BA (Hons) Advertising

Program Overview

---

At the University of East London, we offer you a unique insight into advertising. You'll learn all about the advertising industry: what it does, how it works and how it's changing in relation to the world that it shapes and that helps shape it.

You'll learn about branding, market research techniques and digital media production, and take a detailed look at how today's consumer society works.

Guided by industry experts, you'll have the best chance not just to study but also to learn while at work in this ever-expanding industry.

You'll be involved in work placements and consumer research projects. We'll give you the chance to study everything from promotional media practices to photography and cultural theory while you also learn the best media and digital production skills.

If you don't meet the entry requirements for a BA, you can study this course as an 'extended', four-year programme. In your first year, you'll take a foundation year which prepares you for a successful transition to the BA course.

Program Outline

This fascinating and challenging course combines creative, theory-based learning with industry practice. It will give you a thorough grounding in advertising as a business as well as a deep understanding of consumer culture.

The course centres on four major areas: how the industry works, digital media production, social and market research techniques and theoretical examinations of culture and consumer society.

You'll explore the advertising business and topics surrounding it, such as branding, promotional communication, cultural theory, media planning, new media, social media and advertising creativity.

Industry experience is at the course's heart. You'll take modules designed specifically to bridge advertising theory and practice, giving you the chance to hear from top industry professionals. Recent speakers have represented major international agencies such as Ogilvy and BrandVoice.

Our teaching team includes Abigail Summerfield, who was previously an account director at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising.

We want to equip you properly for the workplace. That's why we put a strong emphasis on your involvement with live briefs, work placements and consumer research projects.

You'll have the chance to complete a career development project, with the support of a tutor, and enjoy work placement opportunities. Our students have been placed with top London-based advertising agencies such as DLKW Lowe and First City Advertising, and with international firms like the New York-based Wunderman.

You'll also gain invaluable experience from projects such as creating a poster campaign or viral ad, presenting an advertising pitch or running a focus group.

You'll be able to make use of our excellent facilities, including a dedicated advertising suite with the latest multimedia production equipment. You'll also have extensive access to the best online resources, such as Warc, which offers research and advertising information from the world's leading brands.

Who'll be guiding you in all this? Your teaching team at UEL, headed by Dr Julia Dane, have published in the areas of advertising theory and practice including

The Advertising Handbook

(2009) and

Promotional Culture and Convergence:  Markets, Methods, Media (

2013) edited by Helen Powell.

The team also includes industry professionals with expertise in branded content, account planning, digital media strategy, campaign execution and media production techniques. Supportive and dedicated, they'll offer personal supervision throughout your studies.

Assessment is continuous throughout each term and is undertaken individually and in groups in relation to both theoretical and more practice-based modules.

We assess modules on the course through:

essays

presentations

production pieces

Other modes of assessment unique to the course include, in year three, the presentation of an advertising industry pitch to industry professionals and, in year two, the running of a focus group as part of the study of market and consumer research methodologies.