Due to the success of the Erasmus Exchange Program, the College of Communication and Public Relations started the Academic Program in English in 2006. The aim of the Program is to offer Erasmus students as well as Romanian students a range of courses taught in English, in various academic disciplines.

The professors involved in the program have substantial teaching experience and have designed and participated in many educational projects at both national and international level. Their professional profile is well known by the academic community in Romania and abroad. Their extensive research and teaching background is confirmed by their enrolment in numerous research projects and academic activities, among which the Fulbright research grants, doctoral and post-doctoral scholarships, international conferences, exchange programs, summer schools, etc. The courses are designed to meet students' needs and current interests in the theory and practice of communicationrelated areas. The program provides core and specialized courses in areas such as: communication and public relations, language and communication, human resources, project management, organizational communication, political communication and so on.

The courses offered by the program are held every academic semester for foreign students interested in the topics, as well as to Romanian students who seek international exposure and the enrichment of their skills. Foreign students who want to join the program should apply directly to the International Relations Office. Additional information about the courses and related issues will be provided upon request.

Courses taught in English:

Political Communication and Presidential Campaigns
Instructor : Dorina Tudor, Ph.D.
Dorina Tudor is a Fulbright Fellow and a Marie Curie Fellow. She did research on political communication at Stanford University in USA, in 2004, and at Centre for European Studies, Bradford University in UK, in 2003. She is also an international scholarship consultant for Open Society Institute in New York and for European Programmes for Education in Romania (Socrates and Leonardo). She has a PhD in media studies and is currently teaching courses on Political Communication and International Public Relations at the College of Communication and Public Relations in Bucharest.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : The course will cover mainly the conduct of presidential campaigns. First, we will attempt to understand the behaviour of the major participants – candidates, journalists, and individual voters – in terms of the evolving institutional arrangements and political incentives that confront them. Second, we will use the 2004 American and Romanian presidential campaigns as a laboratory for testing generalizations about the conduct of political campaigns. Third, we will examine selections from the academic literature dealing with the theories about and effects of political campaigns, including immediate effects on voter behaviour and more long-term consequences for governance and the political process.

Globalization and European Integration
Instructor : Paul Dobrescu, Professor Ph.D.
Paul Dobrescu, Professor, Ph.D., Rector of the National School for Political Sciences and Public Administration, is a member of International Communication Association (ICA) and a member of the Romanian Academy's Institute for Social Theory. The professor is the director of The Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations and of comunicare.ro Publishing House. Paul Dobrescu teaches the courses of Globalization and European Integration , Geopolitics and International Relations , Mass Media and Society and History of Communication and is a Ph.D. advisor at the University of Bucharest – the College of Sociology and Social Work. Some of the professor's books are: “Geopolitics” (2003), “Mass Media - the Power without a Counterpower” (2002), “Mass Media and Society” (2001), “Computers and Roses or the Paradoxes of Progress” (1986).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : A topic that is increasingly addressed in the public sphere, such as globalization, threatens to be covered in clichés and prejudice. Cutting loose from this perspective and aiming at a more integrated approach, this course surveys fundamental issues and controversial topics in the debate over globalization. The course is meant to offer students two types of instruments that allow a deeper understanding of this field and its guiding principles. The first type is a conceptual framework necessary for the systematic studying of processes accompanying globalization and European integration. The second comprises case studies and relevant examples, aimed at facilitating an understanding of the particulars. The course is organized along themes, going from broader analyses of the schools of thought and leading ideas, to in-depth discussion of the three major dimensions of globalization: political, economic and cultural issues. European integration is a separate talk, although the general framework touches upon some of its aspects. Due consideration will be given to the institutions of the European Union and the difficulties accompanying the enlargement process.

