BA (Hons) Marketing Communications (with Foundation Year option)

Develop strategic skills and learn how to use the marketing communications toolkit to best effect for clients and organisations by developing persuasive communications and integrated campaigns that draw on marketing, advertising, digital media, and PR.

UCAS Code:
N591
Institution:
B50
Delivery:
Sandwich (Thick) out of college.

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Why study BA (Hons) Marketing Communications at BU?

Join the highest ranked Marketing Communications course in the UK, scoring over 90% in the National Student Survey (NSS) for over five consecutive years
Develop a critical understanding of integrated marketing communications that will enable you to adapt to a variety of roles in the industry
Work on live briefs set by industry for unit assessments and learn from professionals who deliver guest lectures and workshops every year
Co-create academic and professional research with staff including consultancy projects for industry clients
At the end of your first year you can choose which Marketing Communications course best suits you and your career interests
Complete a work placement anywhere in the world, giving you the chance to put theory into practice, make great career contacts and bolster your blossoming CV.

Find out more about the content of this course.

Foundation year: We are currently developing a foundation year option for UK students who do not meet the entry requirements for the degree course. This additional year of study will give you a grounding in the skills required for this course, building your confidence, knowledge and skills for further study. After successful completion of the foundation year, you will progress to the full degree. This page will be updated with more information in April 2021. Please register your interest and we will email you when the foundation year option is open for applications.

Graduate with a BU degree and more

BU is a Strategic Partner of The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) – the world’s leading professional marketing body. Our partnership gives you the opportunity to gain professional qualifications through the CIM Graduate Gateway.

As a BU Marketing Communications student you'll also have the opportunity to organise the annual Mike Warne Event in your final year. This is the only student-organised event in the CIM’s national event programme, bringing together leaders in the industry.

See what it's like to study on this course

Image description — Marketing student presenting research

Next start date:

September 2021, September 2022

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

4 years (including a 30-week placement), full-time

Required subjects:

All subjects considered

Entry requirements:

For September 2021 and September 2022 entry: UCAS 104 - 120 tariff points including a minimum of 2 A levels or equivalent. BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

International entry requirements:

For September 2021 and September 2022 entry: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing and 5.5. in all other components, or equivalent. For more information, check out our international entry requirements.

CIM Graduate Gateway

CIM Strategic Partner

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) qualifications are highly sought after by employers and their content is reflected in our own degrees, ensuring we're equipping you with the best opportunities for a successful marketing career.

CIM Foundation Certificate

Qualifications and exemptions

During your studies on the BA (Hons) Marketing Communications degree, you will have the opportunity to achieve CIM professional qualifications. You can achieve the Foundation Certificate in Marketing in the first year of your degree, the Certificate in Professional Marketing in your second year and the CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing after graduating.

Exemptions

CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing: exemptions are awarded by the CIM for the two mandatory modules; Applied Marketing and Planning Campaigns. You will be required to pass one module; Marketing in Action, a dedicated module for Graduate Gateway universities
CIM Diploma in Professional Marketing: You will be exempt from the mandatory Marketing and Digital Strategy module, and need to complete one other mandatory module and one elective module, currently from a choice of two electives
You will need to achieve a 2:2 or above degree classification and successfully pass the specified (non-exempt) modules at the chosen level of study to be awarded the full qualification by CIM
You will need to start non-exempt modules within three years of graduation and complete within five years for exemptions to be valid.

Benefits for you and employers

Benefits for you:

Opportunity to graduate with the highly recognised CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing alongside your academic degree
Improved employability prospects, due to achievement of academic and professional qualifications whilst in higher education
Improved placement prospects through achievement of Foundation Certificate in Marketing
Membership of CIM and associated benefits.

Benefits for employers:

Graduates and placement students with proven practitioner and academic skills.

Additional costs

BU will provide all tuition and assessment guidance at no additional cost. BU will pay the CIM assessment fees for both of the units studied on the CIM Foundation Certificate in Professional Marketing in your first year: the first unit, Marketing Principles, and the second unit, Communications in Practice. The assessment fees are £110 each, so BU’s contribution is £220 in total.

