MS in Advertising

Build brands that break through

Great advertising doesn’t just capture attention—it changes how people think, feel, and act. The strongest advertising blends creativity, strategy, audience psychology, data, and emerging technologies to create campaigns people remember.

At COM, you won’t just learn how to create memorable work—you’ll learn to think like a creative strategist. You’ll learn why people pay attention, what motivates decisions, and how compelling ideas influence behavior across every stage of the customer journey. Through your coursework, you’ll gain expertise across every stage of the advertising process:

• Strategy + brand development: Uncover core audience insights and define the “big idea.”
• Creative execution: Master the art of conceptual thinking, copywriting, and art direction.
• Media + analytics: Interpret campaign performance data and optimize work across digital channels.

You’ll also explore how AI is reshaping creative development, audience insights, media planning, and campaign optimization—learning how these tools can strengthen strategy while understanding where human creativity, judgment, and storytelling remain irreplaceable.

Because great advertising benefits from diverse perspectives, our cohorts welcome students from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Whether you’re coming straight from college or pivoting from another field, you’ll learn to think strategically, collaborate creatively, and generate ideas that move people. By graduation, you’ll understand not just how memorable campaigns are made—but why they work.

Why earn your advertising master’s degree at COM?

What can you do with a Master’s in Advertising?

A master’s in advertising prepares you to shape how brands connect with people. Graduates build careers as copywriters, art directors, brand strategists, media planners, account managers, UX designers, marketing analysts, and creative leaders. More than 90% of COM graduate students report finding employment within six months of graduation. BU alumni work at leading agencies, global brands, startups, consulting firms, and in-house creative teams around the world.

Where our graduates work

• Creative agencies: BBDO, Wieden+Kennedy, Mischief, McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, Digitas, Amp Agency, Barbarian
• Global brands: Amazon, Apple, Alibaba Group, AstraZeneca, Lego, ASICS, Blue Bottle Coffee, Boston Beer Company
• Consulting firms: Accenture Song, C Space, Chadwick Martin Bailey

Common career pathways

Whether you’re drawn to creative storytelling, strategic thinking, audience insights, or client leadership, you’ll graduate prepared for roles such as:

• Creative: Copywriter, Art Director, UX/UI Designer
• Strategy + audience insights: Brand Strategist, Data & Analytics Lead, Marketing Insight Analyst, Head of Strategy
• Client leadership + account management: Account Executive, Client Partner, Brand Director, Senior Integrated Marketing Manager

Real agency experience, built into your degree

You won’t wait until after graduation to experience agency life. Beginning in AdLab, you’ll work on real client briefs, collaborate with creative and strategy teams, pitch campaigns, and build the kind of portfolio employers expect.

AdLab: COM’s AdLab puts you inside a fast-paced agency environment while you earn your degree. You’ll develop strategy, pitch ideas, and produce campaigns for clients ranging from national corporate leaders like Under Armour and Celebrity Cruises to emerging tech startups.

AdLab is almost like a job you’ll have while you’re studying – it’ll definitely challenge you, but it’s worth it. My team worked with a healthcare company on a complete brand overhaul. Since I’m on the creative track, I got to design the logos, write the taglines, and reshape their brand image altogether. Recruiters respect the fact that you have agency experience on your résumé before you even graduate.

Tanishka Singh, MS in Advertising

Internships in Boston + beyond: Take your skills beyond the classroom. Complete internships in Boston — a top-10 U.S. media market — or spend a semester working in London, Los Angeles, or Washington, DC. Students have interned with agencies including Ogilvy, BBDO, The Martin Agency, McCann, and many more.

Creative Cafe: You’ll get paired with creative directors, art directors, and copywriters from agencies like MullenLowe, Digitas, and Arnold–many of whom are accomplished alumni–for candid portfolio reviews and career advice. You’ll refine your book and receive the kind of feedback that helps you stand out during interviews.

Spring Break NYC Ad Tour: Trade the typical spring break for a week inside agencies like Droga5, Saatchi & Saatchi, Amazon Ads, and Giant Spoon. Meet executive leaders, see how breakthrough campaigns are developed, and wrap up the week at a COM alumni networking mixer.

AdClub: Join BU’s chapter of the American Advertising Federation to connect with industry professionals, compete in national advertising competitions, and expand your creative network.

What you’ll learn

Our curriculum doesn’t just teach you how to write an ad—it teaches you how to think like a creative strategist. You’ll build a foundation in consumer behavior, audience research, media strategy, analytics, ethics, and strategic communication before customizing your degree around the areas that match your career goals.

