快活视频

MA

Advertising & Public Relations

A Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) partner

Advertising and PR plays a vital, frontline role in any organisation’s communications strategy. Which approaches will make a business thrive? What are the promises and threats of social media? How can individuals future proof themselves in this dynamic, energetic industry?

Discover the answer to these questions and more with our, US and UK accredited, MA in Advertising and Public Relations, London鈥檚 first postgraduate degree to unite these exciting, creative disciplines.

The programme is taught by industry veterans with decades of experience at boardroom level, emphasising the professional skills and practical training you need to kickstart an exciting and creative career. Build your CV with accredited internships and benefit from a wealth of guest speakers from every level of the industry.

鈥淎dvertising is saying you are good. PR is getting someone else to say you鈥檙e good鈥

– Jean Louis-Gass茅e

Top reasons to study this programme:

  • Gain detailed knowledge of advertising, PR, communications and digital media trends in London, home to world鈥檚 top advertising and PR听organisations
  • Learn from a wide range of highly experienced industry professionals (with up to 40 guest speakers over the duration of the听programme), providing invaluable insights and opportunities for mentoring and support.
  • Benefit from an internship in the sector of your choice with the help of our dedicated Internship Co-ordinator, extending your network and gaining valuable work experience
  • Get involved in the discussion, with smaller, more intimate classes and a diverse, multicultural leaning environment
  • Build a portfolio of assignments based on real-world briefs and challenges
  • Capitalise on our unique partnership with Europe鈥檚 largest PR body, the PRCA 鈥 creates networking opportunities, chance to attend industry events and听training

Key facts

  • FEES (Spring 2024) UK – 拢9,000 / EU, US & INTERNATIONAL – 拢13,750
  • FEES (Fall 2024) UK – 拢9,450 / EU, US & INTERNATIONAL – 拢15,000
  • START DATES September & January
  • LOCATION Chiswick Park Campus
  • SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE Find out more >>
  • INTERNSHIPS Optional 2-6 months internships in UK / US / International via Global Career Center
  • DURATION 1 Year or 18 months (full-time) / 2 Years (part-time)
  • ACCREDITATION Office for Students approved University with Taught Degree Awarding Powers / Middle States Commission on Higher Education (US)

Enhance your employability

Our students have gone on to a range of successful careers in finance, business, media and not-for-profit organisations thanks to the unique teaching experience at 快活视频. We spoke to those alumni as well as faculty members and employers about career prospects for future students graduating with a dually accredited liberal arts degree.

London is the heart of the global communications industry, where the world鈥檚 top advertising and PR professionals work on the world鈥檚 most famous brands. MA Advertising & Public Relations embeds you in this fast-paced world, located at the forefront of digital innovation, an unparalleled hub for media, entertainment, celebrity, fashion, sports and more.

You鈥檒l have a competitive advantage, able to study one programme and gain two degrees. An MA at 快活视频 grants you both a US and UK masters, paving the way听for careers on both sides of the Atlantic and internationally. This Master鈥檚 programme in Advertising and Public Relations blends听the practical skills and theoretical knowledge you need to accelerate your career in a competitive, thrilling industry. We look forward to working with you.

From the word 鈥榞o鈥, the emphasis is on the practical as you鈥檒l develop and present your creative project. You鈥檒l be able to live and breathe advertising and PR with an optional accredited internship and mandatory research project at the end of the programme, developing your critical thinking skills and gaining invaluable working experience.

The programme also provides in-depth academic insights of the advertising and PR industries, their digital transformation and how they affect consumers and social media audiences worldwide.

Guest speakers, who are leading figures in the advertising and PR world, are invited to share their knowledge and experience with our MA students over the course, ensuring you鈥檒l be aware of emerging industry trends.听 Just to give you a flavour, these are some of the guest speakers who have been featured on the programme:

  • Senior听Creative, BBC
  • Art Director,听Miramax
  • Celebrity听Publicist, Dundas Communications
  • Director, Ogilvy
  • Global Chief Strategy officer, McCann

In addition, you could have the opportunity to do some inspiring site visits to some of London鈥檚 top communications agencies.

Perfect your digital media skills and learn how advertising and PR fit into the global marketing communications mix.

In the second semester, you鈥檒l be able to gain knowledge and skills by choosing electives from a captivating choice of topics, including Celebrities, Marketing and the Media; Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management and Political Communication.

Through our partnership with them, you鈥檒l also have membership of The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) 鈥 Europe鈥檚 largest and most influential PR and communications membership body 鈥揺nabling you to attend free networking events and participate in additional online learning.

