Course summary
Do you want to bolster your existing skillset and gain a deeper understanding of strategic thinking, branding, planning, and advertising? Using the pillars of sustainability, inclusivity, and social responsibility, this MA Advertising degree will give you the freedom to take your curious mind, wordsmithing ways and unique art directional style to create concepts, distinct brand identities and unforgettable campaigns that will turn Adland on it’s head. Why Study MA Advertising at BNU? The bigger picture The future of branding, marketing, and advertising is to help businesses grow with the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, making brands appeal to diverse customers, and promote products in way that show the good they do for society and the world. Brands need creatives like you, to help them harness creative and strategic strengths that allow them to drive behavioural change for good. Brands can no longer ‘just sell’, they must become active in promoting ethical social awareness and work with consumers to create an established relationship. It’s about creating creativity with a purpose. This MA Advertising course has been developed to mirror today’s industry. Working closely with professionals we’ve made sure the course helps you to develop the skills and knowledge the industry is looking for. Industry-connections Not only does this course bring you 30-years’ experience as an advertising course and a teaching army of advertising gurus both past and present, it also has an extensive networking of advertising experts. On this MA Advertising degree, you’ll benefit from unrivalled industry links, workshops, mentoring, advice, placements, internships, and job opportunities. There will also be selected alumni and agencies that will be part of the MA’s Hyreus Scheme, who will provide you with an industrial practitioner as a guide, in addition to their University Personal Tutor. They may also provide internships and or placements should the student prove suitable. This presents students with an opportunity to build a one-to-one relationship with an influential figure from industry, who will act as adviser, reference point, critical sounding board, and ultimately a potential employer. What will I study? To become part of the future of advertising, the communication you will create will help shape the more socially aware and culturally important world of creative communication, turning you into an asset for any 21st century communications company. Here at BNU we don’t just teach you how to apply creative thinking and problem-solving skills. We teach you how to approach a creative problem with insightful planning, research, and transmedia storytelling to ensure brand advocacy and long-lasting social missions. You’ll learn how to create sustainable and socially aware communication, by looking at how to create active campaigns across a variety of channels, generating fresh content and how to improve consumer engagement, following and reach. On this Advertising Masters degree you’ll delve headfirst into the world of advertising, looking at everything from transmedia storytelling, brand advocacy, branded entertainment, push and pull conversations, ideation, and insights, to planning, pitching, research, social mission advertising, brand creation and sustainable branding and marketing. All this make graduates of this MA Advertising program very employable in any branch of advertising, branding or communication industries, in either a creative, account management, strategic or planning capacity because of the up-to-date nature and wide scope of the curriculum offered.
Modules
Year one Core Modules Campaign Creative Planning Sustainable Marketing 1: Sustainable Product Design Sustainable Marketing 2: Sustainable Advertising Final Major Project 1: Social Purpose Advertising Final Major Project 2: Passion Projects The Big Idea (Dissertation)
Assessment method
This MA is offered as a blended learning experience, with lectures taking place both online and on-campus, providing flexibility for both course related work-based placements or to help you pursue your own industry opportunities. With the breadth of diverse projects and industry influences this is essential for personal and professional development. You’ll gain an integrated and gradual learning experience throughout which the various teaching methods, experiences and industry exposure contributing to this. All taught subjects are translated into practical brief-led projects, which are then contextualised in industry through regular workshops. You’ll be learning and gaining feedback from a host of different sources which enables them to create contacts, links, and opportunities to bolster your career in the real world of advertising at every stage of the course. Written assessments will be accompanied by face-to-face delivery of research presentations, creative presentations, portfolio work, final pitch presentations. Some of these will involve additional assessment from visiting tutors and alumni, or agency personal if the work being assessed is an agency-based project. You’ll also work on some non-assessed briefs to allow you to get as broad an experience as possible and experiment without detrimental results. If some of these are for working agency practitioners, via the Hyreus Scheme, this will further your potential intern opportunities and final employment chances.
Entry requirements
Graduates with a good first degree, usually Upper Second and above; preferably in a communications subject. Advertising or marketing studied to BA level (as listed above). Graduates from abroad (with grade 6.5 English or above) from a communications discipline or international advertising agency. Those with experience within the advertising industry, wishing to take a career break and re-enter the profession at a higher level. Applicants need a minimum 2 years’ experience, and proven ability to undertake MA level qualifications (particularly theory/dissertation modules), with bridging assignment set to assess capability for Level 7 study. Employees from the communications industries who want to retrain or undertake staff development. Practitioners who want to refresh and/or realign their career aspirations. Those wishing to progress to higher level research degree work. Graduates with a passion to enter the advertising industry.
English language requirements
Test | Grade | Additional details |
---|---|---|
IELTS (Academic) | 6 | We require an IELTS score of 6.0 (with no element lower that 5.5) or a recognised equivalent. |
If English is not your first language or if you have studied in a non-majority English-speaking country, then you will typically be required to demonstrate your English language ability (speaking, listening, reading & writing) by way of a test such as IELTS.
BNU English Language Requirements
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
Channel Islands | £10550 | Whole course |
Republic of Ireland | £10550 | Whole course |
EU | £15500 | Whole course |
England | £10550 | Whole course |
Northern Ireland | £10550 | Whole course |
Scotland | £10550 | Whole course |
Wales | £10550 | Whole course |
International | £15500 | Whole course |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Provider information
Buckinghamshire New University
Queen Alexandra Road
High Wycombe
HP11 2JZ