From there, you’ll choose electives that deepen your expertise while building the cross-functional literacy that today’s agencies demand. Whether you’re drawn to copywriting, art direction, planning, account management or analytics, you’ll graduate knowing how to move between creative thinking, strategic planning, and campaign execution.

Core curriculum + specialized pathways

Core foundation (5 Courses / 20 Credits)
Every student builds a shared foundation in research, strategy, creative development, client management, and analytics before choosing a specialized direction.

• COM CM 708: Research Methods in Advertising | Learn how to gather and interpret consumer insights, analyze market trends, and turn raw data into creative and strategic recommendations.
• COM CM 712: Advertising Strategy | Master the art of positioning brands, mapping consumer journeys, and defining the “big idea” that drives modern creative work.
• COM CM 717: AdLab (Student-Run Agency) | Work as a team inside America’s oldest student-run agency, managing real-world client budgets, timelines, and strategy.
• COM CM 721: Advertising Management | Understand the business side of advertising, from client-agency relationships to budgeting, campaign optimization, and creative evaluation.
• COM CM 726: Digital Analytics & Metrics | Build fluency in tracking campaign performance, understanding user acquisition, and analyzing digital media ecosystems.

Advanced electives (7 Courses / 28 Credits)
Choose electives that deepen your expertise in the areas that excite you most. While many students build around one of these pathways, you’re free to combine courses across tracks to create your own professional focus.

• Strategy + insights (Best for: Brand Strategists, Data Analysts, Account Planners)

• CM 519: Interactive Marketing Strategy
• CM 722: Consumer Behavior
• CM 730: Marketing Communication Strategies
• CM 753: Global Marketing Communication

• Creative + copywriting (Best for: Copywriters, Art Directors, UX Designers)

• CM 713: Digital Media Design
• CM 718: Creative Concepting
• CM 743: Advanced Copywriting
• CM 745: Advanced Art Direction

• Account leadership + media strategy (Best for: Account Executives, Brand Managers, Media Planners)

• CM 715: Peer-to-Peer Leadership
• CM 723: Media Strategy & Planning
• CM 724: Agency Account Management
• CM 738: Global Advertising

I chose this program because there was so much flexibility in how I could shape my courses. Landing a strategy role right out of school is incredibly difficult, and I knew I needed a highly competitive portfolio. At BU COM, I was able to build a custom course experience where I mastered consumer insights, creative brief writing, and campaign execution—exactly the soft and hard skills I rely on every day to lead major global brand accounts.

Niharika Verma (MS ’20), Senior Brand Strategist at VML Chicago

Build the work you’ll be known for

From your first semester, you’ll develop integrated campaigns, solve real client challenges, and create work that showcases your creativity, strategic thinking, and craft. By graduation, you’ll leave with more than a degree—you’ll have a portfolio that demonstrates what you can do.

Award-winning student work

Many portfolio courses are built around national competitions, giving you the opportunity to have your work judged by industry professionals before you graduate.

• Top 5 global ranking in the One Show student awards
• 37 Young Ones awards in the past five years
• 16 of 21 total Hatch awards swept by BU teams last year
• D&AD New Blood Pencil distinctions for breakthrough creative work

Recent campaigns include:

• “Escape from Level Zero” for Xbox — D&AD New Blood Pencil, 2025 (Ahalya Bahuguna, CW; Rohan Carlo Sugapong, AD; Matt Gill, AD)
• “Life Begins With Coach” — Grad Portfolio II (Ahalya Bahuguna, CW; Carly Hansen, AD; Xinru Jiang, Strategy)
• “Slurp Juice” for Fanta — Young Ones 2024, Triple Pencil Winner: Gold, Silver, Bronze (Kairen Shi; Iraj Chaudhry)
• “Make it Peanut Better” — Young Ones 2024 ADC Merit, Hatch Silver (Maria Paula Arizabaleta)

Here are a few campaigns created for real clients:

Learn from industry leaders

BU’s advertising faculty are creative directors, strategists, agency founders, and researchers who shape today’s advertising industry. They’ve led award-winning work at agencies including BBDO, MullenLowe, Digitas, Deutsch, and Hill Holliday, creating campaigns—from Super Bowl commercials to global brand launches–that have earned advertising’s highest honors, including Cannes Lions, Clios, and The One Show.

Because they continue to lead client work, build campaigns, and consult with organizations, they bring current industry challenges, client briefs, emerging trends, and professional connections into the classroom, helping you build both your expertise and your network. The result is an education built for today’s advertising industry, not yesterday’s.

