computer assisted reporting (CAR), advanced internet research, information mapping, forensic financial reporting and using FOIA. Students will also look at the role, practice and ethics of investigative work. Students will undertake an investigative project under supervision in partnership with the Justice Project. Weekly seminars. View the course outline. Coordinator is Margaret Renn.
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Journalism for Communicators B (tbc)
This course is for journalists or communicators in the government, private or NGO sectors, who either have extensive writing experience or have completed our Journalism for Communicators course with at least 65%. It deals with more advanced writing skills, such as feature writing, narrative skills, writing columns and opinion. Weekly seminars. Co-ordinator is Joanne Richards ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Address your inquiries to the programme administrator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call 011 717 4028. To register, fill out the certificate course online application form or download one to fax to 011 717 4081.