MA
Advertising and Public Relations
Degree Programme

Fall Semester

• APR 7100 Advertising Practice

  This course explores the fundamental principles and tools involved in the professional practice of advertising. It introduces students to the full range of techniques used in advertising and enables and encourages students to apply practical tools with confidence. This includes designing and presenting their own ideas for an advertising campaign. It relates the practice of advertising to contemporary issues and developments in the UK and internationally.

• APR 7101 Public Relations Practice

  This course explores the fundamental principles and tools involved in the professional practice of public relations, with a particular focus on media relations and third party endorsement, although other PR specialisms are also covered. It introduces students to differences in key sectors in the practice of public relations including government and industry, politics and public sector, third and voluntary sectors, and reputational management for organisations and individuals. It offers a thorough critical overview of the typical practice of public relations across sectors, including their interrelationship, and enables and encourages students to apply practical tools with confidence. It relates the practice of public relations to international events and contemporary issues.

• APR 7105 Advertising, Public Relations & Journalism in Context

  This course explores public relations, advertising and journalism, examining their history and evolution and how they relate to each other, as well as investigating the political, economic, social and cultural contexts in which they practice and reviewing their relationships with the media industries. It relates the practice of PR, advertising and journalism to international events and contemporary issues and developments, including criticisms of the industries’ role and a range of ethical debates.

Spring Semester

• APR 7103 Advertising & Public Relations in the Global Marketing Communications Mix

  Explores how the disciplines of advertising and PR are brought together within the global marketing communications mix, both in theory and in practice. It provides an advanced critical understanding of the role of integrated communications – including all marketing techniques, public affairs, internal communications, brand management, and specialty services as well as advertising and public relations - in the development and dissemination of organisational communications strategy.

• APR 7104 Professional Digital Media Skills

  The module is designed to enhance students’ skills in the use of online media. It is split between two main assessments, one focused on research and development, the other on online media practice. For their practical assessment, students have to create an individual media project that sets out to use the potentials of the net and new media technologies in an informed and innovative way. Students will be able to focus on PR, advertising and/or journalism but will be expected to display an understanding of all these disciplines. For the more conceptual assessment, students have to do research and development work, coming up with an idea for an innovative online media product/strategy which they then sell via a short presentation. Students on this module are also required to keep a log documenting the work they do on their assessments. At the end of the module, they draw on the notes kept on their blog for a summary critical report, which evaluates the work done on the module and summarises the main things learnt.

plus ONE elective

• APR 7125 Fashion, Luxury Brands & the Media

  This course examines both the ways in which advertising and public relations are used alongside other marketing techniques within the fashion and luxury brand sectors and the nature of fashion journalism and media coverage, both in the UK and internationally. It enables students to choose between creating their own media plan for a specific fashion or luxury brand and the creating a portfolio of journalism.

• APR 7120 Celebrities, Marketing & the Media

  This module offers a critical exploration of the evolving role celebrities play in the media, public relations, advertising, other forms of marketing activity and in relation to wider contemporary culture. It examines different perspectives on and debates about the development of celebrity culture and its impact on society, in the UK and internationally, and relates them to contemporary issues.

• ENT 7110 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management

  This course explores two related topics: innovation and entrepreneurship. For firms to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, they need to innovate faster and more effectively than their competitors. This course provides an overview of innovation as a complex process which goes from the recognition of opportunities to the launch of new products, services or business models. The innovation process will be complemented with an analysis of the current trends regarding the evolution of the concept of innovation. Concepts beyond product innovation such as open innovation, disruptive innovation, creativity, business model innovation and ambidexterity will be encountered throughout the course. Innovation takes place within organisations large and small. The course will also look at entrepreneurship: the process of innovation within smaller firms. It will explore the nature of entrepreneurial and innovative management within small organisations as well as more established ones. A multidisciplinary approach: linking with organisational systems to cultures – will be adopted. The course provides a variety of perspectives on the creation and evolution of entrepreneurial ventures. It covers important aspects of launching a business from initial idea to growth and international expansion. It considers planning, marketing, financial, legal, control and human elements associated with the start up, acquisition or operation of a business from the entrepreneurial point of view. The course will address the need to manage effectively in environments that are uncertain and complex, and where appropriate strategic responses have to be crafted in recognition of limited resource and indeterminate outcomes.

• INR 7121 International Relations & the Media

• MGT 7101 Project Management

  Project management is the basis on which all businesses and organizations run. To make products or deliver services, employees must work together on specific projects that have deliberate goals and must be completed to keep the business running. Students will learn how to break a project down into parts, focusing on the definition of the project and its execution. Students will define the goals of projects, lead groups of people and allocate appropriate resources to see the project through to completion

• MGT 7120 Corporate Governance

• MGT 7135 Leadership, Mentoring, Coaching

• MGT 7110 Marketing in a Digital World

  Organisations consist of the people who work within them. The objectives of this course are therefore to raise the student's awareness of the centrality of managing organisations and people to understanding organisational functioning and effectiveness. To show how an understanding of human behaviour via the disciplinary bases of psychology, sociology and anthropology profoundly deepen our analysis of organisations. To demonstrate the core value of an understanding of managing organisations and people to a manager's ability to achieve organisational goals.

Summer Semester

plus EITHER

• APR 7902 Internship

  A 3-5/days a week work placement of approximately three months (depending on the requirements of the organization in question; a minimum of 9 weeks) within an organization to enable students to participate in graduate level experiential learning and so develop hands-on skills and professional experience which will prepare them for work in the fields of advertising and public relations. Placements are supervised, career-related work experiences combined with reflective, academic study that help students ‘learn by doing’. During the internship, the staff of the Internship Office and the MA internship faculty supervisor work closely with each student and the organisation to ensure that the placement is a successful one.

• APR 7500 Professional Research Project

  For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. The professional research project (equivalent to 10,000-12,000 words) encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the fall and spring semesters to researching and developing a project, which may relate to the internship. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a group and one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.

OR

• APR 7550 Extended Professional Research Project

  For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. An extended project equivalent to a 15,000-20,000 word thesis is offered as an alternative to the internship. The professional research project encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the autumn and spring semesters to researching a topic on advertising and public relations, which may relate to their work experience. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.