Advertising, Marketing Communications & PR – (B.A.)

The programme is intended to utilise the flexibility and choice provided by the University Undergraduate Scheme to offer a marketing communications specialism alongside other degree programmes. Advertising and marketing communications as a subject to study is highly stimulating as over the past two decades marketing communications as a business function has become a critical dimension of the strategic management activity of many organisations, manufacturing and service industries alike. For instance requirements such as the need to develop brands with pan-national appeal and the expansion of new media technologies including the Internet, CD-Roms and mobile commerce, have positioned this business function as critical to the achievement of competitive advantage. It is within this context that the rationale for this programme has been framed. Borne from and in response to the marketing communications needs of industry, this programme will be industry relevant to meet the demands of organisations seeking to be a forefront of the competition.

The philosophy of the BA Public Relations suite of awards is to provide you with a rigorous undergraduate education in Public Relations whilst providing a suitable foundation from which you can build a range of careers in either consultancy or client-side private or public sector. It should be remembered that Public Relations is concerned primarily with organisational reputation and as such carries its disciplines into a much wider organisational spectrum than, say, Marketing.

Foundation Year

The choice of a specific study field will take place after the completion of the Foundation Year. The structure and content of this first year will introduce the student to the academic way of thinking and approaching the different issues under consideration. In short, it will set the foundation for a productive three year study period.

The choice and designate modules of the Foundation Year will introduce the student to different areas of study and will make the transition to the desired degree easier and more rational.

Main educational aims of the course

The Advertising and Marketing Communications and Public Relations suite of awards is designed to comply with the overriding aims of the University Undergraduate Scheme the broad aims of which are:

* To offer intellectually challenging courses which support the personal development of students which are coherent, characterised by clear routes of progression and underpinned by scholarship and research.
* To widen participation, with appropriate admissions, guidance and support, and learning and teaching policies which meet the needs of a diverse student body, at high standards of retention and achievement.
* To develop in students an appropriate mix of knowledge, transferable skills and capabilities through a curriculum and an intellectual environment which enhances their employability and gives a rigorous foundation for further study and life-long learning.

For Combined Advertising and Marketing Communications Honours students the aims are:

* To offer an intellectually demanding programme of study that facilitates and assists graduates in their development of the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to enable them to ultimately obtain employment within the advertising and marketing communications sector.
* To promote students’ awareness and understanding of the theoretical perspectives underpinning the practice of advertising and marketing communications, and to develop critical thinking skills for the evaluation of such perspectives.
* To foster an awareness of the political, economic, social, cultural and technological environment in which the advertising and marketing communications sector operates, and develop their critical skills for exploring and appraising this environment.
* To develop in students a range of generic skills such as problem solving, working in teams, data analysis and oral presentation, which will complement, enhance and support their technical competences.
* To equip students with an understanding of the range of topical issues in the areas of advertising and marketing communications practice and management, and to develop their critical skills in exploring and appraising them.

To offer an intellectually demanding programme of study that facilitates and assists graduates in their development of the requisite knowledge, skills and experience to enable them to ultimately obtain employment within the advertising and marketing communications sector.

For the Public Relations Joint Honours students, the additional aims are:

* To develop students’ understanding of the concept of Public Relations and its practical implications for, and application in, a variety of organisational contexts.
* To foster students’ awareness and understanding of the theoretical perspectives underpinning the practice of organisational communication, and to develop the critical skills necessary to evaluate them.
* To equip students with the specialised skills and knowledge necessary to make an immediate and positive contribution to the work of an employer .
* To equip students with understanding of the range of topical issues in the areas of public relations practice and management, and to develop their critical skills in exploring and appraising them.
* To develop in students a range of generic skills in such areas as problem-solving, co-operative working and data analysis and presentation which will complement, enhance and support their technical competences.