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.”