Introduction to Public Relations
Instructor : Remus PRICOPIE, Ph.D.
Remus Pricopie is an associate professor of public relations, with significant experience in public communication. He is a former spokesperson and director of the Communication Division of the Romanian Ministry of Education. He was granted an ECESP Fellowship at The George Washington University (2003-2004) and a Fulbright Fellowship at Buffalo University (2007-2008). His research projects focus on institutional communication, policy dialog, branding in education and NGO sectors, etc. His most important publications are: Public Relations: Evolutions and Perspectives (2005), Public Relations. Effectiveness through Communication , co-author (2005), The University under the Pressure of Globalization , in Dobrescu, P., Taranu, A. and Bargaoanu, A. (eds.) (2007).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : This course is designed to address the basic themes and critical issues of public relations, such as: history of public communication and public relations, theoretical approaches of public relations, actors involved (organizations, stakeholders, etc.), the process of public communication, instruments of public relations, mass-media relations, public relations in different sectors (politics, education, NGOs, corporations), public relations in the international context, ethics issues, and so on. A list of required and optional readings will be provided at the beginning of the semester. During seminars, students will be invited to participate in debates and to work in teams. At the end of the course, students must be able to understand the main theoretical approaches, the process and the applicability of the today public relations.

Campaigning for Good Causes in Romania
Instructor : Alexandra Zbuchea, Ph.D.
Alexandra Zbuchea is a lecturer of marketing and promotion, and a specialist in cultural marketing, with consistent academic experience. She is a communication and marketing consultant for several museums and cultural associations. In the last years she has dedicated her interests to the nonprofit sector in Romania and abroad – especially in the United States of America. Alexandra Zbuchea won twice, in 2001 and 2007, the Fulbright Fellowship offered by the US Congress (Fulbright Commission). Her research projects focus on museum marketing and public program development. She organized several scientific debates, among which a national conference on public relations for nonprofit organizations (2006).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives: Increasingly more people are aware of the importance of social and cultural campaigns for the public good and the development of the society. Increasingly more companies are aware of the various long-term benefits generated by their involvement in different social or cultural causes. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a common topic for businesses, mass media and customers alike. In parallel with the increasing involvement of companies in social life, the nonprofit sector is continuously developing in Romania, due to various economic, legislative, social and cultural changes. In this context, the nonprofit organizations are cooperating with companies for the society's development, for solving different social problems. They are assuming a larger social and cultural role, as well as in the formation and stimulation of the public opinion in order to become an active and important social and even political agent. The course aims to present the recent evolutions in CSR strategies in Romania, as well as in analyzing the evolution of the nonprofit sector. It also aims to give the proper instruments to better develop social campaigns of companies or nonprofit organizations.

Blog Communication in Contemporary Society: Trend Analysis
Instructor : Diana Maria Cismaru, Ph.D.
Diana Maria Cismaru, lecturer, graduated from the College of Sociology and Social Work of the University of Bucharest, and the College of Communication and Public Relations of the National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration (MA). She obtained a Ph.D. diploma in sociology from the University of Bucharest in 2006. Her areas of interest are: theory of organizations, organizational communication, public relations, and institutional communication. She is co-author of the book Intelligent Organization (2003) and Public Relations. Effectiveness through Communication (2003). She published several studies and articles on organizational and public communication. She is the executive coordinator of an MA program in Communication and Public Relations at the College of Communication and Public Relations.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives: The course aims to explore the trends in the development of blog communication in the contemporary society. The globalization and the expansion of new media technologies have determined significant changes in the public space, as in social groups or in life styles, or in mainstream media communication. The course is structured in three parts: the role of blogs in the configuration of a new public space, blogs and mass communication, and blogs as strategies of communication. Each particular theme will develop examples and case analysis on the Romanian blogs, in order to offer essential skills for a communication expert.

Nonverbal Communication
Instructor : Loredana Ivan, Ph.D. candidate
Loredana Ivan is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bucharest, College of Sociology and Social Work. She was granted a Marie Curie Fellowship at University Groningen, The Netherlands (2003-2004). She has an MA from Lund University, Sweden (2003). Her most important publications are: Nonverbal Communication (co-author).(2005) Bucharest:comunicare.ro, Feminine face attractiveness (in collaboration). in S. Chelcea (eds.) (2004). Nonverbal communication in public space. Studies, research and practice . Bucharest: Tritonic. Bandwagon effect versus underdog in public opinion polls. Experimental research . In S. Chelcea and G. Jderu (eds.) (2005). Sociological refraction and journalistic reflection . Bucharest: Economica.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : The nonverbal communication is a relatively new area in the academic field. Therefore we suggest an experimental approach of this topic, starting with a parallel between verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication and continuing with the analysis of the main nonverbal elements that interfere in daily communication: face and eye contact, posture and gestures, proxemics, chronemics and artefacts. Issues related to nonverbal competencies and nonverbal sensitivity will also be debated. The course is addressed to people who already have some research skills and interests. Knowledge about the experiment and the observation methods is a must. Moreover we are looking for students who want to develop their abilities in analyzing details of daily interactions. The course will review the main theories in nonverbal communication area. After graduating from this course, students should improve their nonverbal competencies in interpersonal communication and institutional communication. Students will take part in some experimental researches related to the topic.

