Admission Requirements
For students wishing to pursue a B.A. in advertising at SMU, admission into the Temerlin Advertising Institute is a two-step process.
STEP ONE: Students must complete ADV 1300 and at least one introductory concentration course (ADV 1321 , ADV 1331 or ADV 1341 ). For the best preparation for step two of the admission process, it is strongly recommended that students have completed or are enrolled in the introductory concentration course for the concentration for which they are applying. Students must also be in good academic standing with the University with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000. Students transferring from other universities must have completed equivalent courses before they can progress to step two.
STEP TWO: Advertising major candidates who have fulfilled or are fulfilling step one also must complete an application for the concentration area(s) in which they are interested. The application is offered during the spring term only. Students who are not admitted during an application process may reapply during the next application period. Dates, times and location are posted at www.smu.edu/temerlin.
The Temerlin Advertising Institute offers students pursuing a B.A. in advertising the opportunity to focus their studies in one of three areas: creative, digital media strategy or strategic brand management. Students must apply to both the major and a concentration concurrently. Students may apply to more than one area of concentration but will be admitted to only one. All SMU advertising students are required to take a core set of advertising courses that includes survey, society and ethics, consumer behavior, research, media, business communication, professional seminar, and campaigns. In addition, advertising majors must declare and complete a second major or a minor outside of advertising. Because SMU is in the center of a dynamic U.S. advertising market, many students participate in internships for course credit.
The creative program prepares students to enter the world of advertising and marketing as art directors and copywriters. The curriculum covers all aspects of content creation for communicating a brand’s identity to consumers. Courses focus on conceptual thinking, approaches to ideation, the creative process, discovery and execution of the big idea, and communicating information in an effective way across a variety of traditional and digital media. Students will learn to create compelling work, present and justify their ideas, and develop a personal aesthetic.
The digital media strategy program prepares students to enter the world of advertising and marketing as digital producers, digital strategists, content managers and media specialists. Marketing in the digital age means understanding when and where to communicate to consumers when they are most receptive to receiving and sharing messages. Students admitted to the concentration will learn to maximize consumers’ engagement with marketing messages using paid, owned and earned media to achieve this goal.
The strategic brand management program prepares students to enter the world of advertising and marketing as account or brand managers, project managers, planners/strategists, consumer insight experts, event and promotion specialists, and new business developers. This concentration examines the approaches to management in advertising agencies and on the client side. Topics include strategies for the identification of marketing-related problems and the processes needed to find solutions through messaging, promotions and other forms of consumer engagement to build brand equity and market share. Students learn how to think critically, work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment, develop strategy, hone their communication skills, assess the metrics of their work and present concepts in an engaging way.
Courses for each concentration must be taken in sequence.
SMU Degree Requirements
An SMU undergraduate degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and must include completion of the University’s Common Curriculum , one major and a combination of electives and/or other majors or minors. Completion of certain majors requires more than 120 hours to finish the degree. The credit hours within this curriculum are distributed as follows:
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