We will ask you to pay the CIM Affiliate Studying Membership fee of £65 directly to the CIM on registering for the CIM programme. This covers the cost of CIM membership for your first year of study on the CIM programme.

If you continue on the CIM programme in your second year to the next level of the CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing, BU will renew your CIM studying membership at no cost to yourself. You will need to pay the CIM assessment fee for the one unit studied in the second year at a cost of £150. Again, you will need to pay this fee directly to the CIM.

In the event of a failed assessment: if you who wish to submit for a later assessment session, you will need to pay the relevant CIM assessment fee and renew your annual CIM studying membership (cost £65

Course details

This degree has been developed to give you a critical understanding of marketing communications, consumer behaviour, branding, customer relationships and digital communication. You’ll learn how to place the knowledge you gain into the wider context of the media and contemporary communication issues, allowing you to create comprehensive marketing strategies across a range of channels and market types.

On this course you will usually be taught by a range of staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This will include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.

Contact hours and assessment

Details of the assessment methods and contact hours for each unit of the course can be found in the programme specification.

Download the programme specification (pdf 915kb)

Year 1

Core units

Principles of Marketing and Marketing Communications: This unit introduces you to the principles of marketing and marketing communications. You will become familiar with the marketing mix, including traditional and innovative marketing techniques and where marketing as a discipline currently stands.
Academic and Professional Practices for Marketing Communications: Through engaging in professional-relevant, authentic experiences and assessments to support your development as an independent learner, you will acquire a range of skills required for succesful academic and professinoal practice in marketing communications
Contemporary Debates in Marketing Communications: This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of the broader role that marketing communications play in contemporary culture. You will be introduced to theories and concepts designed to help you develop a critical perspective when reviewing and reflecting on the wider impact that marketing communications’ campaigns can have on consumers and society at local, national and global levels.
Digital Essentials: The unit will enable you to understand the impact of emerging digital technologies and review, utilise and explore the role of digital communications within marketing communications. You will use research and industry specific tools used for measuring digital communications.
Consumer and Stakeholder Insights: You will explore and analyse the importance of understanding stakeholder management and consumer behaviour for effective development and implementation of various aspects/practices involved in marketing communications.
Integrated Marketing Communications: You will gain a critical understanding of how to plan, create, execute and evaluate integrated marketing communication campaigns. Upon completion of the unit, you will have an appreciation of the complexities of the integrated marketing communication campaigns process.

Year 2

Core units

Marketing Communications in a Global Context: During this unit you will develop an understanding of the concepts, principles and activities of Marketing and Marketing Communications in an international context, and the analytical skills required to examine the challenges raised by both globalization and different international market situations. You will then explore and recommend appropriate approaches and practical ways of responding to these situations.
Research Principles and Practice: Initially you will learn about the value and importance of research, in relation to your chosen degree, and the place of research ethics. Emphasis will then be placed on skills or ‘doing research’, exploring both standard and more innovative ways of obtaining meaningful data and insights for both academic and commercial purposes. You will get hands on experience of qualitative and quantitative methods, modes of analysis, interpretation and presentation of research findings to understand how research is done from beginning to end.
Content Creation: This unit will provide you with the opportunity to acquire an in-depth understanding of the content, meanings and decoding of marketing communications campaigns and equip you with the skills required to create marketing communications content (e.g. internal communications, posters, brochure, advertising, POS, direct mail) based on the theoretical perspectives learned, making use, where relevant, of software commonly used in industry.
Brands and Branding: You will be introduced to the building blocks of brands, the theoretical principles of branding, and will also be exposed to theoretical applications in diverse situations and contexts. This unit will also explore the role of branding as a strategic managerial tool and its implications on businesses, consumers, and markets.
Customer Experience: The aim of this unit is to enable you to apply the key concepts and analytical frameworks of customer experience to develop innovative and effective ways of delivering and enhancing customer experience within a marketing communications perspective.
Marketing Communications Campaigns in Practice: You will have the opportunity to experience the parameters and constraints of a client brief, where client issues, tight deadlines and the limitations of a budget call for ideas that are practical and realistic, as well as creative and original.