Fall Semester
  • APR 7100 Advertising Practice

    This course explores the fundamental principles and tools involved in the professional practice of advertising. It introduces students to the full range of techniques used in advertising and enables and encourages students to apply practical tools with confidence. This includes designing and presenting their own ideas for an advertising campaign. It relates the practice of advertising to contemporary issues and developments in the UK and internationally.

  • APR 7101 Public Relations Practice

    This course explores the fundamental principles and tools involved in the professional practice of public relations, with a particular focus on media relations and third party endorsement, although other PR specialisms are also covered. It introduces students to differences in key sectors in the practice of public relations including government and industry, politics and public sector, third and voluntary sectors, and reputational management for organisations and individuals. It offers a thorough critical overview of the typical practice of public relations across sectors, including their interrelationship, and enables and encourages students to apply practical tools with confidence. It relates the practice of public relations to international events and contemporary issues.

  • APR 7105 Advertising, Public Relations & Journalism in Context

    This course explores public relations, advertising and journalism, examining their history and evolution and how they relate to each other, as well as investigating the political, economic, social and cultural contexts in which they practice and reviewing their relationships with the media industries. It relates the practice of PR, advertising and journalism to international events and contemporary issues and developments, including criticisms of the industries鈥 role and a range of ethical debates.

Spring Semester
  • APR 7103 Advertising & Public Relations in the Global Marketing Communications Mix

    Explores how the disciplines of advertising and PR are brought together within the global marketing communications mix, both in theory and in practice. It provides an advanced critical understanding of the role of integrated communications 鈥 including all marketing techniques, public affairs, internal communications, brand management, and specialty services as well as advertising and public relations - in the development and dissemination of organisational communications strategy.

  • APR 7104 Professional Digital Media Skills

    The module is designed to enhance students鈥 skills in the use of online media. It is split between two main assessments, one focused on research and development, the other on online media practice. For their practical assessment, students have to create an individual media project that sets out to use the potentials of the net and new media technologies in an informed and innovative way. Students will be able to focus on PR, advertising and/or journalism but will be expected to display an understanding of all these disciplines. For the more conceptual assessment, students have to do research and development work, coming up with an idea for an innovative online media product/strategy which they then sell via a short presentation. Students on this module are also required to keep a log documenting the work they do on their assessments. At the end of the module, they draw on the notes kept on their blog for a summary critical report, which evaluates the work done on the module and summarises the main things learnt.

plus ONE elective

  • APR 7125 Fashion, Luxury Brands & the Media

    This course examines both the ways in which advertising and public relations are used alongside other marketing techniques within the fashion and luxury brand sectors and the nature of fashion journalism and media coverage, both in the UK and internationally. It enables students to choose between creating their own media plan for a specific fashion or luxury brand and the creating a portfolio of journalism.

  • APR 7120 Celebrities, Marketing & the Media

    This module offers a critical exploration of the evolving role celebrities play in the media, public relations, advertising, other forms of marketing activity and in relation to wider contemporary culture. It examines different perspectives on and debates about the development of celebrity culture and its impact on society, in the UK and internationally, and relates them to contemporary issues.

  • ENT 7110 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management

    This course explores two related topics: innovation and entrepreneurship. For firms to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage, they need to innovate faster and more effectively than their competitors. This course provides an overview of innovation as a complex process which goes from the recognition of opportunities to the launch of new products, services or business models. The innovation process will be complemented with an analysis of the current trends regarding the evolution of the concept of innovation. Concepts beyond product innovation such as open innovation, disruptive innovation, creativity, business model innovation and ambidexterity will be encountered throughout the course. Innovation takes place within organisations large and small. The course will also look at entrepreneurship: the process of innovation within smaller firms. It will explore the nature of entrepreneurial and innovative management within small organisations as well as more established ones. A multidisciplinary approach: linking with organisational systems to cultures 鈥 will be adopted. The course provides a variety of perspectives on the creation and evolution of entrepreneurial ventures. It covers important aspects of launching a business from initial idea to growth and international expansion. It considers planning, marketing, financial, legal, control and human elements associated with the start up, acquisition or operation of a business from the entrepreneurial point of view. The course will address the need to manage effectively in environments that are uncertain and complex, and where appropriate strategic responses have to be crafted in recognition of limited resource and indeterminate outcomes.

