Program Overview

Advertising Creative Program

The Advertising Creative program offers students the opportunity to earn a four-year degree and build a career-ready creative portfolio, all while developing a well-rounded set of critical skills and a deep sense of ethics and responsibility. Students in this program prepare for careers in art direction, copywriting, production, and other creative roles at agencies and other organizations.

Related Programs

• Advertising Creative/Environmental Science and Sustainability (BA/MS)
• Advertising Creative/International Affairs (BA/MA)

Curriculum

The curriculum for the Advertising Creative program includes:

• School of Communication Foundation Courses:
  • COMM 100: SOC Career Prep Seminar (1 hour)
  • COMM 175: Introduction to Communication (3 hours)
  • COMM 200: Digital Communication and Society (3 hours)
  • COMM 215: Ethics & Communication (3 hours)
• Required Courses:
  • COMM 210: Principles of Public Relations (3 hours)
  • COMM 211: Principles of Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 213: Digital Foundations (3 hours)
  • MARK 201: Principles of Marketing (3 hours)
• Research Course:
  • Select one of the following:
    • COMM 363: Research Methods in Advertising/Public Relations (3 hours)
    • ISSCM 241: Business Statistics (3 hours)
    • STAT 103: Fundamentals of Statistics (3 hours)
• Specialized Focus:
  • COMM 214: Introduction to Creative Concepts 1 (3 hours)
  • COMM 266: Advertising Copywriting 1 (3 hours)
  • COMM 290: Branding and Positioning (3 hours)
  • COMM 329: Advertising and Public Relations Design (3 hours)
  • COMM 330: Intermediate Advertising Design (3 hours)
  • COMM 344: Portfolio I (3 hours)
• Internship & Capstone:
  • COMM 389: Advertising Creative Capstone: Portfolio II (3 hours)
  • COMM 391: Advertising/Public Relations Internship 2 (3 hours)
• Electives:
  • Must be a COMM course from the list of approved electives (3 hours)
  • Any course from the list of approved electives (3 hours)
• Total Hours: 52

List of Approved Electives

• Advertising Creative Electives:
  • COMM 101: Public Speaking & Critical Thinking (3 hours)
  • COMM 103: Business & Professional Speaking (3 hours)
  • COMM 135: Intro to Video Production (3 hours)
  • COMM 205: Reporting Basics I: Writing and Interviewing 1 (3 hours)
  • COMM 212: International Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 268: Persuasion (3 hours)
  • COMM 278: International Public Relations (abroad) (3 hours)
  • COMM 282: Media Law (3 hours)
  • COMM 296: Themes in Advertising/Public Relations (3 hours)
  • COMM 311: Health Communication (3 hours)
  • COMM 312: Special Events Planning (3 hours)
  • COMM 313: Corporate and Organizational Communication (3 hours)
  • COMM 314: Public Relations Cases (3 hours)
  • COMM 317: Media Planning (3 hours)
  • COMM 318: Public Relations Writing 1 (3 hours)
  • COMM 320: Public Service Communication 2 (3 hours)
  • COMM 321: Advertising Campaigns (3 hours)
  • COMM 329: Advertising and Public Relations Design (3 hours)
  • COMM 330: Intermediate Advertising Design (3 hours)
  • COMM 331: Social Media Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 334: Mobile Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 335: AI in Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 336: Search & Display Advertising (3 hours)
  • COMM 337: AD/PR Multimedia Commercial Production 2 (3 hours)
  • COMM 345: Student Agency 4 (3 hours)
  • COMM 370: Special Topics in Advertising & Public Relations (3 hours)
  • COMM 375: Media Relations (3 hours)
  • COMM 398: Directed Study (1-3 hours)
• Interdisciplinary Electives:
  • FNAR 132: Visual Communication I (3 hours)
  • FNAR 233: Digital Media Design (3 hours)
  • FNAR 383: Interactive Design (3 hours)
  • MARK 310: Consumer Behavior (3 hours)
  • MARK 311: Marketing Research (3 hours)
  • MARK 363: International Marketing (3 hours)
  • MARK 380: Digital Marketing (3 hours)

Suggested Sequence of Courses

The suggested sequence of courses for the Advertising Creative program is:

• First Year:
  • Fall: COMM 175: Introduction to Communication (3 hours)
  • Spring: COMM 210: Principles of Public Relations (3 hours), COMM 211: Principles of Advertising (3 hours)
• Second Year:
  • Fall: COMM 200: Digital Communication and Society (3 hours), COMM 215: Ethics & Communication (3 hours)
  • Spring: COMM 213: Digital Foundations (3 hours), COMM 214: Introduction to Creative Concepts (3 hours), MARK 201: Principles of Marketing (3 hours)
• Third Year:
  • Fall: COMM 100: SOC Career Prep Seminar (1 hour), COMM 266: Advertising Copywriting (3 hours), COMM 290: Branding and Positioning (3 hours), Major Elective (3 hours)
  • Spring: COMM 329: Advertising and Public Relations Design (3 hours) or COMM 330: Intermediate Advertising Design (3 hours), COMM 391: Advertising/Public Relations Internship (3 hours), Research Course (3 hours)
• Fourth Year:
  • Fall: COMM 344: Portfolio I (3 hours), Major Elective (3 hours)
  • Spring: COMM 389: Advertising Creative Capstone: Portfolio II (3 hours)

School of Communication Graduation Requirements

All undergraduate students in the School of Communication are required to take two Writing Intensive courses (6 credit hours) and complete a foreign language requirement at the 102-level or higher (3 credit hours) or a language competency test.

Additional Undergraduate Graduation Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the University Core, at least one Engaged Learning course, and UNIV 101.

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes for the Advertising Creative program include:

• Gain knowledge of how creative strategies bring insights into focus to meet challenges and solve problems for industry and organizations.
• Understand the creative process employed for developing big ideas that can be used across multiple and changing communication platforms.
• Demonstrate skills for writing copy and designing messages in traditional and digital media.
• Enhance skills for creating content that is relevant and delivers strategy.
• Apply ethical and inclusive decision-making throughout the creation of communications.
• Develop a professional portfolio of creative material.