Get Badged at SOU
Innovative Micro-Credentials Showcase Your Comm & Digital Cinema Skills for Employers
Most new college graduates struggle to stand out when applying for entry-level jobs. But SOU is now helping our students make a bigger mark with Badges, an innovative form of academic micro-credential that validates your professional competencies.
SOU’s badges entail completion of 12–14 credits, and are certified through a third-party vendor, Parchment. Once you complete any badge, Parchment provides trustworthy verification of your expertise in the form of digital badges that can be displayed via LinkedIn and other online platforms.
The Communication program has launched four badges beginning with the 2020–21 academic year: Social Media Strategy, Cinema Production Technology, Story Development for Screenwriting and Set Skills for Cinema Production.
Other SOU programs have also launched badges, and the Communication Program looks forward to adding more in future years. For more information, and to apply for your badges, start here:
For full details about each of our current Badges, please see the complete descriptions below.
Social Media Strategy
Students who receive the Social Media Strategy badge demonstrate their ability to conceive, execute and assess social media campaigns on behalf of clients. The Social Media Strategy badge provides a strong foundation for students interested in securing entry-level employment with clients or employers in marketing, public relations, advertising or journalism. Students will complete the badge with a portfolio of work samples aligned with planning, writing and producing social media campaigns.
- COMM 206 — Multimedia Writing — 4 credits
- COMM 323 — Strategic Social Media — 4 credits
- COMM 485 — Advanced Social Media Campaigns — 4 credits
Cinema Production Technology
By completing SOU’s 13-credit badge in Production Technology, students develop intermediate skills in the three core tool sets within media production: sound recording, videography, and non-linear editing. The Production Technology badge provides a strong foundation for students interested in securing entry-level employment in broadcast media, corporate video production or communications departments, and in assisting freelance video producers. After completion as part of an undergraduate degree, the Production Technology badge will supplement graduate applications to MFA programs in film production or adjacent programs. Students will complete the badge with a portfolio of produced work samples demonstrating the range of production technologies.
- DCIN 101 — Production Tools 1: Audio — 2 credits
- DCIN 102 — Production Tools 2: DSLR — 2 credits
- DCIN 103 — Production Tools 3: Non-Linear — 2 credits
- DCIN 313 — Design Problems in Sound & Light — 4 credits
- DCIN 321 — Cinematography — 3/4 credits
Story Development for Screenwriting
By completing SOU’s 12-credit badge in Story Development for Screenwriting, students demonstrate their ability to pitch and develop screen stories for film and television. The Screenwriting badge provides a strong foundation for students interested in securing entry-level employment in the entertainment industry as a script reader or writer’s assistant, in pursuing a screenwriting fellowship, or, when completed as part of their undergraduate degree, in applying to graduate programs in screenwriting. Students will complete the badge with a portfolio of screenwriting work samples.
- DCIN 200 Storytelling Foundations — 4 credits
- DCIN 331 Screenwriting I: The Short Script — 4 credits
- DCIN 332 Screenwriting II: Features & Pilots — 4 credits
Set Skills for Cinema Production
This badge is completed by taking one 12-credit course, The Crew Experience. In this immersive learning experience, students leave the classroom to learn on location in an environment that emulates a professional film production. Students apply for a below-the-line crew position and work within a department hierarchy to collaboratively produce a short film alongside faculty and professional mentors. The Set Skills badge demonstrates the student’s preparation for entry-level assistant work on professional film and television sets.
- DCIN 350 — The Crew Experience — 12 credits
