Advertising, Bachelor of Arts (727P, 727)
Program Coordinator
Cliff P. Shaluta, cliff.shaluta@wku.edu, (270) 745-5833
If you're passionate about creativity, strategic thinking, and shaping brands through communication, the WKU AD Major offers an exciting and fulfilling career path. Advancing technology, changing consumer behavior, and new media platforms are providing employment opportunities in well-paid, hi-tech fields. Relevant classes, real-world projects, competitions, and hands-on internships will prepare you to launch your own brand or for careers in media, agency, or corporate advertising.
Specific objectives of the Advertising major:
- Acquaint students with important concepts, methods, and examples of successful advertising communication strategies;
- Provide students with training to make strategically sound analysis of advertising decisions;
- Provide students with opportunities to apply knowledge and creativity to real-world advertising situations;
- Develop students' ability to present well-reasoned conclusions and recommendations in written and oral presentations and to encourage continued self-education and personal development.
Program Requirements (36 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
Admission Requirements
Students wishing to enter the major in Advertising initially are admitted as majors seeking admission (reference 727P). Prospective majors may take no more than 15 hours in the major before admission. Students must meet the following requirements before they can be admitted:
- Completion of a minimum of 24 hours of coursework applicable to a baccalaureate degree;
- A minimum overall grade point average of 2.5;
- Completion of COMM 200 with a grade of “C” or better and 9 additional hours in general education;
All courses in the major must be completed with a grade of "C" or better. At least one-half of the hours in the major must be at the 300 or 400 level.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses: | ||
| COMM 200 | Communication Foundations | 3 |
| AD 230 | Digital Tools | 3 |
| AD 240 | Advertising in a Digital World | 3 |
| AD 300 | Research in Advertising and Public Relations | 3 |
| or COMM 300 | Introduction to Communication Research Methods | |
| or SOCL 302 | Social Research Methods | |
| or PS 302 | Research Design in Political Science | |
| AD 321 | Communications Analytics in Public Relations and Advertising | 3 |
| AD 330 | Branding | 3 |
| AD 349 | Advertising Media | 3 |
| AD 410 | Portfolio | 3 |
| or AD 489 | AD Internship or Practicum | |
| MKT 220 | Basic Marketing Concepts | 3 |
| Select six hours of restricted electives from the following courses: 1 | 6 | |
| Personal Branding | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| AD Internship or Practicum | ||
| Persuasion | ||
| Organizational Communication | ||
| Crisis Communication | ||
| Integrated Marketing Communications | ||
| Personal Selling | ||
| Social Media Marketing | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Relations | ||
| Legal and Ethical Foundations of Strategic Communication | ||
| User Interface Design | ||
| Choose one diversity elective from the following: | 3 | |
| Interracial Communication | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Gender Communication | ||
| Communication in Multinational Organizations | ||
| Cultural Diversity in the U S | ||
| International Public Relations | ||
| Social Institutions: Race, Class, and Gender | ||
| Diversity in American Society | ||
| Media Diversity | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Finish in Four Plan - Advertising (727)
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| COMM 145 | 3 | ENG 100 | 3 |
| Colonnade: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 |
| VJP 261 or VJP 131 (or other Colonnade: Arts & Humanities) | 3 | AD 230 | 3 |
| IDST 175 (OR World Language, if needed) | 3 | AD 240 | 3 |
| PR 255 (or Colonnade: Social and Behavioral Sciences) | 3 | Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science with Lab | 3 | ENG 200 or RELS 200 | 3 |
| MKT 220 | 3 | COMM 365 or SOM 310 (or other Diversity Elective) | 3 |
| COMM 200 | 3 | AD 300 or COMM 300 (or equivalent research course) | 3 |
| PR 350 (or other Restricted Elective) | 3 | COMM 349 (or Colonnade: Systems) | 3 |
| AD 321 or PR 321 | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| AD 330 | 3 | AD 489 | 3 |
| AD 349 | 3 | AD Elective | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| AD Elective | 3 | AD 410 | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 | 2nd Major/Certificate/Minor Course | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||