Training and Development
Instructor : Camelia Crisan, PhD candidate.
Camelia Crisan, lecturer, graduated from the College of Communication and Public Relations and attended several training courses in social inclusion (Worchester County Council, England, 2003) and training for support workers (Bognor Regis, England, 2002).
She was a Senior Researcher with the Ministr y of Economy and Commerce, a Country Manager for the Hellenic Association for International Development (HAID) and the Programmes and Development Director of PROGRESS Foundation. She is a freelance trainer and designer of training programmes.
She has written training courses in Increasing Sales Performance, Client-Oriented Communication Techniques and Intercultural Learning. She has presented papers at several international conferences, among which ‘Knowledge Transfer in Vocational Training Projects' (‘Maximizing Learning', Edinburgh, 2004).
E-mail: [email protected]
Course description and objectives: The course will deliver a set of knowledge, skills and abilities which will enable students to understand the processes involved in their personal and professional development, as members of a commercial company or non-governmental organization. At the end of the course, the students will be able to perform a training needs analysis, to design, deliver, evaluate and validate a training course, to use the most suitable training methods, to become aware of tips and tricks used in delivering learning events. The students will understand their personal development within the framework of their organizational setting as well as part of their community and as plenary members in the knowledge-based society.

Performance Management in Human Resources
Instructor : Dan Stãnescu, Ph.D.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : Performance management is a process which is designed to improve organisational, team and individual performance and which is owned and driven by line managers. It means having a systematic approach to improving individual and team performance and is therefore concerned with the ability of leaders to set a strategic direction, of managers to set clear, relevant objectives and with the effectiveness of staff to achieve them. It seeks to get the best performance from staff and their managers, motivating them to achieve the organisation's objectives. In addition to staff appraisal, performance management uses a range of other techniques to encourage improvement, including team building, quality circles, benchmarking, total quality management systems and a variety of “quality standard” awards.

Work and Employment in the European Union
Instructor : Valeriu Frunzaru, Ph.D.
Valeriu Frunzaru is a lecturer at the College of Communication and Public Relations where he teaches Introduction to sociology and Sociology of professions . His Ph.D. thesis develops the topic of Romanian accession to the European Union, focused on the pension system reform. In 2004, he won a Marie Curie scholarship at the University of Antwerp (Belgium), and in 2006 he had a scholarship from the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research at the University of York (UK). His research interests are the sociology of work, the social inclusion, and the social EU integration.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : This course is designed to address social issues of work and employment in the European Union. It will focus on current problems of the common EU labor market, such as aging, gender inequality, regional disparities, social exclusion, discrimination, dependency rate, and workers' rights. The European Employment Strategy is part of the policies whose final goal for 2010 is for the EU to become the most developed knowledge-based society with socially included citizens. The course will analyse the employment situation in the EU and the Member States, conducting comparative approaches between countries by taking into account the goals and the targets established in the EU employment guidelines. The theoretical background from fields such as sociology, social policy and labour economics will be associated with debates based on figures offered by Eurostat, OECD, International Labor Organization, Romanian National Institute for Statistics etc.

Argumentation and Fallacies: A Communicational Approach
Instructor : Alexandru Cârlan, Ph.D. candidate.
Ion Alexandru Cârlan is a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy, at the University of Bucharest, with a project in Argumentation Theory. He teaches Rhetoric and Argumentation Theory and History of Romanian Modern Culture. His interests are: argumentation in the public sphere, the study of fallacies, cultural debates in the history of Romanian culture. He is a graduate of the Philosophy Faculty at the University of Bucharest (BA in 2002 and MA in 2004) and Communication and Public Relations at National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration (BA in 2004).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : This course aims at familiarizing students with recent developments in argumentation theory, which stress upon argumentation as a form of communication governed by specific conventions. In this view, fallacies are not regarded as logical leaks of arguments, but as violations of inherent norms of communication. The greatest emphasis will be not on theoretical matters, but on analysis and evaluation of real-life argumentation (especiallypublic debates). After graduating from this course, students will be able to analyse and evaluate public debates according to a certain standard of rationality, to critically take part in debates, to be aware of the constraints that media impose on public debates and to seek solutions so that these constraints would not affect the debate. If the public debate is the major feature of democracy, then the quality of a public debate is a reliable indicator of the sort of democracy in a certain community. If this is so, the final aim of this course is to create better citizens – that means citizens aware of how a debate should be held, what can go wrong in a debate, of the influence of the medium on the debate, and how these risks can be surmounted.

