Marketing Communications (with placement year)

On this carefully focussed degree, you will learn to produce ‘Ideas That Work’. Our tutors nurture individuality through collaboration and practices modelled on real-life creative agencies. Develop new skills, gain hands-on experience and learn to pitch your ideas.

Our tutors have considerable industry experience spanning marketing communications, brand development, strategy, advertising, art direction and copywriting. They will support you to understand how communications work, so that you can use creative thinking to help brands connect with consumers. Tutors spend time working with students one-to-one, giving constructive feedback, and nurturing creative potential to create business solutions.

Our students pitch, win placements and work with leading national and international agency partners such as McCann, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Dentsu Creative, Havas Lynx, AKQA, IMA-HOME, Drummond Central, Zeal, We Are Social, Ride Shotgun, Social Chain, Propaganda, Creative Race and TBWA. These links maximise your exposure to global industry practice.

You’ll have the opportunity to enter prestigious competitions such as the D&AD New Blood Awards, Cannes Future Lions and the DMA Breakthrough Award. Top agencies offer coaching, mentoring, work critiques, live briefs, workshops, competition briefs and work experience.

Creative thinking sits at the core of our offer. Our approach encourages originality, innovation and experience of first-hand creative challenges developed both in-house and through our industry contacts. We have a focus on employability and helping you to produce the strongest portfolio possible to secure your ideal job.

*The placement year is subject to approval.

Year one – Through our expert tuition, you will develop the ability to recognise, explore, understand, and build a fundamental knowledge of the elements of marketing communications. You will grow awareness of new and traditional media, brands, context, language, practices, creative and strategic thinking.

Year two – By the second year, you will begin to explore your talents, proficiencies, and roles within the marketing communications industry, ranging across traditional, digital, and strategic through to the collaborative dynamism of creative specialisms. You will have opportunities to respond to exciting live and competition briefs generated by agencies, which demand a practical approach to creativity.

Year three – You will now have the tools to create work with a degree of professionalism that will illustrate your ability to combine the theoretical and practical aspects of the field. We will support you to plan your career path, refine your specialism, make contacts, network, and build meaningful relationships. The degree culminates with an impressive portfolio of work, guided by your new professional evaluation skills and an understanding of theoretical problem-solving.

*This course includes a placement year (also known as a sandwich year, work placement, industrial placement, or year in industry), which provides a fantastic opportunity to enhance your employability and gain practical experience in your field of study. The placement year typically occurs after year two and before year three. Please see the Undergraduate Placement Year FAQs on our website for more information: www.leeds-art.ac.uk/undergraduate-placement-year-faqs