Placement year

Final year

Core units

Strategic Marketing and Planning: You will become familiar with how to develop, assess and implement marketing strategies at the corporate and operational marketing levels in a global organisational context. This is fundamental to your understanding of how marketing operates at a strategic level, drawing on contemporary aspects underpinning marketing thinking and function.
Marketing Communications Portfolio: Through peer collaboration, self-critique and regular feedback from instructors and industry guests, you will build an effective portfolio of marketing communications work (with either a tactical or strategic focus). This will have the benefit of acting as a persuasive tool for both graduate and future employment. The finality of this unit will be an end of degree ‘grad show’ type event whereby all students will be able to showcase their portfolios to the faculty and invited guests.
Dissertation: The dissertation offers you the opportunity to become an expert on a topic of particular interest, and to develop a study that connects your learning with real-world observations.

Options units (choose two)

Behavioural Economics: You will be introduced to Behavioural Economics and Choice Architecture. The unit will focus on learnings from cognitive neuroscience, and how these can enhance strategy and creativity, with significantly optimised levels of efficiency and effectiveness across all elements of the communications mix.
Brand Meaning: You will create your interpretation of brand meaning for a brand of your choice, producing meaning appropriate for a 21st century brand.
Consumer Futurising: You will gain a critical appreciation of state of the art thinking within consumer culture studies..
Corporate Communications: The unit will provide you with a critical understanding of the professional communicator’s role as applied to key sectors, such as entertainment, health and beauty, financial, and B2B.
Influencer Marketing: The unit aims to develop your knowledge and skills on marketing to influencers and becoming an influencer yourself in the marketing communications field.
Race, Media and Inequality: You will critically examine the processes through which social inequalities are maintained and perpetuated in and through the media. The key areas of focus are race, ethnicity and culture using an intersectional approach to examine their construction and representation in media and communication practice and political discourse
Persuasion and Influence: You will be provdied with an understanding of the psychology of audience members and become equipped to reflect on the ethics of persuasion to critique contemporary persuasive communication in the context of broader social and cultural issues.
Promotion, Power and Democracy: The unit will introduce you to key theoretical ideas from social and critical theory, political economy and political philosophy, and encourages you to both reflect on your personal and professional experience, and to apply ideas discussed in the unit to real world problems and examples.
Relationship Marketing: You will gain an understanding and conceptually analyse relationship marketing which is becoming increasingly important given the challenge of attracting, developing and retaining customers within a competitive environment (both for-profit and non-profit organisations).
Social and Intercultural Communication: The unit will provide you with an understanding of pertinent social and intercultural issues (both in the UK and internationally) and their impact upon contemporary professional communication practices. ‘Communication practices’ can include any form of interaction between individuals, groups, ‘communities’ and / or organisations that take place within an increasingly complex, diverse and interconnected world.
Social Media Management: You will gain the ability to critically understand how to plan, create and execute management of social media accounts and activities on a national and global scale.

Programme specification

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the University's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry.

If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

Placements

At BU, we recognise that placements are extremely valuable and can give you a head start when it comes to your future career. That’s why we offer every new student the opportunity to undertake a work placement as part of their course.

You could even choose to undertake your placement abroad, giving you the opportunity to develop yourself personally, academically, and professionally and gain skills to help you stand out in the job market.

Find out about BU students’ experiences on placements All you need to know about placements

How placements benefit you

A placement should be a highly rewarding experience for you and the employing company and we do our best to ensure that everyone involved feels that they have got the most that they can from the experience.

The benefits to you as a placement student are many. You will have the chance to:

Put the theory learnt throughout the course into professional practice
Enhance your study and help you decide on subject options (where appropriate)
Learn a wide range of skills such as time management, problem solving and team work (all of these are important to succeed in any career)
Make contacts, as it is not uncommon for our students to be offered permanent positions to return to after graduating
Gain a real insight into how the industry operates in roles that would be almost impossible to achieve for an outsider.

Many of our students, during their placement, are given responsibilities normally associated with graduate trainees.

How long will your placement be?

Help and support

The faculty running your course will offer the support of a Placement Co-ordinator.

They’ll help you plan your placement to make sure you get the right experience for you. That includes offering help and support if you need to move to another part of the UK – and even another country – to get the most out of your time.

