BA (Hons) Creative Advertising
- Study Mode: Full Time
- Location: High Wycombe
- Duration: Three or Four Years
- Start Date: September 2023
You can also study this course:
You bring a curious mind. That way you have with words. A unique art directional style. We’ll bring you 30-years’ experience as an advertising course and a teaching army of advertising gurus both past and present. Together we’ll turn raw talent into a clever thinking idea machine, a future advertising star.
Open Days
We understand that when it comes to deciding where you’d like to study, there are a lot of things to consider. Come along to our Open Day and discover why BNU could be the place for you. You can find out more about your course, meet the course team, and get all your questions answered.
Application Guide
For everything you need to know about applying, check out our Application Guide. You can find useful information for each stage of your application journey – from before you even apply to what to do if you receive an offer, and everything in between.
Why study this subject?
Advertising is a global business, with new creative ideas being constantly in demand. Meaning there is a flow of opportunities for fresh talent.
Whether you want to create those unforgettable Christmas ads, brand awareness pieces or social-change campaigns, this course will give you the skills you need to create a book ready to blow-away agencies all of the UK and the world.
This course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.
Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?
Why does this little part of England produce so many heavyweight creative superstars?
Is it the great facilities, a course that perfectly mixes practical skills, creative challenges and marketing insights, taught by tutors with decades of advertising experience?
Is it the army of alumni students, the BNU Mafia as they are affectionately known as, who constantly return to give tutorials, workshops, mentoring, advice, placements, internships and jobs?
Is it its location, only 40 minutes from the hustle and bustle of one of the worlds’ most exciting adland communities, London?
Who knows, but for the last 25 years its students have constantly created great campaigns that have won awards, who’ve then gone on to create the next generation of advertising history, both at home and aboard.
Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.
The course sets about developing you as individuals, helping you to think in different ways and voice your opinions for effect.
Above all you will develop as a creative thinker and problem solver. To aid your development you will learn practical skills and experience both digital and traditional processes and technologies. These range from Adobe Creative Suite to letterpress and silkscreen printing. Photography and film making are integral to most things we do.
You will learn to apply creative problem-solving to create targeted and innovative communications and solutions to a diversity of briefs. You will gain a better understanding of people and gain insights into how they think, behave and act.
Students are also encouraged to get involved with industry awards, including D&AD New Blood Awards and Young Creative Network Awards. All this adds to the employability of our students. 2022 saw our students bring home two D&AD New Blood Pencils.
You’ll also benefit from our mentor scheme, MyMentor, where, every 3rd year now gets a working mentor, usually a BNU alumni, who are currently employed in a top agency. They are tailored to each students chosen creative discipline, copywriter, art director, creative team, planning, or digital. They will work with you to help shape your book, teach you interview techniques to use, and how to negotiate agency networking.
The course offers opportunities to travel and study abroad. Past trips have been taken to European cities and New York; the latter enables you to experience advertising agencies and get insights into the international industries. There are also opportunities for exchanges with other universities globally.
Stay updated with all our latest BA (Hons) Creative Advertising news by following us on Instagram @adschoolbucks.
It’s quite simply the best advertising course on offer. Going to BNU felt like you were part of one big family. Still to this day someone will introduce themselves as being ‘from BNU’. It gives you a great sense of family and community. And as a student I loved the close proximity to London, it meant getting in to meet people in the industry was easy.Simon Lloyd
What facilities can I use?
The course is located within the School of Art, Design and Performance, giving you access to a community of creative learners and diverse resources to help you achieve your creative outcomes. These include:
- Mac Suites with Adobe Creative Cloud
- laser cutting and 3D printing workshops
- printmaking workshops
- photography studios
- editing and production facilities (including green screen)
- And library.
What will I study?
On this creative advertising course, we have a reputation for nurturing creative individuals able to think on their feet and adapt to an industry in a constant state of change. You’ll join a community of intuitive thinkers who look at everything, challenge boundaries and invent innovative and engaging solutions to advertising problems.
