Courses

• COM CM 411: Art Direction
  A course for students interested in pursuing a creative career as an art director. Through real-world assignments, creative critiques, lectures and case studies, students strengthen conceptual and visual decision-making skills required to create effective advertising communication. This is a hands-on, idea driven course. Assignment work product will include ideas executed in a range of media as well as package design and corporate identity. Experience using the industry graphics software will be helpful.
• COM CM 412: Consumer Insight & Account Planning
  Explores how to arrive at consumer insights that lead to better advertising and promotion. The course focuses on the set of skills necessary to create breakthrough advertising, including qualitative research, observation, interviewing skills, mapping, and presentation tools. Students learn to write effective, creative briefs.
• COM CM 416: Strategic Brand Solutions
  Explores the impact of current advertising and marketing issues from business, economic, political, social, legal, and ethical perspectives. Modified case method, with lectures from experts on selected issues.
• COM CM 417: Fundamentals of Creative Development
  Focus is on the strategic creative process in advertising including concept development, copywriting, visualization, and design. Assignments require conceiving solutions to client marketing challenges across a range of media. Teaches foundations for development of effective advertising: problem definition, strategic development, and conceptual idea generation through tangible executions.
• COM CM 419: Advertising Management
  Administration of a complete advertising program. Case-study method used to explore the marketing mix, budgeting, medial strategy, planning, coordinating advertising with promotion, working with client or agency, and the social responsibility of advertisers.
• COM CM 420: Ad Lab
  Experience in student-run, full-service advertising agency. Students organize, manage, and perform all functions: solicit business, perform market and consumer research, contact clients, write plans, create advertising campaigns, evaluate media, and prepare campaign evaluations for community service agencies. 2 cr.
• COM CM 421: AdLab E-Board
  This course represents the management function of the student-run AdLab. 2 or 4 cr.
• COM CM 423: Portfolio Development for Advertising
  A course for students interested in the creative side of the advertising industry. Work in teams and individually to develop creative ideas, campaigns, and an entry-level portfolio of work (print, video, digital, mobile, experiential). A workshop-like environment, mirroring an advertising agency, is augmented with lectures and case studies.
• COM CM 425: Advanced Copywriting
  This course builds on the concept development and copywriting foundations learned in prerequisite courses. Assignments will require the creation of copy for a range of audience segments and media channels. Students will learn to shape copy for video, digital, print, and social media.
• COM CM 437: Portfolio Development II
  A continuation of Portfolio Development I, this course continues the iterative process required to construct a competitive advertising portfolio. Students work to refine concepts, revise and strengthen the impact of the art direction and copywriting, and determine how the work should ultimately be displayed.
• COM CM 441: Media Relations
  Students study a variety of publicity tactics (news conferences, feature placements, special events, and media tours), which they combine into publicity campaign plans. Involves lectures, in-class discussions, video cases, and individual take-home cases. Students are encouraged to plan campaigns in their area of interest (e.g., business, arts, sports, and politics).
• COM CM 443: New Media and PR
  Explores the effects of new media on the fundamental theories, models, and practices of public relations. Studies how websites, blogs, citizen journalism, social media, direct-to-consumer communication, podcasting, viral marketing, and other technology-enabled changes are affecting interpersonal, small group, and mass media relationships. Also covers and uses the interactive tools that are re-defining the practice of public relations. The course combines lecture, discussion, guest speakers, case study, and research to help students uncover and appreciate the power and potential of interactive media.
• COM CM 471: Communication Internship
  Students are placed in advertising and public relations agencies, communication departments of firms, sales departments of firms, sales departments of media, and sales promotion agencies. Minimum of 15 hours per week during school semesters, or full time during the summer. Instructor and sponsor oversee student work. A comprehensive final report completes coursework. 2 or 4 cr.
• COM CM 473: PRLab
  PRLab at Boston University is the nation's oldest student run public relations agency. PRLab allows students to gain valuable industry experience in an agency style setting, working in the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. Students engage in media relations, event planning, branding, copy editing, content creation and social media management. Over the course of the semester, students create professional portfolios. 2 or 4 cr.
• COM CM 474: Directed Study
  Individual or group project on specific problems in communication. 2 or 4 cr.
• COM CM 475: PRLab E-Board
  This course represents the management function of the student run PRLab. The PRLab Executive Board consists of a President, Vice President and several Account Supervisors, who work together to facilitate the overall success of the student- client interactions and PRLab as a whole. The E-Board is also responsible for PRLab's branding and new business acquisition. 2 or 4 cr.
• COM CM 481: Law of Communication
  Study of the laws that apply to communication practitioners. Topics covered include the First Amendment, defamation, invasion of privacy, copyright, regulation of advertising, obscenity, and indecency, and the emerging field of cyberspace law. 2nd sem
• COM CM 508: Video Production for Marketing Communication
  An introduction to the techniques and principles used in designing and directing video productions for advertising and public relations purposes. Use of videography, composition, color, lighting, editing, sound, and special effects in producing news releases, interviews, talk shows, and commercials.
• COM CM 510: Computers in Communication
  This course introduces students to using new media tools as a source and vehicle for creating expression and media communication. Students will acquire building blocks for design thinking and hands-on skills to successfully communicate ideas using media technology. Students will experience the design process: ideation to execution. Topics on media technology, interface design, information architecture, and interaction design will be covered.
• COM CM 513: Investor Relations
  Students examine the challenges of marketing a company to the financial community. The course is broken down into three areas: the development of IR as a profession; the tools of the trade, such as bonds and stocks; and the field's communication techniques. Students prepare case analyses as a way of understanding various SEC disclosure requirements, communication with analysts and the media, and financial marketing techniques.

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