Behind every brand you trust, every campaign that stops you mid-scroll, and every organisation that holds its reputation together when things get difficult, there are people who know how to communicate with purpose. Strategic communication is the work of deciding what an organisation says, who it says it to, and why - and it sits at the centre of how modern business actually gets done.
It is also a field with more than one door. Boston City Campus offers a connected set of qualifications in support hereof: two one-year Higher Certificates in Public Relations, and, in Advertising and Integrated Communications, that can get you working within a year, and a three-year Bachelor of Commerce in Strategic Communication that leads to more senior and specialised roles. The two higher certificates are also designed as feeder programmes into the degree, so wherever you start, you are not locked in - you can keep building.
Here is a closer look at each qualification and, more to the point, the careers each one can open up.
Two ways to get started: the Higher Certificates
Both of Boston’s communication Higher Certificates sit at NQF (HEQSF) Level 5 and take a minimum of one year - two semesters, with up to three years to complete if you need to pace your studies around family or work commitments.
Both are made up entirely of compulsory modules, so you finish with a rounded foundation rather than a scattering of electives. And both carry a useful bonus: on completion, they grant you endorsement for admission to Bachelor’s degree studies from the South African Matriculation Board, if required.
SAQA ID 122887, NQF Level 5, Credits 124
If your interest is reputation building, relationships, and the craft of getting the right message to the right audience, this is a natural place to start. Across eight modules - from Introduction to Public Relations Practice and Fundamentals of Communication through to Digital Public Relations Practice, Media Law and Ethics, and a practical Public Relations Portfolio - you build a working understanding of how PR is planned, executed, and measured in a modern, digital-first environment.
It is a foundational qualification, which means it is designed to get you into entry-level or junior roles where you can learn on the job. Graduates are positioned for opportunities such as:
- Public Relations Assistant
- Communication Officer
- Marketing Communications Assistant
- Marketing Accounts Assistant
- Social Media Assistant
- Media Relations Assistant
- Digital PR Coordinator
- Content Creator or Junior Content Producer
- Community Manager
- Internal Communications Assistant
As with any entry-level qualification, some of these roles are foundational and may call for further specialisation or experience as you progress, like the Boston BCom in Strategic Communication.
SAQA ID 90819, NQF Level 5, Credits 140
If you are drawn more to advertising, brands, and the energy of bringing a campaign to life, this Boston higher certificate leans in that direction. Its ten modules range across Advertising, Introduction to Brand Management, Integrated Marketing Communication, Applied Psychology, Event Management, and Media Law - and it adds two things that set it apart: a dedicated Entrepreneurship module and a Work Integrated Learning module that connects you to real-world experience before you graduate.
That mix opens onto a broad set of entry points, including:
- Advertising (sales, campaign, or project) administrator or assistant
- Junior advertising or brand administrator or coordinator
- Junior Communications Officer
- Service, sales, or product representative
- Marketing, brand, or communication agent or representative
- Brand Ambassador or Event Coordinator
- Junior Account Coordinator
- Social Media Coordinator
- Junior Copywriter or Content Creator
- Digital Marketing Assistant
- Micro business owner
The entrepreneurship thread is worth underscoring in the modern age of independent content creators. If your ambition is to run your own small agency or communication venture, this Boston higher certificate gives you a first, practical taste of what that takes.
SAQA ID 122863, NQF Level 7, Credits 385
This is Boston’s flagship qualification in the field, and its distinctive feature is right there in the name - it is a Commerce degree. Registered at NQF (HEQSF) Level 7 and delivered over three years (a minimum of six semesters), it deliberately balances its 385 credits between two worlds: the commercial disciplines and strategic communication itself.
On the commerce side, you work through Business Management - including the core business functions and strategic management right up to a global, technology-focused third year - alongside Accounting and Financial Management, Economics, Commercial Law, Marketing Management, Business Ethics, Project Management, and Research Methods. On the communication side, you build from an introduction to the field through Integrated Marketing Communication, Business Communication, Public Relations and Digital Media, Brand Management, Media and Communication in Society, and a capstone Strategic Communication Strategy module. Twenty-five modules in all.
Why does that blend matter for your career? Because it is the difference between someone who can execute a communication task and someone who can build the commercial case for it - cost it, defend it against competing priorities, negotiate it with a client, supplier, or agency, and account for the return it delivers. A communication professional who can read a financial statement, hold a budget, and negotiate a contract is not competing for the same jobs as one who cannot. That commercial fluency is what makes this a management-track qualification - and it is why the degree opens doors in general business that a communication qualification on its own simply would not.