We’ll encourage you to experiment and push your ideas and concepts and gain in confidence when taking risks. You'll have every opportunity to improve your skills and not worry about getting things wrong. Making mistakes is an important part of the creative process.
You’ll only be taught by agency professionals both as dedicated tutors and visiting guests. They will help develop you as individuals, helping you think in different ways and voice your opinions for effect. You will gain a better understanding of people and gain insights into how they think, behave and act, through creative and strategic workshops, real live briefs, inspirational talks, agency visits, work experience and major competitions.
You will learn to apply creative problem-solving to create targeted and innovative communications and solutions to a diversity of briefs. Above all you will be able to create engaging and compelling campaigns.
How will I be taught and assessed?
The Creative Advertising degree is widely recognised by the sector with a reputation built up over twenty-five years collaborating with agencies, it is a successful collaboration between education and industry, and staff are always creating new opportunities for students to engage with the best creatives and strategists. These include live briefs, agency visits, crits, industry-focused modules and work experience in the second and third years.
Being in agencies on a regular basis, getting your work noticed and your voice heard is by far the best way to land your ideal job in advertising. This successful collaboration between education and industry ensures you as a BNU student, gets to engage with the best creatives and strategists.
Some of the best ideas come from people who push the boundaries. Our critique sessions prepare you for the challenges of the agency world - how to pitch and how to deal with knock backs. For this reason, from year one, you will be in agencies presenting your ideas to creatives and strategists.
Collaboration is key and throughout your three years you will get the opportunity to work with students from across the university. If you need a film maker, the Film & TV course has a rich supply. If you need help making your ideas look great, our Graphic Design students will help bring your concepts to life.
After graduating, many of our former students stay involved, sometimes running workshops to help give you an insight into the industry. Some of our graduates are now Creative Directors at Saatchi & Saatchi, BBH, VCCP, Mother, TBWA and Droga5. This is a hugely supportive network of past students always willing to help BNU students.
“I have loved my time at BNU. With so many industry connections, we were given such a great opportunity to meet people and build contacts within the industry. Each year teaches you something different about being a creative and that has been of great value. The two-week placements we are given in the 2nd and 3rd year have been a great way for us to get some experience and learn more about the industry. As a whole, the course has led us into the industry and provided some amazing opportunities that have given the best path possible. The rest is up to us!”Katie Bird
What are the course entry requirements?
A typical offer will require a UCAS tariff score of: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)
Every application is considered on an individual basis. On review of your application, you may be invited for an interview and portfolio review.
Applicants will need to complete an interview and/or demonstrate portfolio work, further guidance is given on the interview and portfolio advice pages.
For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our international pages.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for the three-year undergraduate programme, or those who do not feel fully prepared for a degree course, can apply for a four-year programme including a Foundation Year.
Modules
This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.
This course has Opportunity modules.
Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. Find out more.
You must choose 2 x 10 credit Level 4 Opportunity modules.
In addition, you must choose 2 x 10 credit Level 5 Opportunity modules.
What are the tuition fees
Home
Home, Academic Year 2023 - 2024
£9,250 per year
International
Overseas/International, Academic Year 2023 - 2024
£15,000 per year
What are my career prospects?
Only talent, personality and timing will land you a job or a choice placement. However, being a BNU student you will have extensive engagement with industry which will certainly help to get your foot in the door.
Throughout your time with us we’ll support you on the route to your chosen career. We’ll help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and good leaders. Our Careers and Employability Team also help you find employment after graduation.
Our BA (Hons) Creative Advertising course will help prepare you for a range of career possibilities, such as:
- Creative
- Copywriter
- Art Director
- Designer
- Planner
- Strategist
- Account handler
- Graphic Designer
- Producer
- Marketing Officer
- Social Media Executive.
You may also wish to stay on at Buckinghamshire New University and study a full-time or part-time postgraduate course, such as our MA Advertising degree.
I could not have asked for any more from my degree course. It has set me up for exactly what I wanted to do in my career.Marc Reed
Course leader
