BA (Hons) Creative Advertising

Year One — Exposure, Exploration & Creativity. You’ll research creative-thinking models and learn how to think by questioning, and then question your thinking. You’ll also be exposed to studio practice and the roles of art director and copywriter, in addition to the legacy and historical context of the discipline.

Year Two — Creative Strategy, Pragmatism & Realisation. You’ll further develop your copywriting and art direction skills, whilst working within a creative team. As you develop your own skills and strategies, you’ll explore a range of academic theories and start to consider how they impact on creative practice.

Year Three — Professionalism, Creativity Development & Reflection. You’ll enhance your strategic thinking by operating as managers, not just doers. You will develop a series of creative outcomes to contextualise your practice, furthermore you will learn how to present your work in a professional manner.

Work experience covers a broad range of activities and students are encouraged to undertake work placements during their time at University. As well as guidance from the course team our Careers, Employability and Enterprise team offer support that enhances employability skills and underpins engagement with industry. 

Students have won awards including D&AD New Blood Awards, Student Book Awards, Chip Shop Awards, and Global Cannes Lions (Young Lions’ Gold and Silver). 

Click here to view the course specification

Graduates usually find employment within agencies, working as art directors, copywriters, creative directors, brand planners and account handlers. Some prefer to start their own businesses or work as freelancers.

We’re looking for students with the best potential to succeed - irrespective of their background. That’s why we welcome a wide range of qualifications and experience.

Click here to view our entry requirements

We are aware that some students will be from a more literary background and may not have the traditional portfolio (book). We are looking for examples of creativity – we want to see your ability to generate and develop creative ideas. We can then see the process that you’ve used and the decisions you’ve made when solving problems with your work.

Please bring samples of your work demonstrating your skills and inventiveness, a use of a variety of media and your use of visual and verbal language. Your work may be written or it may be visual eg sketch books, photography or film.

For those who have a traditional portfolio please see our top 10 tips on compiling a portfolio.

We also run a range of daytime and evening portfolio development courses specialising in preparation for further and higher art and design education. For more information on current courses please click here.

When you arrive at reception you will be met by a member of the course team and shown around the University.

This course is slightly different from other specialist areas in art and design. Whilst we will look at your portfolio, it is far more important how you articulate your ideas, interests and commitment to the advertising industry.

You will then have up to 15 minutes individual interview with the course leader.

If you have had to travel long distances and have a train pre-booked, please let us know in advance and we will try to arrange the timing of your interview so you can get away in time. 

*We are aware that some students will be from a more literary background and may not have the traditional portfolio (book).

Undergraduate degree programmes at Leeds Arts University are delivered and supported through a range of teaching and learning strategies. Programmes are made up of modules, these are elements of study that are taught and assessed separately. Each module carries a clearly identified credit value, the accumulation of which will allow you to progress to the next level of the programme. 100 hours of learning are expected for every ten credits of the programme. Each level (year) of the programme is made up of 120 credits and therefore requires 1200 hours of learning. This equates to 40 hours of study per week throughout the academic year.

For every 100 hours of learning, approximately 25 hours are delivered as taught or supported sessions and remaining hours are allocated for studio/workshop access and independent learning. Individual programmes have their own learning cultures based on their specific use of the teaching and learning methods listed here. These methods feature differently depending on the programme, level, aims of module, content of the sessions and progress through an academic year.

For further information see our Undergraduate teaching & learning at Leeds Arts University document.

Tuition Fees

Our current fees are listed here

Other Costs

Further costs of study are related largely to the costs of materials and depend very much on how individual students choose to respond to University briefs. The costs below are the result of asking our students to state how much they spend during the year and creating an average, as such they are indicative only.

Equipment & Materials

• Level 4 (First Year) Equipment and printing approximately £100
• Level 5 (Second Year) Equipment and printing approximately £120
• Level 6 (Third Year) Equipment and printing approximately £150

Trips

Regional visits are linked to specific modules and are usually subsidised by the course, with an approximate cost to the student of £10. A typical spend for a residential visit can cost approximately £350 for a European destination and approximately £950 for destinations further afield, including travel and accommodation. There may be more than one residential visit a year depending upon students’ interests and demand, all residential visits are optional and open to all three year levels.

We provide support for undergraduate students dependent upon their financial circumstances. Visit Undergraduate Financial Support for further information.

Our Terms & Conditions are here.

If you would like to download the Key Information on this course click here.

We are delighted to welcome undergraduate visiting and exchange students from Europe and around the world who would like to spend a semester or a full academic year taking credits from our exciting range of courses. You will be fully integrated into the academic and social life of the University during a period of full-time supervised study and your credits transferred back to your home institution.

You can join us through programmes such as Erasmus+, individual university partnerships or as an independent applicant. Please see here for more information and how to apply.

Leeds Arts University students interested in spending some time overseas can find information on the international opportunities available during your course here.

Questions? Contact international@leeds-art.ac.uk