Creative Advertising

British creative advertising is recognised as being amongst the best in the world. This owes much to an educational infrastructure that supplies the industry with a constant stream of fresh talent. At UCLan, we offer one of the most successful courses in advertising. Over thirty years ago we helped transform design education by pioneering the first sandwich course in the UK. This effectively gave industry an active role in the training of young designers and art directors. Today the course remains just as strong as ever. Its belief in the power and importance of ideas has meant that those students who graduate from the course remain consistently employable. BA (Hons) Creative Advertising at UCLan is founded on the fundamental principle of creative thinking. While technology may develop providing us with new and exciting platforms on which to deliver work, the importance of ‘a good idea’ remains constant.

British creative advertising is recognised as being amongst the best in the world. This owes much to an educational infrastructure that supplies the industry with a constant stream of fresh talent. At UCLan, we offer one of the most successful courses in advertising. Over thirty years ago we helped transform design education by pioneering the first sandwich course in the UK. This effectively gave industry an active role in the training of young designers and art directors. Today the course remains just as strong as ever. Its belief in the power and importance of ideas has meant that those students who graduate from the course remain consistently employable. BA (Hons) Creative Advertising at UCLan is founded on the fundamental principle of creative thinking. While technology may develop providing us with new and exciting platforms on which to deliver work, the importance of ‘a good idea’ remains constant.

A 3 year degree qualification typically comprises 360 credits and each 20 credit (a standard module) equates to 200 hours of study, which comprises of a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical sessions and independent study. Independent study is an important aspect of your degree course. The exact combination of study time will be detailed within your module descriptors, and will depend on your option choices.

The programme of study is focused on generating creative ideas for a range of challenging briefs. Lectures, workshops, critiques and tutorials are used to introduce, develop and synthesise the various elements of the course.

Ideas are underpinned by exhaustive research methodologies and the emphasis shifts to developing the sound advertising strategies that are the foundation for those ideas through the Products and Campaigns modules.

In the final year, students follow an intensive TV and Radio Production Writing module. Alongside this, students will choose from a selection of external, live and competition briefs to complement self-authorised and personally-driven student-initiated briefs.

As the course progresses, you can choose to work in teams, which reflects how you will work in industry. At critiques, you will be asked to present your work and give constructive feedback on you colleagues' work. Computer skills are also an important part of the course and are necessary for competition work and final assessments.

Assessment is made up of 100 per cent coursework, which is typically based on a number of projects.

We have an enviable list of alumni with graduates employed in the creative departments of the world’s top advertising agencies such as TBWA/Chiat Day, JWT, M&C Saatchi, VCCP and the in-house creative teams at Channel 4 and the BBC.

Year 1

• Creative Thinking
• Introduction to Graphic Communication
• Communication Craft Skills
• Design: Culture and Society 1

Year 2

• Applied Advertising
• Graphic Communication in Context
• Professional Practice
• Design: Culture and Society 2

Year 3

• Advertising Set Project
• Advertising External Project
• Advertising Self-Initiated Project
• Design: Culture and Society 3

Our typical offer is 104 - 112 UCAS Points.  We operate a flexible admissions policy and treat everyone as an individual. This means that we will take into consideration your educational achievements and predicted grades (where applicable) together with your application as a whole, including work experience and personal statement. General Studies accepted

BTEC Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit 
BTEC Diploma: Distinction*, Distinction - Distinction*, Distinction*
Pass Access Course: 106 - 112 UCAS Points  
International Baccalaureate: Pass Diploma with 104 - 112 UCAS points from Higher Level Subjects
IELTS: 6.0 with no score lower than 5.5
GCSE: 5 at grade C/4 including Maths & English or equivalent

All applicants are invited to attend a Selection Day when they will be interviewed with a portfolio. You will be notified of your date for your Selection Day by our Admissions Office who will also update UCAS Track with details of your application.