Advertising and Design MA

Overview

Our MA Advertising and Design provides you with an excellent opportunity to develop skills in design and visual communications whilst allowing you to acquire a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of practices and principles in marketing and advertising.

Taught collaboratively by the School of Design and Leeds University Business School – one of the world’s top 100 business schools – you’ll take a creative approach to solving communication problems in advertising and branding. You’ll develop your own practice, collaborate with other designers and gain an enhanced understanding of how design can convey a brand message, using a range of software and techniques.

At the same time, you’ll study advertising research and theory in order to explore the strategic backdrop of brand communications from the blurring of markets to the ways in which digital technology, such as social media and mobile, have changed the relationship between brands and consumers.

You’ll mix creativity and innovation with advertising strategy to gain a valuable range of knowledge and skills.

Learning and teaching

We use a range of teaching methods that reflects the diversity of the programme, including lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical sessions, online learning and group sessions. Independent study is also an important element of this degree, since it allows you to develop your skills as well as your design specialisms.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

You’ll also be assessed by a variety of methods. Obviously these will include your own creative work as you develop campaign concepts in your taught design modules, but also presentations, reflective logs, reports, group projects and written assignments.

Career opportunities

This programme will equip you with the knowledge and skills to succeed in a dynamic and expanding sector.

You’ll be a confident strategist, planner, account executive or creative advertiser or designer who also understands the relationship between advertising, brand development and consumers. In addition, you’ll have important skills such as oral and written communication, presentations, research, analysis and commercial awareness.

We’ve designed the programme to prepare you for a range of opportunities working in the creative industries, traditional advertising and design agencies, digital and social media. Alternatively, you may want to explore different elements of advertising and design at PhD level.

Students from this programme have successfully gained employment at both traditional and non-traditional advertising agencies all over the world, and in a wide variety of roles including brand management, marketing and more.

You’ll need a bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent qualification in art or design (such as graphics, photography, film studies), psychology, marketing, business, English, sociology, or philosophy. You’ll be required to submit a portfolio of recent practical work, and to explain your interest in the course in response to the questions provided in the supporting statement of your application. Applicants with degrees in other subjects may be considered on an individual basis. In exceptional circumstances we may also consider people who do not have a degree, but do have relevant work experience.