  • INR 7121 International Relations & the Media

  • MGT 7101 Project Management

    Project management is the basis on which all businesses and organizations run. To make products or deliver services, employees must work together on specific projects that have deliberate goals and must be completed to keep the business running. Students will learn how to break a project down into parts, focusing on the definition of the project and its execution. Students will define the goals of projects, lead groups of people and allocate appropriate resources to see the project through to completion

  • MGT 7120 Corporate Governance

  • MGT 7135 Leadership, Mentoring, Coaching

  • MGT 7110 Marketing in a Digital World

    Organisations consist of the people who work within them. The objectives of this course are therefore to raise the student's awareness of the centrality of managing organisations and people to understanding organisational functioning and effectiveness. To show how an understanding of human behaviour via the disciplinary bases of psychology, sociology and anthropology profoundly deepen our analysis of organisations. To demonstrate the core value of an understanding of managing organisations and people to a manager's ability to achieve organisational goals.

Summer Semester

plus EITHER

  • APR 7902 Internship

    A 3-5/days a week work placement of approximately three months (depending on the requirements of the organization in question; a minimum of 9 weeks) within an organization to enable students to participate in graduate level experiential learning and so develop hands-on skills and professional experience which will prepare them for work in the fields of advertising and public relations. Placements are supervised, career-related work experiences combined with reflective, academic study that help students 鈥榣earn by doing鈥. During the internship, the staff of the Internship Office and the MA internship faculty supervisor work closely with each student and the organisation to ensure that the placement is a successful one.

  • APR 7500 Professional Research Project

    For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. The professional research project (equivalent to 10,000-12,000 words) encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the fall and spring semesters to researching and developing a project, which may relate to the internship. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a group and one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.

OR
  • APR 7550 Extended Professional Research Project

    For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. An extended project equivalent to a 15,000-20,000 word thesis is offered as an alternative to the internship. The professional research project encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the autumn and spring semesters to researching a topic on advertising and public relations, which may relate to their work experience. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.

In terms of following up with the assessment of student learning and consistent with US liberal arts traditions, our classes rely on the system of continuous assessment on a course by course basis and throughout any given semester. This approach often involves the use of term-papers, portfolios of work, quizzes, mid-semester and final exams as well as student presentations and general class discussion. Not every component applies to every course, but most do relate to many of the classes that are offered. Many of our courses involve a site visit or require attendance at a public lecture as well.

Course content and delivery can be subject to change. For more detailed information on the programme specification, please find more details here.

At 快活视频 our postgraduate degree programmes, which are based on the US educational approach, are available as 1 year (full-time) or two year (part-time) options with some programmes offering even more flexibility.

The entry requirements for all postgraduate programmes at 快活视频 are the same, regardless of your chosen study option, excluding our International Business (MSc) programme

Academic Entry Requirements

  • UK first Degree minimum second class honours (2.2)
  • US Degree with a minimum CGPA of between 2.5 and 3.0
  • or international equivalent
  • Academic Interview

*All other equivalent eligible transfer credits will be determined by Admissions.

We understand that not every student is in the same situation, if you have any questions about your qualifications, please get in touch with us admissions@richmond.ac.uk.


English Language Entry Requirements

For more information on English Language Requirements visit our How to Apply webpage.

Postgraduate tuition fees for students starting their programme this academic year can be found in the table below.

 
UK
EU / INT / US
  Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 Fall 2024 / Spring 2025 Fall 2024 / Spring 2025
MA Programmes
(per year)
拢9,000 拢13,750 拢9,450 拢15,000

(Hint: Scroll left & right to view the full table)

For more information visit our听Tuition Fees & Funding webpage.

We offer career support and advice through our听Careers & Internships Office听that will assist and guide you in your study choices to make sure you stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Through internships you will gain business acumen, beneficial work experiences and transferable skills which will give you a competitive advantage in a fast-paced working environment. Work while you study across 5 continents through our partners听听补苍诲听听with destinations in Spain, Argentina, South Africa, China, Japan, Vietnam and Australia.

Career Paths
Award winning advertising agencies and PR agencies, WPP Group, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB, OMG Group, MediaCom, Edelman, Dentsu Aegis, Publicis, Mindshare, Racepoint Global, Mischief PR, TBWA, Havas Media

Further Education
IAA 鈥 International Advertising Association,听Advertising Association听(AA),听London Business School, London School of Economics, CIM, IDM

Membership
PRCA 鈥 Public Relations and Communications Association. For detailed information please visit the听.

