Admission Requirements
For students wishing to pursue a B.A. in advertising with a specialization in creative at SMU, admission into the Temerlin Advertising Institute is a two-step process.
STEP ONE: Students must have completed or be enrolled in ADV 1300 and ADV 1321 to apply for the advertising major with a specialization in creative. Students must also be in good academic standing with the University and must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.000 to be admitted to the advertising major with a specialization in creative. Students transferring from other universities must have completed equivalent courses before they can progress to step two.
STEP TWO: Candidates for the advertising major with a specialization in creative who have fulfilled or are fulfilling step one also must complete an application for the creative specialization. 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.
Students who have a cumulative GPA below 3.000 at the time of their application may be conditionally admitted to the advertising major but must raise their cumulative GPA to 3.000 or above during their first semester as a conditionally admitted major, or they will be removed from the advertising major.
All admitted and conditionally admitted advertising majors with the creative specialization must receive a grade of C- or higher in (ADV 2322 - Concepting or they will be removed from the advertising major.
Students removed from the advertising major for either reason above may choose to declare an advertising minor if eligible.
The Temerlin Advertising Institute offers students pursuing a B.A. in advertising the opportunity to focus their studies in one of three concentration areas: creative, digital media strategy or strategic brand management. Students must apply to both the major and a concentration area concurrently. Students may apply to more than one concentration area 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.
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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