University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

I took the certificate program in marketing at Uoft and this course, Digital Marketing Management, is designed to introduce students to the overall program (the certificate program also includes search engine marketing and social media strategy).

For this course, the prof covered core concepts in digital marketing, including web design and content marketing, search engine marketing and optimization (SEM/SEO), email marketing, social media and Google analytics. The course covers a lot of ground but doesn't go in-depth into any one topic. I found topics I knew nothing about very rewarding, like Google analytics and SEM. If you know any of these already, you should probably consider a more advanced course as this one provides only a basic overview.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience and the price point. There's a lot of independent learning involved with minimal guidance outside of class, but that's what the digital marketing field is like anyway. I recommend coming to the course with a clear career goal in mind, then shaping your projects and assignments in ways that help you build your portfolio.

I enrolled in the weekday course and find it challenging and extremely rewarding. I've read a lot of negative reviews about the program online (the program IS in its first year), but they all seem to be from the same class being run on the weekend at UofT. My instructor is an industry professional who is knowledgable and willing to do whatever it takes to help students become full-stack developers when they graduate.

Having said that, I do think there are minor wrinkles to iron out: like finding bigger classrooms and more working outlets, streamlining assignment material, and making the online learning platform easier to use. A company called Trilogy Education is actually running this program out of UofT. Better coordination between Trilogy and the university might help.

Ultimately, the curriculum is very good. If you're an independent learner who has a full-time job, then the SCS coding bootcamp will deliver in ways that other full-time front-end heavy bootcamps will not. The unique 24-week timeline and scope of topics are what really drew me to the course. On those points, it's delivered.