Philosophy of Language
Instructor : Nicoleta Corbu, Ph.D. candidate.
Nicoleta Corbu, Ph.D. candidate, is a lecturer at the National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration. She teaches the courses of Mass Media and Society and History of Communication . She is preparing a Ph.D. thesis in sociology at the University of Bucharest – the College of Sociology and Social Work. She graduated from the College of Letters – University of Bucharest and from the College of Communication and Public Relations – National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration. She has an MA in French Linguistics. She published several articles on media and is the co-author of two courses ( Le fran¢ais au quotidien and History of Communication ).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : This course takes up a variety of topics: speech acts theory, indirect speech acts, reference theory, meaning, definite descriptions, proper names, conversation theory, conversational maxims, etc. The course is an introduction to the philosophy of language, covering the basic themes and issues of this specific field. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the theory and practice of speech acts and conversation so that they could be able to analyse different types of texts from these perspectives. The course emphasizes the theoretical dimension, because familiarization with the subject is not only important, but needed and relatively difficult. The seminars will propose applications of the different theories. At the end of the course students must be capable of making their own analyses on specific texts and discussing different theoretical and empirical aspects of their analyses.

Concepts and Meaning. Why Communication Makes Sense
Instructors : Elena Negrea, Ph.D. candidate.
Elena Negrea is a Ph.D. candidate in linguistics at the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bucharest. Her research thesis focuses on meaning construction and processing. She graduated from the College of Communication and Public Relations (2003) and received an MA diploma in Media and Communication from the College of Sociology, University of Bucharest (2005). Her main fields of interest are: cognitive semantics, pragmatics, language acquisition and processing.
George Tudorie, Ph.D. candidate
His main interests are in the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences, with a focus on mental representation, the nature of concepts and empathy. The research for his Ph.D. thesis – at the Central European University in Budapest – concentrates on such topics. He takes them to constitute the foundation of a scientific study of communication. His educational background includes undergraduate studies at the National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration in Bucharest (BA, Communication Studies) and New York University, and graduate studies at the University of Bucharest (MA, Cognitive Science) and the University of Kansas. He taught an Intro to Political Science seminar for two semesters.
E-mail : [email protected]; [email protected]
Course description and objectives : This course is an introduction to some of the important theories and ideas about the basic ingredients of communication. Intuitively, communication is made possible by our largely shared conceptual repertoire and by our often successful handling of (symbols endowed with) meaning. Typical theories of communication take for granted a theoretical machinery that includes not only concepts and meaning, but intentions, interpretation, significance, relevance etc. Whereas this is legitimate – “explanation has to stop somewhere”, as Wittgenstein puts it – we try in this course to give a principled background to this explanatory vocabulary. At a minimum, a background of useful questions and problems. Our main enterprise will be to present a set of options one has in trying to build semantics, that is, a theory of meaning. The selection is far from complete, but we take it nonetheless to be relevant for the current discussions of such issues. The course will move from philosophical semantics to work done by linguists. In doing that, we hope to cover more ground than each approach would by itself. We also hope that this will show the problems raised here to be continuous across fields – and important.

