Find out more about studying MA Advertising, Marketing and the Media at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details, entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Master of Arts - MA
University of Essex
Full Time
Oct 2027
1 Year
Advertising and marketing have become increasingly central to social life on a global scale. As ‘persuasion industries’ they generate powerful images of the good life, acting upon individual and collective desires and aspirations. The MA critically explores the commercial and sociological aspects of the advertising and marketing industries, probing the way they link cultural values to creative and commercial innovation.Taught within our top rated Department of Sociology, this course investigates key theoretical and substantive debates in the critical study of advertising, marketing and media, and analyse the advertising industries in Britain, North America and newly emerging economies like India.This course provides excellent preparation for further academic study, and many of our postgraduates go on to successful academic careers, both in the UK and overseas.Others have established careers in non-governmental organisations, local authorities, specialist think tanks, government departments, charities, media production, and market intelligence.
What interests you? Do you want to deepen your knowledge, build invaluable research skills and develop your academic freedom? Your dissertation lets you study a topic of your choosing, in depth, with supervision and guidance from our world-leading academics.
How has advertising tried to understand the consumer? What challenges are posed by international advertising? Or by the arrival of new media and alternative delivery systems? Explore the history of advertising in Britain and North America, then learn how to analyse and theorise about advertising and the wider creative industries.
Explore the foundational principles of marketing as an academic subject and practice, by considering marketing from different perspectives including consumer behaviour, the marketing mix perspective, services marketing, retail and place marketing, marketing communications, ethical marketing, and global marketing.
The digital economy and the social media landscape are rapidly transforming social structures and ways of living. This module explores key features of the contemporary digital economy and addresses some of the following questions: How can we research digital cultures? What role do consumers play in producing the digital economy? What are the key differences between legacy media and social media? How have mobile phones transformed our lives?
How do you design social research for projects? Examine the research process, from forming initial research questions through to writing up your findings. Develop your own research ideas via the approaches discussed, building a critical perspective on empirical research that will help you with future research goals.
This module evidences how buyer behaviour plays an essential role in marketing strategy. You consider how marketers use consumer insights and behaviour theory and look beyond the act of buying to consider the entire consumption cycle, from pre to post-purchase. You explore consumer behaviour theories in relation to market consumption, viewing consumers as individuals, decision-makers and social beings, and discuss the wider implications of living in a consumer society.
