BA (Hons) Media, Marketing and Advertising*

This distinctive course equips students to become well-rounded marketing and advertising professionals, blending a deep understanding of business fundamentals with the creative vision essential for effectively positioning and promoting brands and ideas in today’s dynamic media landscape.

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

In the first year you’ll cover the fundamental areas of knowledge and skills you’ll need to become a successful within an advertising or marketing role, you’ll begin by studying the foundations of advertising through understanding the way the industry works, key theoretical ideas and examples of historic and contemporary practice.

A unit in consumer insights will be foundational in providing the tools to understand different audiences and how to develop marketing campaigns that have meaning for them, creating engagement and connection that leads to brand loyalty. For many companies, the largest part of their advertising budget is spent online on social media; you’ll have the opportunity to learn through project work how to develop campaigns for social media, learning about the strategy and business as well as the creative content.

At AUB, the impact of what we do is central to our approach to education, so from the very start of the course you’ll be taught to critically question advertising practices and you’ll be tasked with ensuring your work is responsible in terms of its potential impact on people and planet.

In the second year, you’ll build on your knowledge, learning to use data to better understand how to tailor marketing strategies aligned to the needs, interests and behaviours of your audiences, as well as managing key aspects of digital content production.

In a core module, you'll explore PR, Branding and Advertising, building a portfolio of work that demonstrates your knowledge through devising and developing campaigns and producing advertising content for different media channels. You’ll have the opportunity to apply your learning through a live industry brief, which will provide you with experience of working within commercial constraints. In the third term of second year, you’ll be supported in developing a career plan, which will enable you to map out your journey through to the end of your degree and beyond. This forward planning will enable you to recognise and put in place the steps needed to flourish beyond your degree in securing employment, setting up your own business or moving into postgraduate study such as a Master's degree.

In third year, you'll be a more independent learner and be supported to develop a major project proposal that enables you to further develop your knowledge, skills and practice through a self-initiated project. This might be based on a live brief, a hypothetical project or be preparation for establishing your own business. You'll be tutored in finding the most suitable route for you and developing a research question and methodology that will create the structure for an academic, intellectually informed project with application to real-world business. At this point in the course, students are able to develop a project, with structured support, that aligns to a particular area of interest that they'd like to specialise in within media, marketing and advertising.

During the academic year, at least one excursion to London or another UK cultural hub is planned. Due to Bournemouth's proximity to London, students can easily plan excursions to the city's art galleries and museums to supplement their academic work. Professional progress as practitioners depends on primary research.

Trips give you confidence, promote independence and present opportunities for future professional and personal development.

Any additional fees are disclosed before the visit.

Visiting tutors will bring you diverse perspectives and unique skill sets, enhancing your learning experience and understanding of the creative industries. Industry professionals provide invaluable insights into the creative industry, sharing their expertise and experiences.

They conduct workshops, lectures, and participate in critiquing student work, offering constructive feedback from both an education and industry perspective. Their presence can also offer you the opportunity to network and learn about potential career paths, industry trends, and professional practices.