EU-funded Programs and Projects
Instructor : Alina Bârgãoanu, Ph.D., PMP
Alina Bargaoanu has a Ph.D. in communication and a Project Management Professional certificate from the Project Management Institute. She has a consistent background in designing and implementing Project Management methodologies, designing application forms and tender documents, contract management, project monitoring, risk management, designing internal procedures for programme and portfolio management. She is the director of the MA program in Project Management at the College of Communication and Public Relations. At the CC&PR, she teaches courses on EUfunded programs and projects, structural funds and mass media. Her recent publications are: The Tyranny of News – An Introduction to News History and Theory , Bucharest: Tritonic and Project Management , Bucharest: Virtual University of Business.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : EU's continuous enlargement process has raised the stake of building an efficient communication strategy that would bridge the gap between EU and its citizens. People's confidence and support for EU's policies will reinforce the idea of creating a modern, democratic, secure and economically viable structure that would successfully face contemporary challenges. The programmes and projects financed by the EU represent a way to achieve the above-mentioned goal. These specific tools can be of great help in promoting the European dimension and increasing EU's visibility in the world. This course seeks to provide students with the basic understanding of project management principles and with the necessary tools for identifying and accessing the EU funding sources. The students will be shown case studies and best practise examples of EU-funded projects implemented in Romania. At the end of the course, students will submit to the teacher an application for a EU-funded project.

Managerial Decision in Project Management
Instructor : Sergiu Stan, Ph. D. candidate
Sergiu Stan is currently teaching at the College of Communication and Public Relations, being involved in seminar activities on Project Management , Financial Analysis of Projects and Structural Funds . Relevant educational background: PhD in progress in the field of Managerial Decision , MA in Project Management and Physical Engineering. Professional background: several years of experience as a consultant, expert and trainer (especially in the Project Management field) in local administration and private sector projects. He published several books and articles on Project Management and Managerial Decision .
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : The success and the failure of projects are strictly correlated with the results of managerial decision. The optimal decision assumed by the manager in a good moment can have an extraordinary impact for all types of projects. Taking account of all this, the course will cover the main chapters indispensable for making correct decisions in projects. First, we will attempt to understand the characteristics of the decision behaviour and how the decision process operates. Second, we will identify the characteristics of decisions involving multiple objectives and what happens with managers' decisions when they take account of uncertainty and risk. Third, we will examine the most efficient forecasting and simulation models used by managers in project planning and implementation. Here, we will find a lot of case studies and lessons learned related to managerial decision in projects. Finally, we will learn how to build a successful decision plan for our projects and how the leaders and project managers could improve their future decisions.

Introduction to Advertising
Instructor : Dan Petre, Ph.D.
Dan Petre has a Ph.D. in communication and his main interests are advertising and quantitative research. He is a graduate of National School of Political Sciences and Public Administration (MA) and of the University of Bucharest, School of Journalism and Mass Communication Studies (MA). He participated in various training sessions in University Bergen, Norway (1997), Paris and Lyon, France (1997), the Hague – the Netherlands (1997). He is the coordinator of research and strategy departments in various firms. He is co-author of the books Advertising (2000), Political and Electoral Marketing (2001).
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : The aim of the course is to offer students an introduction to advertising by providing an essential overview of the context in which advertising operates and of the main concepts used by advertising professionals in order to develop advertising campaigns. By the end of the course all students should be aware of the main concepts that will enable them to work as advertising professionals. Therefore, the course gives an introductory overview of the most important aspects in the process of creating advertising, supporting students in choosing their own area of interest and enabling them to develop practical skills related to their own choice.

Brand Research Essentials
Instructor : Dragos Iliescu, Ph.D.
Dragos Iliescu has a Ph.D. in I/O Psychology from the Babes-Bolyai University at Cluj-Napoca. Derived from this professional formation, his research interests focus on methodological issues of assessment, both organizational and individual. As a business psychologist he has an active practice as a market and business researcher. He is also Managing Partner of the biggest test publisher in Romania, being involved, either as a project leader, or as a team member, in the indigenization of such psychological measures as the California Psychological Inventory, the Survey of Work Styles, the Freiburger Personlichkeitsinventar, the Fleishman Job Analysis Survey, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, the Nonverbal Personality Inventory, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory etc.
E-mail : [email protected]
Course description and objectives : The course aims at introducing the student in the essentials of brand research, focusing mainly on the psychological indicators of brand strength which may be assessed through consumer research and only marginally on the concept of financial brand valuation. The course will contain both theoretical lectures, on the background of certain marketing, advertising and research concepts, and practical research laboratories. At the end of the course a student should be able to design and run a brand valuation, at least in those areas pending consumer research. Every student should be able to detect and avoid common flaws in brand research design and to extract pertinent conclusions from a brand research they are presented with.

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