'Real World'
Launches at Pratt
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (JULY 2003)
While
young achievers crack open their coursebooks at the
Columbia Publishing Course (100 students strong),
and NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute
uncorks the champagne (for its 25th anniversary), publishing
scholars hail another milestone this summer as Pratt
Institute launches “Publishing for the Real World,”
a certificate program its creators describe as a vigorously
hands-on education for publishing veterans looking to
hop the next career hurdle, as well as for those just
learning the ropes. “We’re very practical,” says Chuck
Münster, Director of Pratt’s Center for Continuing
and Professional Studies. “Pratt was founded on imparting
skills to people so they could go out and begin a career.
We believe this program will be unique in the market
because of that mission.”
Well known for its program in Electronic Publishing,
Pratt rolls out the new certificate with one course
this fall: Publishing 101, a ten-week survey of the
“art and business of publishing” that covers everything
from acquisition and editing to trade shows and video
games, with an emphasis on “presenting the business
side of publishing to creative, non-financial students.”
(Additional courses will be added in subsequent terms.)
Unlike the M.S. offered in Pratt’s School of Information
and Library Science, the publishing certificate is a
credit-free program, tailored for on-the-run executives.
“If there’s a specific course or area that a student
is pursuing, they can get in and out,” Münster says.
Individual classes are packaged into the certificate
for those seeking a full-meal-deal. Depending on the
type of course, prices range from $385 to $815. Take
a test-drive at the free kick-off seminar on Tuesday,
July 8 from 6-8 pm at Pratt’s new Chelsea campus (144
West 14th Street) including St. Martin’s Sally
Richardson; Walker’s George Gibson;
Hyperion’s Robert Miller; AOLTW’s Jean
Griffin; and savant-about-town Kurt Andersen.
They’ll tackle the big book questions (Manga? What’s
that?) as well as topics in magazine, game, and multimedia
publishing. RSVP at (212) 647-7199 or prostudy@pratt.edu.
Meanwhile, over at NYU’s Center for Publishing, the
school’s book and magazine tracks have been consolidated
into its Certificate in Publishing, according to Associate
Director Heidi Johnson. The program now requires
five courses (instead of six) and offers concentrations
in book, magazine, or electronic publishing. Tuition
for current courses ranges from $420 to $1095 (the latter
sum for “Web Page Development with HTML”), with 40 different
courses on offer throughout the year. “People can mix
and match courses depending on their interests,” says
Johnson, adding that NYU also offers certificates in
Editing (“very popular with people in publishing”),
Business-to-Business Publishing, and the six-week Summer
Publishing Institute for recent college grads, in addition
to its M.S. program in publishing. Finally, the school
has added new one-day seminars, such as the recently
offered “Advertising Sales: Client and Agency Perspectives.”
©2003
Publishing Trends
