The Wits Centre for Journalism has a number of exciting short courses coming up in June and July, giving you the perfect opportunity to upskill, take a refresher, or transfer your existing skillset into journalism and media.
What you need to earn a certificate: Attend the course and fulfil the assessment requirements to receive a Wits University Certificate of Competence. If you are accepted into Honours or Masters at a later point, you can apply for up to two of these courses to be credited towards your degree.
How to apply: All certificate courses cost R9 600 unless otherwise specified. To register, fill in the application form and email it to admissions@journalism.co.za
Course times to be advised where applicable.
Introduction to Financial Journalism (begins 20 July, taking place on Thursdays from 3pm to 5pm for 10 weeks)
Note: The South African Reserve Bank is offering full funding for this course to a limited number of students. Applicants must have an undergraduate qualification, and must include a letter of motivation with the application. Applicants with strong letters of motivation will receive preference for funding, and will be notified by 17 July. This course will have a combination of in-person and online classes.
To be an effective journalist in any field, you need an understanding of the economy and business. This course equips journalists with essential knowledge about the economy, business and finance. Students do not have to be mathematicians or accountants – they simply need to be curious about how the world of business works.
An understanding of financial journalism can help you as:
- Almost every story has a money-related angle to it.
- You can hold truth to power: you can scrutinise decisions, evaluate their impact, and hold authorities accountable for their actions.
- You enhance your credibility with your audience, building trust and loyalty, and thereby enhance your reputation as a journalist.
- Having a good working knowledge of the economy and business can help you provide more insightful and valuable coverage of the news.
- Having a working knowledge of business and finance can make you more employable. Financial understanding is a scarce skill that is in demand in journalism and many other fields.
Creating the Media (begins on 18 July and runs every Tuesday from 4pm to 6pm)
This course will help budding entrepreneurs harness their ideas around new media start-ups or services that aid the industry. Students will look at new media business models and their implications and research and draw up a plan for their own venture. This will involve learning all aspects of the media business, including understanding audiences and their relationship to content, design, marketing, the regulatory and legal environment, and more. The course coordinator is mining engineer and media entrepreneur, Phillip Mogodi.
TV / Video Journalism (14 to 28 June, APPLICATIONS CLOSED)
The course will give students a grounding in television journalism that is applicable to television broadcasting, as well as audio-visual journalism and mobile media. Students 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. Click here to read the full course description.
Radio / Audio Journalism (3 – 14 July, APPLICATIONS CLOSED)
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. The course coordinator for 2023 is journalist and broadcaster Charles Leonard.
Admissions and contact information
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 2023 timetable for course days and times. Find out more about the Wits Radio Academy’s certificate courses and Development Communication Certificates.
How to apply: All certificate courses cost R9 600. To register, fill in the application form and email it to admissions@journalism.co.za.
For inquiries, please contact us by sending an email to Zimbili Zulu at admissions@journalism.co.za or call us on (011) 717-4028.
