MICA 11-Month Certificate Programme in Strategic Communication

For communication professionals who will shape business conversations in the AI era.
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MICA students exploring communication, technology and society

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Programme Overview

The 11-Month Certificate Programme in Strategic Communication is a practice-anchored,
Residential (off-campus) certificate programme, launching in Academic Year 2027–28. The programme will have an intake of 40 students with a fees of INR 14 lakhs. Graduates of the programme will possess transformative skills across Human Centered Explainable AI (HCXAI), corporate communication and public affairs. They will be professionals who blend linguistic know-how, analytical insight, creative thinking, narrative capability, and technological fluency to meet complex communication challenges across sectors.

The programme focus areas include: AI-enabled Corporate Communication and PR · Public Affairs and Reputation Management · Crisis and Risk Communication · HCXAI · Strategic Storytelling and Narrative Design.

Programme at a Glance

11-Month Certificate Programme in Strategic Communication

Duration

11 months

Format

Full-time, off-campus residential

Intake
40 students
Programme Fee
₹14 lakh
Eligibility
Bachelor’s degree of minimum three-year duration from a recognised institution, with at least 50% aggregate marks, in accordance with applicable AICTE guidelines
Desirable
Bachelor’s or master’s-level certification in Linguistics and/or Technology
Admission Process
MICAT customised for the School of Strategic Communication, followed by a Personal Interview, final selection on merit
Specialisations

Two tracks –
(a) CSR, Corporate Affairs & Brand
(b) HCXAI and Conversation Design

Focus areas
AI-enabled Corporate Communication and PR · PublicAffairs and Reputation Management · Crisis and Risk Communication · HCXAI · Strategic Storytelling and Narrative Design.
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Two Tracks, Two Capabilities

Students specialise in one of two tracks,
For professionals who advance and protect an organisation’s reputation, relationships and credibility in an AI world. Graduates gain AI fluency to manage corporate communication and PR, engage regulators through public affairs, lead CSR and sustainability communication, and steer organisations through crises – turning purpose into credible, trusted narratives across boards, investors, media, government and communities. This track provides specialised inputs for:
  • CSR and
  • Sustainability Communication Political Communication and Advocacy
  • Financial Services and Investor Communication
  • Employer Branding and Brand Narratives
For the frontier where language, technology and AI meet. Graduates learn to design how AI systems talk to people – shaping responsible dialogue, bias-free voice, and human-centred interaction. It is a role built for the coming decade: within a few years in industry, these graduates are positioned to shape and lead an organisation’s entire narrative around AI.
This track provides specialised inputs for:
  • Human–AI Interaction Explainability and Ethics of AI Communication
  • Conversational AI Strategy

Course Design and Curriculum

The programme runs over 11 months, opening with a 15-day orientation and moving through three terms that take students from foundations to applied capability, to the identity of a communication professional.

A non-credit foundation – Learning to Learn – introducing the MICA Lens and MICA Studio (Ways of Being, Ways of Seeing, Ways of Learning) and setting a baseline in AI and data fluency before the programme proper begins.

The Conceptual Bedrock: Students study, Language and the Social World; Human–Technology Interaction; and ‘Messaging, Narrative building and Storytelling. They understand the essentials of the communication role and function through Strategic Communication, Stakeholder Systems and Organisation, and Evidence-based Decision-making. The Industry Engagement Studio begins here and runs across the year.
The Applied Term focuses on: Business Acumen for Communication Professionals; Tech-Trust, Credibility and Public Affairs Communication; Crisis, Risk and Futures; Visual and Multimodal Communication; and AI-Powered Communication: Tools, Measurement and Ethics. The second Industry Engagement Studio with a project-based portfolio emphasis happens here. This is followed by the Track based specialization.
The Consolidation Term: Strategic Communication Leadership and C-Suite Advisory; Global Communication, Cross-Cultural Competence and Soft Power; and Integrated Campaign Design and Execution. A Programme level Capstone Project followed by the Jury. Dedicated placement preparation, further specialisation electives set students up for a successful Summer Internship (mid-April to mid-June)

Specialisation electives across the two terms let students go deep in their chosen track – from CSR and Sustainability Communication, Political Communication and Advocacy, and Financial Services and Investor Communication on Track 1, to Conversational Interface Design, the Ethics of AI Communication, and Conversational AI Strategy on Track 2.

Who is this programme for?

The programme is built for people at the start of a serious communication career, and for those accelerating one:

The purposeful graduate

a recent bachelor’s graduate seeking a specialist entry credential, often with a background or interest in language, linguistics or technology.

The early-career upskiller

a professional with a few years in PR, content, digital or brand roles, looking to accelerate.

Where Graduates Go: Career Outcomes

The programme opens two distinct career frontiers, each mapped to a track.

Potential career roles include:

Corporate Communications Manager

Public Affairs Specialist

CSR & Sustainability Communications Manager

Change & Transformation Communication Manager

Employer Branding Specialist

Executive Communications Lead

ESG Communication & Sustainability Analyst

Government & PSU Communication Officer

Public Relations Manager

Financial Services PR & Communication Manager

Potential career roles include:

Conversational Designer / AI Dialogue Designer

Conversational AI Strategy & Governance Lead

AI Communication Lead / AI Narrative Strategist

Responsible AI Communications Specialist

Trust & Safety Communications Specialist

AI Product Communications Manager

What Makes the Programme Different?