Optional Accredited Internship (London or International)
The Internship Programme at 快活视频 integrates industry knowledge with real working experience. Students will be challenged to relate course projects to the workplace, make contacts which may prove valuable to their future employment prospects, and gain confidence in their capabilities, creativity and communication skills. Internships are designed to be both demanding and rewarding. The internship will provide an opportunity to better understand the marketplace, using the skills learned on courses in a real-world setting, as students produce an assessed record of their experiences.

A broad education of this kind equips graduates for a wide range of careers internationally, while enabling them to develop specialist expertise in areas of particular interest.

Optional Accredited USA Internship (additional cost)
Students interested in gaining work experience in the USA during their last semester and wishing for help to secure a placement can be linked up to 快活视频鈥檚 partner GCC (Global Career Center).

This organization will offer students comprehensive career training, find them a placement with a hosting company related to their field of studies in the USA and provide all the necessary support to students with their J1 visa application.

This optional internship will incur an additional cost of $3500 (拢2600) which will cover: the J1 visa application, site visit and insurance costs ($1820), GCC鈥檚 continuous training as well as finding a placement.

The initial cost to start the coaching and training part of the programme is $1,000 and the rest of the fee is only paid once the internship has been confirmed by the host organisation/company and validated by RAIUL鈥檚 International Internship Coordinator.

An official certificate of completion will be awarded to every student having successfully completed the programme.

Visit our Careers & Internships webpage for more details on the Host Organisations and examples of Work projects.

For more information contact our Head of Careers and Internships Cecile Loyen.

You can apply for Postgraduate study using our听.

Whilst most of our courses do not set an exact deadline for applications, you are advised to apply early to secure your place and organise any sponsorship or funding.

Visit our听How to Apply webpage听for more information regarding Entry Requirements, admissions processes and to start your application.

鈥淢y time spent at 快活视频 was much different from my previous university in the sense that it was much more hands-on. The University enabled me to experience PR and advertising first-hand, through their internship programme.

Throughout my internship, I had regular contact with my University mentor, who always helped to point me in the right direction. I feel as though the inclusion of an internship programme in the degree had a hugely positive impact on my study at 快活视频, as I was truly able to put all the theory they had taught me over the years into practice.

Lastly, the combination of both a US and UK degree was a privilege as I had always hoped to perhaps work in the US one day and with this double accredited degree, this would be much easier to accomplish now.

Register for a 1-2-1 consultation with a programme academic >>

Learn more about our Postgraduate degrees, scholarship opportunities and career prospects.

A person sits on a stool.

“Combining advertising and public relations, our unique programme features industry veterans and a wealth of guest speakers from across the sector. With small, international classes and an accredited internship in the heart of the global PR industry, this industry-oriented programme ensures the practical skills and theoretical knowledge you need to enhance or kick-start your career in this dynamic and competitive field.鈥
– Dr. Nicola Mann, Programme Leader

Related programmes

“My time spent at 快活视频 was much different from my previous university in the sense that it was much more hands-on. The University enabled me to experience PR and advertising first-hand, through their internship programme.

Throughout my internship, I had regular contact with my University mentor, who always helped to point me in the right direction. I feel as though the inclusion of an internship programme in the degree had a hugely positive impact on my study at 快活视频, as I was truly able to put all the theory they had taught me over the years into practice.

Lastly, the combination of both a US and UK degree was a privilege as I had always hoped to perhaps work in the US one day and with this double accredited degree, this would be much easier to accomplish now.

A person places a finger on their lips.
Klaudia FiorAdvertising & PR (MA)

“The MA Advertising & PR course means I will carry into my professional career a new level of balance, discipline, adaptability, and organisational skills for a successful future.”

A person with a jheri curl hairstyle and a hairpiece is smiling indoors, their lips adorned with a ringlet.
Tomika PowellMarketing & PR (BA) and Advertising & PR (MA)

鈥淚 decided to study my MA at 快活视频 as I only wanted to pursue a postgraduate degree if it was practical and relevant to my career, so 快活视频 was a perfect fit for me.

I鈥檝e really enjoyed writing press releases, creating advertising and PR plans and even presenting, which was scary initially but we did so many presentations throughout the year that by the end, I was really comfortable with it.

I was very fortunate as I did a summer internship with a PR agency who specialise in healthy food and drink and natural beauty brands, where I was able to put what I learned at 快活视频 to use. Shortly after, they offered me a permanent position as a Junior Account Executive, so it鈥檚 worked out brilliantly.鈥

A person is smiling for the camera.
Rhiannon Yee, California USAAdvertising & PR (MA)