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Advertising: Undergraduate Program

To receive the BS degree from Boston University, students must complete a total of 32 courses. Of these, 17 must be in the liberal arts.

To satisfy the requirements of any of the three 16-course concentrations offered by the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations, students take a combination of two courses required of all students, two selected from a list of options, three selected from liberal arts and five from one of the three major areas of concentration (each of which has its own pattern of requirements). The remaining three or four courses (depending on the concentration) are electives. These configurations of courses can be explained as follows:

From section one below, both courses are required of all students. From section two, students can select any two courses. As explained in section three, three courses must be selected from the College of Arts and Sciences. Section four explains that a set of three or four electives can be selected, depending on the concentration. Finally, each of the major concentrations has its own pattern of required and optional courses as explained under their headings. Courses denoted by bold lettering are required courses.

Curriculum

For rising seniors or rising juniors: Download the curriculum guide for Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations.

For rising juniors (preferred) or rising sophomores: download the curriculum guide for Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations.

All students must take the following three required foundation courses:

  • COM CM 321 Mass Communication Research
  • COM CM 331 Writing for Mass Communication
  • COM CM 380 Theory and Process of Communication

All students must take any one course from the following list of communication discipline courses: (communication studies students cannot count courses indicated by a *.

  • COM CM 303 Organizational Structure and Behavior
  • COM CM 311 Oral Presentation *
  • COM CM 323 Design and New Media
  • COM CM 409 Persuasion and Public Opinion
  • COM CM 481 Law of Communication *

All students must select three related courses from the College of Arts and Sciences. These must be at the 300 level or higher. The remaining courses are free electives that can be taken in any School of Boston University in any pattern. They may also be used to complete freshman or sophomore requirements if needed:

Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations

After choosing one of the three major areas of concentration listed below, students must complete five courses (20 credits) in their chosen field. With minor exceptions, these will be taken during the junior and senior years. Required courses in bold. Prerequisites in ().

Advertising
  • CM 317 Introduction to Advertising
  • CM 417 Fundamentals of Creative Development
    (CM 317 and CM 331)
  • COM CM 323 Design and New Media
  • COM CM 405 New and Traditional Media Strategies (CM 317)
  • COM CM 411 Art Direction (CM 317, CM 331 and CM 417)
  • COM CM 412 Consumer Insight and Account Planning (CM 317)
  • COM CM 416 Strategic Brand Solutions (CM 317)
  • COM CM 419 Advertising Management (CM 317)
  • COM CM 420 AdLab (2 credits per semester)
  • COM CM 423 Portfolio Development for Advertising
    (CM 317 and CM 331 and CM 417)
  • COM CM 471 Communication Internship
    (COM CM 331, senior status plus 3.0 COM GPA)
  • COM CM 508 Video Production for Marketing Communication
  • COM CM 518 Creating Video Campaigns
    (COM CM 317 and CM 331 and CM 417)
  • COM CM 519 Interactive Marketing Communication (CM 317)
  • COM CM 521 British and Euopean Marketing Strategy (Semester in London)
  • COM CM 527 Strategic Creative Development (CM 317, COM CM 331, and CM 417)
  • COM CM 555 Writing for Multimedia (CM 331)
  • SMG 299 Management as a System (SMG 299)
Communication Studies
  • COM CM 311 Oral Presentation
  • COM CM 481 Law of Communication
  • COM CM 301 Principles and Practice of PR
  • COM CM 303 Organizational Structure and Behavior
  • COM CM 317 Introduction to Advertising
  • COM CM 323 Design and New Media
  • COM CM 409 Persuasion and Public Opinion
  • COM CM 471 COM Internship (CM 331)
    (a COM GPA of 3.0 or higher and senior status)
  • COM CM 510 Computers in Communication
  • COM CM 514 New Communication Technologies
  • COM CM 523 Design and Interactive Experiences (CM 323 or CM 510)
  • COM CM 534 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
  • COM CM 535 Political Campaigning
  • COM CM 555 Writing for Multimedia (CM 331)
  • COM CO 350 Mass Media in Austrailia (Semester in Austrailia)
Public Relations
  • COM CM 301 Principles and Practices of Public Relations
  • COM CM 441 Media Relations (CM 301 and CM 331)

ONE COURSE required from:

  • COM CM 313 Corporate Communication (CM 301)
  • COM CM 345 PR in Non-Profit Settings (CM 301)
  • COM CM 456 Government Public Relations (CM 301 and permission of instructor)

ONE COURSE required from:

  • COM CM 471 COM Internship (CM 301 and CM 331)
    (a COM GPA of 3.0 or higher and Senior status)
  • COM CM 473 PR Lab (CM 301 and CM 331)
    (a total of 4 credits required)

ONE COURSE required from:

  • COM CM 443 New Media and PR (CM 301)
  • COM CM 525 PR Ethics (CM 301)
  • COM CM 522 Managing Corporate Crises and Issues (CM 301)

For complete course descriptions, please see the COM bulletin.