Communication. Technology. Strategy. Together.

The programme brings together capabilities that are often taught separately.

AI-Ready Communication Professionals

Develop the ability to navigate communication in environments shaped by AI, data and technology.

Human-Centred Technology

Understand how humans interact with technology and how AI systems communicate with people.

Strategic & Business Orientation

Move beyond communication execution to understand reputation, stakeholder systems, business contexts, risk and organisational decision-making.

Practice-Anchored Learning

Industry engagement, project-based learning, a portfolio emphasis, internship and a capstone connect classroom learning with professional practice.

Two Future-Facing Career Tracks

Choose between strategic communication across CSR, brand and corporate affairs, or the emerging field of conversation design and HCXAI.

MICA's Communication Legacy

Build on MICA’s strengths in communication, culture, storytelling and creative thinking while developing capabilities for the AI era.Choose between strategic communication across CSR, brand and corporate affairs, or the emerging field of conversation design and HCXAI.
The source positions the programme as an off-campus residential, practice-anchored 11-month programme with a dedicated conversational-AI/HCXAI specialisation.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Admission to the 11 Month Certificate Programme in Strategic Communication (CSC)* require a Bachelor’s degree (10 + 2 + 3 system) or an equivalent qualification in any discipline recognised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
  • Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA in any discipline from a recognised university.
  • Candidates appearing for the final year bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed the degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. It is mandatory for such candidates to complete the following:
      • Produce a certificate from the principal/director/registrar/head of the department of the institution/university certifying that the candidate is currently in the final year/is awaiting final results, stating that they have completed all the requirements (the result may, however, be awaited) for obtaining the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate. This certificate should be submitted latest by June 30, 2027,
      • Such a candidate, if selected, and submits the above-mentioned certificate will be allowed to join the programme provisionally. The admission will be confirmed only when the candidate submits the final mark sheet and certificate of having passed the bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification.
The deadline for submission of the final mark sheet and passing certificate is December 31, 2027. Non-fulfilment of this condition will automatically result in the cancellation of the provisional admission.
The admission process comprises Online Application, MICAT and Personal Interview (PI). MICAT is conducted twice a year, in December 2026 and February 2027, and candidates may appear for both, with the better score considered. Shortlisted candidates are invited for the Personal Interview. Final selection is based on the candidate’s performance in MICAT and PI.

Life@MICA

MICA sits on a 19-acre fully residential campus in Shela, Ahmedabad, where students and faculty live, eat, and work alongside each other. That setup changes the texture of learning. Late-night project debates spill out of classrooms onto open plazas. The amphitheatre and auditorium host everything from guest lectures to student-led events. The 24×7 library means a 2 AM idea has somewhere to land. It’s a learning environment that’s deliberately different from urban commuter campuses – where contact hours end when the building closes.
The 180-seat PGDM cohort is intentionally diverse, drawing students from engineering, commerce, arts and design, and management backgrounds, and a near-even gender mix. Over 64% arrive with prior work experience, so peer learning is as substantive as classroom learning. What makes the PGDM peer group particularly distinctive is the combination of orientations in the same room – data-analytical, marketing-oriented, and creative – which shapes how problems get debated and solved.
Campus life is anchored by signature events that are MICA-specific: Micanvas, the institute’s annual cultural and creative festival, and Mic-Drop, alongside the ongoing rhythm of immersions, club activities, and cohort traditions that turn a two-year programme into the experience of becoming a MICAn.
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FAQ

What is the 11-Month Certificate Programme in Strategic Communication?

The Programme in Strategic Communication is the first programme from MICA’s School of Strategic Communication. It develops professionals who combine linguistic, analytical, creative, narrative and technological capability to lead communication in the AI era, and launches in Academic Year 2027–28.

The programme duration is eleven months and structured across a 15-day orientation and three terms, closing with a capstone jury and a summer internship.

Track 1 – CSR, Corporate Affairs and Brand – is for AI enabled professionals who have expertise in  organisational reputation, public affairs, and sustainability communication. Track 2 – Conversation Design and HCXAI – is for those who understand and design how AI systems communicate with people. Students specialise in one.

The programme is designed for recent graduates, early-career professionals in PR, content, digital or brand roles looking to accelerate; career-switchers from journalism, policy, HR, legal and social-sector backgrounds, interested in strategic communication.

A background in linguistics or technology is desirable but not required.

The programme fee is INR14 lakh and intake is 40 students.
MICA has applied for AICTE accreditation for this programme

On Track 1, roles such as Corporate Communications Manager, Public Affairs Specialist, CSR and Sustainability Communications Manager, and Executive Communications Lead. On Track 2, roles such as Conversational Designer, Conversational AI Strategy and Governance Lead, and Responsible AI Communications Specialist – across leading consulting, technology, corporate and financial-services employers.

11 month certificate programme in Strategic Communication, students are eligible for MICA’s merit-cum-means scholarships, ranging from 25% to 100% of tuition fees*, with family income as the principal criterion.

residential programme but the accommodation provided is off campus.

Yes. Candidates need to appear for MICAT to be eligible to secure admissions for 11 month certificate programme in Strategic Communication. MICAT is MICA’s own entrance exam, conducted twice a year – (typically in December and February). The better score from two MICAT attempts is considered.

No, in order to secure admission to 11 month certificate programme in Strategic Communication CAT/XAT/GMAT score is not required.
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