Having been on the agency side before I came to BU, I loved hiring people who went through the BU AD program because they had real hands-on experience. They understood the language, the assignments—the work they did as students replicated the work they did when they came in. You graduate well-prepared to hit the ground running.

Professor Karen Mascott

Study advertising in one of America’s top creative markets

Boston is home to nationally recognized advertising agencies, global brands, technology companies, startups, and nonprofits—all organizations looking for creative thinkers who understand audiences and know how to solve communication challenges. At COM, you’ll apply what you’re learning through internships, client projects, agency partnerships, and networking opportunities throughout the program.

The city becomes an extension of your classroom. Visit leading agencies, hear from creative leaders, and build relationships with professionals who are shaping today’s advertising industry.

• Global creative networks: Digitas, MullenLowe, and Publicis Sapient
• Leading Boston agencies: Hill Holliday, Arnold Worldwide, and Allen & Gerritsen
• Independent shops: Merge, CTP, MMB, and Amp Agency

Program details at a glance

• Degree: Master of Science (MS) in Advertising
• Structure: 48 credits spanning 12 specialized courses
• Duration: 3 semesters (typically completed in 16 months)
• Format: On-campus; options for full-time or part-time enrollment
• Tuition model: Per-credit rate (allows flexible pacing for working professionals)
• GRE: Not required
• Scholarships: Merit scholarships available — no separate application required
• Double Terrier: 25% tuition discount automatically applied for BU undergraduate students and alumni

Frequently asked questions about the MS in Advertising

How does the MS in Advertising compare to an MS in Marketing or an MBA?

While all three degrees touch the business world, they focus on completely different stages of the corporate pipeline:

• MS in Advertising: Focuses on creative strategy, audience insights, campaign development, and media planning. Best for students who want to create campaigns, shape brands, and lead creative work across agencies, in-house teams, and media organizations.
• MS in Marketing: Focuses on product strategy, pricing, customer acquisition, and market performance.
• MBA: Focuses on organizational leadership, finance, operations, and executive management.

What is the difference between advertising and public relations?

Advertising is paid, controlled communication—brands pay to place targeted messages in front of audiences across specific media channels. Public relations focuses on earned media, reputation management, and organic relationship-building with journalists and organizational stakeholders. If you’re drawn to creative strategy, copywriting, art direction, media planning, and paid campaigns, advertising is likely the better fit.

Do I need a creative portfolio or communications background to apply?

No. You don’t need a design portfolio or professional communications background to apply. Our curriculum is designed to help you build a professional portfolio from the ground up, and students join the program from backgrounds including business, psychology, engineering, journalism, the humanities, and many other fields.

Can I complete this program part-time while working?

Yes. Thanks to our flexible per-credit tuition model, you can pace your 48 credits to fit your professional schedule. Many of our advanced electives are offered in late afternoon or evening blocks to accommodate working professionals in the Boston area.

Do I need to know my exact track (Creative vs. Strategy) before I apply?

No. Many students refine their interests during the core curriculum before choosing electives that deepen their expertise in creative development, strategy, analytics, or account management. Because every student begins with the same core foundation, you have the flexibility to mix and match electives—or even change direction entirely—as you discover whether your strengths lie in data-driven strategy, creative copywriting, art direction, or client leadership.

How does BU’s advertising program compare to others?

The unique combination of AdLab, Creative Cafe, the NYC Ad Tour, global internship options, and faculty who are actively working in the industry is unusual — most programs offer one or two of these hands-on learning opportunities. Our international competition results are reflected in our students’ success: top 5 globally in the One Show student awards, 37 Young Ones awards in five years, and consistent Hatch and D&AD recognition.

Explore our complete MS in AD FAQ Page →

Choosing your path: other COM graduate degrees

Learn more about our other graduate programs in communication and media, including:

• MS in Media Science: For students who want to understand why communication works through audience research, behavioral science, and communication theory.
• MS in Media Science — Marketing Communication Research Concentration: For students who want to use consumer research and analytics to improve communication strategy and marketing decisions.
• MS in Public Relations: For students focused on reputation management, media relations, crisis communication, and organizational storytelling—with hands-on experience through PRLab.
• MA in Emerging Media Studies: For students who want to understand how AI, digital platforms, and emerging technologies shape human behavior, communication, and society.
• MS in Strategic Integrated Communication (online): A fully online master’s for working professionals who want to lead at the intersection of branding, integrated marketing, crisis communication, and digital strategy.
• MS in Human Centered Design: For students pursuing UX/UI careers through user research, interaction design, product strategy, and prototyping.