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Home Academics Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design

Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design

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In the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design, you’ll learn how to generate ideas and solve problems for brands and issues through a design thinking process that is grounded in analytical and creative thought.

With the explosion of digital and social media, there’s never been a more exciting time to work in the rapidly growing field of strategic communication.

Degrees Offered:

BS: Strategic Communication

MA: Corporate Communication

MA: Strategic Communication Design

MS: Advertising/Marketing Analytics

PhD: Strategic Communication

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Undergraduate Opportunities

We offer a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication—an umbrella term that refers to the way in which organizations use advertising, public relations and media design to accomplish their communication goals. Outside of class, you’ll have many opportunities to showcase your work. For example, our students consistently take top awards in the prestigious international One Show "Young Ones" competition in New York City.

Our graduates have exciting careers such as senior vice president of brand advertising and communications at T-Mobile, executive creative director at DDB California, head of brand communications at PayPal and brand communication director at Nike.

As an undergraduate student you can choose to specialize in one of four areas:

Advertising Creative
The Creative track is an application-only track that prepares students for opportunities in art direction and copywriting. The coursework focuses on the development of concepts, artwork, and copy that can be used across all media. It is an intensive program designed to provide students with an impressive portfolio of work as well an in-depth appreciation for the ethics and challenges of the creative process. Our students routinely win recognition at the American Advertising Awards (ADDYs), one of the industry's largest creative competitions, attracting nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year. The mission of the American Advertising Awards is to recognize and reward the creative spirit of excellence in advertising. 

Application and admission to the Advertising Creative track typically occur at the end of the sophomore year. Students should select the Advertising Strategy track prior to applying. Students who are not accepted into Advertising Creative track will complete the Advertising Strategy track unless they decide, with guidance from their academic adviser, to shift to another STCM track.

Advertising Strategy
The Advertising Strategy track prepares students for careers in account management, account planning, or media management. All strategic careers in advertising require knowledge of the fundamental principles of brand-building and audience engagement across media platforms, as well as experience with research design and execution, data analysis and strategy development. 

Public Relations

The Public Relations track will prepare you for a career in one of the nation’s fastest-growing fields. Career opportunities within public relations include—but are not limited to—the roles of publicist, copywriter, event planner, social media manager, and spokesperson.

In this program, you will learn to work closely with news organizations, build relationships with media and other stakeholders, create content for traditional and emerging media platforms—including social media—and manage public relations campaigns.

Media Design

The Media Design track focuses on design-thinking and best design practices to create the consumer-facing content of strategic communication. From posters and apps to TV commercials and Tik-Tok videos—and everything in between. Our Media Design students have been celebrated at the One Show in New York, bringing home bronze, silver and gold pencils for their original designs and innovative concepts. Graduates are employed as designers, art directors, experience designers, interactive designers, social media influencers, video designers, and content creators.

 

Undergraduate Advising

BS Degree Requirements

How to Apply

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Graduate Programs

We offer graduate degrees for students interested in furthering their professional careers and for students who wish to expand the frontiers of knowledge in our discipline by producing scholarship and research at the highest level.

MA in Corporate Communication (MACC)

The MACC is an online professional master’s degree designed to train working professionals in skills needed for an increasingly globalized corporate environment, including business, governmental and non-governmental organizations.

MA in Strategic Communication Design (STCM)

In the 21st century’s connected economy, design increasingly plays a strategic role in communications––from its impact on local everyday engagements to global change. Whether the end result is a product, service or branded experience, this program focuses on the delivery of useful, desired, and strategically impactful results effected by design-driven innovation.

MS in Marketing and Advertising Analytics (MSBN)

This program helps students become experts in cutting edge digital advertising techniques and learn how to find, create and analyze advertising data. Students leave the program ready to work in analytical roles at digital advertising agencies, DSPs, DMPs, programmatic shops and digital marketing departments.

PhD in Strategic Communication

The program emphasizes analyzing how organizations—governments, non-profits, and corporations—build and maintain relationships by using advertising and public relations.  To this end, the program helps students understand how organizations do, and should, understand and align their activities to their socio-economic, media, and cultural environments.  

This program emphasizes how theory informs practice, critically analyzing how advertising and public relations operate in ways that can—or could—constructively contribute to the successful, ethical, and resilient functioning of society. The objective is to produce scholar-teachers and researchers who understand how organizations of different types intentionally build and maintain sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships with their strategic publics within different socio-cultural environments through the use of advertising and public relations.

 

 

Graduate Student Help

MACC Degree Requirements

STCM Degree Requirements

MSBN Degree Requirements

PhD Degree Requirements

How to Apply

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Feed from CMCI Now Magazine, University of Colorado Boulder

Department News

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Students partner with state to develop educational campaign on smart investing for newbies
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Announcing the Fall 2022 Dean's List
Students at the One Show
APRD receives student awards, nationwide recognition
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APRD & College Events

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Faculty Bios

Meet the Faculty

CMCI Faculty Directory

CMCI Staff Directory

CMCI Graduate Students

Careers in Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design

  • Art Director 
    Designs visual aspects of ad campaigns and initiatives
  • Copywriter 
    Creates the written messaging for advertising
  • Brand Manager 
    Ensures marketing, products and services resonate with the culture of the brand
  • Account Executive 
    Supports existing client accounts acting as liaison between client and the creative team
  • Public Relations 
    Maintain positive image and media presence for brands
  • Media Planner 
    Uses their extensive knowledge of communications platforms across all media channels to develop strategic plans for advertising and marketing
  • Account Planner 
    Utilizes insights and creative thinking along with research to strategize campaign positioning and audience.
  • Research Analyst 
    Studies consumer preferences, category trends and competition in order to gain insights that can shape advertising
  • Media Buyer 
    Identifies the right media mix and negotiates the best rates across all media channels for marketing and advertising campaigns
  • Production Artist 
    Works closely with the art director and copywriter to execute the final creative materials
  • Market Research 
    Conducts data and statistical analysis within the current market trends either to guide campaign strategy or business strategy for a brand, product or service
  • UI/UX Designer 
    Creatively solves user experience challenges with the goal of creating and elegant and seamless experience

Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design Alumni

  • Eric Thompson ('93)
    Head of brand experience, Uber

  • Jonathan Byrne ('02)
    Creative director, DDB California

  • Jessica Clifton-Czarny ('03)
    Executive vice president and digital group head, Edelman

  • Juan Reyes ('04)
    Brand communication director, Nike

Contact the Department

 Email

CU Boulder, Armory 102D
1511 University Avenue
Boulder, CO 80309-0478

 303-735-2293

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College of Media, Communication and Information

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University of Colorado Boulder
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1725 Euclid Ave.
Boulder, CO 80309-0200
 
303-492-5007 (front desk)
303-492-0969 (fax)
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