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 specialization concurrently. Students may apply to more than one area of specialization 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 creative specialization courses must be taken in sequence.
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