So, the degree’s outcomes are not just more senior versions of the higher certificate roles. They reach into commercial and managerial territory that the higher certificates do not touch. Graduates are equipped to pursue opportunities such as:
- Business Manager
- Marketing Manager
- Brand Manager
- Communications Manager
- Corporate Communications Specialist or Manager
- Public Relations Manager
- Business Development Manager
- Account Manager or Client Service Manager
- Digital Marketing and Social Media Manager
- Content Strategist or Content Marketing Manager
- Internal Communications Manager
- Stakeholder Relations Manager
- Public Affairs or Corporate Affairs Manager
- Communications Consultant
- Event Manager
- Entrepreneur or Business Owner
Most graduates enter at specialist or junior-management level and build from there - but this is the qualification that puts the management track within reach. With a few years of experience behind you, and for many a postgraduate qualification alongside it, this is the degree that leads towards roles such as Head of Communications, Head of Brand, Marketing Director, Corporate Affairs Director, or Chief Communications Officer.
Notice how little of that list now overlaps with the higher certificates. A few titles share a field - public relations, brand, digital - but they sit a level or two higher, and several of them are not communication jobs at all. Business management, business development, and client service are commercial roles, open to you because you hold a Commerce degree and can bring communication expertise to them. That is the real return on the additional two years of study toward the Boston BCom degree. Here too, certain occupational objectives are provided in foundational form and may require further specialisation or experience - which is precisely what the Boston Postgraduate Diploma in Management is designed to deliver.
How the pathways connect
This is where the three qualifications stop being separate options and start being a single, climbable ladder.
Both Higher Certificates finish at NQF Level 5 and are built to articulate into NQF 7-degree study. The Boston Bachelor of Commerce, in turn, lists a Higher Certificate at NQF Level 5 among its recognised alternative entry pathways - subject to Matriculation Board endorsement, which is exactly the endorsement each higher certificate provides on completion. On top of that, Boston’s Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT) process allows up to half of the credits from a completed higher certificate to be transferred in, and is assessed individually by the Academic Committee.
In plain terms, you can begin with a Boston one-year higher certificate, get yourself into the industry, and then return to complete the Boston BCom degree, with some of your higher certificate work counting towards it. A Boston higher certificate here is a foot in the door and a stepping stone, not a dead end - especially if you don’t hold a National Senior Certificate (NSC) or National Certificate (Vocational) (NC(V)) with the endorsement for Bachelor’s study that direct entry to the Boston BCom would require.
Beyond the degree
And the ladder does not stop at the Boston BCom in Strategic Communication. Because the degree is at NQF Level 7, it opens directly onto further specialised study - and Boston offers two routes of its own.
The first is the Boston Advanced Diploma in Adaptive Leadership (SAQA ID 120360, NQF Level 7, Credits 120), a unique, one-year specialised qualification for those who want to build out and sharpen their leadership edge.
The second is the Boston Postgraduate Diploma in Management (SAQA ID 105040, NQF Level 8, Credits 128), to deepen your managerial and research acumen - also a minimum of one year, and one that in turn opens the door to the coveted Boston Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Whichever you choose, the Boston BCom degree is the platform that gets you there - and if your longer-term ambition points toward senior strategy, consulting, or the executive track, that is precisely the kind of progression it is built to support.
Accredited, registered, and internationally recognised
A qualification is only as good as the recognition behind it - and here Boston’s credentials are on firm ground. Boston City Campus is registered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) as a private higher education institution. All Boston qualifications are accredited by the Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and registered on the National Qualifications Framework by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). In practice, that means your certificate or degree carries genuine recognition - at home and, through South Africa’s international agreements, abroad.
That recognition reaches beyond our borders, too. Boston is accredited as an independent higher education institution by the British Accreditation Council (BAC) - an international mark of quality that helps your qualification travel, should your career or further studies ever take you overseas. The Postgraduate Diploma in Management is also accredited, and the Master of Business Administration is conditionally accredited, by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in the United States of America.
And for degree students, there is a further distinction to aim for. Boston is a proud member of the Golden Key International Honour Society - the world’s largest honour society, with a network of some 400 member universities and over 2.65 million members worldwide. Membership is reserved for the top 15% of academic achievers, and Boston graduates from a programme that exits at NQF Level 7 or higher - the Bachelor of Commerce in Strategic Communication among them - are eligible to join. Beyond the recognition itself, membership connects you to a global community built around scholarship, career development, leadership, and community service - the kind of network that keeps opening doors long after you graduate.
Which starting point is right for you?
It comes down to your circumstances and your goals. If you want to be qualified and working within a year - building experience while you find your feet - one of the Higher Certificates is a sharp, focused choice, and the Invest in SA subsidy can bring the cost down; your nearest Support Centre can explain how.
If you are aiming squarely at management, strategy, or specialist roles and can commit to a minimum of three years, the Bachelor of Commerce is the more direct route. And if you are not sure yet, remember that starting small does not close the bigger door - the pathways are designed to let you move up when you are ready.
Ready to begin?
All three qualifications are offered through Boston’s supported open distance elearning model, with English as the language of teaching and learning, digital courseware, and access to educators and a national network of Support Centres.
Wherever you decide to start, the field is waiting - and so is the path upward. Application is FREE!