We’ve also built close industry links over the years – so our network of employers that are keen to work with placement students is always growing. Or if you’d prefer to arrange your placement independently, we can offer advice on how to do that too.

Our placement students have previously worked with

Your application

This course will suit applicants who can demonstrate:

an understanding of the marketing communications industry
the potential to develop an awareness of the political, social and economic context for marketing communications
intellectual and creative abilities
an ability to work independently and as part of a team
good written and oral communication skills.

How to apply

What we’re looking for

We are looking for applicants who are passionate about the marketing, advertising, communication and PR industries and potentially have some relevant work experience in this area. You should be able to communicate why you want to come on this course, what appeals to you about working in this industry and why you feel you have the edge over your peers.

You must have basic computer literacy, including knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Selection methods

How we assess your application

We look at individual applications and make a tailored offer based on your potential to succeed on the course considering a range of factors, including your academic achievements, work and other experience, reference and personal statement, and in some cases, your performance at an interview or a portfolio review. Typically, we make an offer at the bottom of the tariff range.

AccessBU gives you the chance to tell us more about you and your life experiences if you haven’t had the same educational opportunities as other applicants. If you are eligible for AccessBU, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS Tariff Points below the published tariff.

Our offer making process

Our offer-making will typically be based on your most recent qualifications, including any required subjects where applicable. We'll consider all qualifications when assessing your application, although these may not be part of our offer.

If you do not meet the criteria of your original offer, we may still offer you a place. We will review your whole application and consider all academic qualifications (including those not in the offer) to see if you have the academic potential to succeed on the course. If we feel the answer is yes, we will confirm your place.

Entry requirements

We use the UCAS Tariff in our entry requirements and will accept a combination of grades and qualifications to meet the overall tariff requirement. You can use the UCAS calculator to see how your qualifications equate to UCAS tariff points.

We have outlined our entry requirements below using the most common qualifications that we consider for this course. If your qualification is not on the UCAS tariff or listed below, please contact our Future Students Enquiry Team who can advise accordingly. You can also find out more about how we consider your application in our offer-making process section.

For September 2021 and September 2022 entry: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points including a minimum of two A-levels or equivalent.

Numeracy and Literacy requirement: GCSE English Language or English Literature and Mathematics grade 4 (or grade C in the old grading system). We also accept iGCSEs, Key Skills and Functional Skills and other qualifications at Level 2 of the National Qualifications Framework. See all the equivalencies.

A-level and AS levels: 104 – 120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two A-levels.

Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate – Skills Challenge Certificate: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.

Access to HE Diploma: 102 – 118 UCAS tariff points with any combination of Distinction, Merit, Pass grades.

BTEC National:

Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit (112 UCAS tariff points)
Diploma: Distinction*, Distinction (104 UCAS tariff points)
Foundation Diploma/ 90-credit Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff
Extended Certificate/ Subsidiary Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.

Cambridge International Pre-U Diploma: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two principal subjects.

Cambridge Technical:

Extended Diploma: Distinction, Merit, Merit (112 UCAS tariff points)
Diploma: Distinction*, Distinction (104 UCAS tariff points)
Subsidiary Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff
Introductory Diploma: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by an A-level sized qualification to meet the overall UCAS tariff.

Extended Project Qualification: We accept this qualification, but it must be accompanied by two A-level sized qualifications to meet the overall UCAS tariff.

International Baccalaureate Certificates: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two Higher Level certificates.

International Baccalaureate (Diploma): An overall score of 28 - 31 points.

Scottish Highers: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of four Scottish Highers.

Scottish Advanced Highers: 104 - 120 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of two Scottish Advanced Highers.

T Levels: We will recognise T Level qualifications at a suitable level (and in a suitable subject, if applicable).

Other useful information

AccessBU: AccessBU provides you with the opportunity to tell us about your circumstances that are not always evident in your UCAS application. This widening access initiative also considers relevant criteria such as being in care or if you live in an area with a low participation rate in Higher Education - if you are eligible, your offer could be up to 16 UCAS tariff points below the published tariff.

Apprenticeships: We recognise the transferable knowledge and skills gained through apprenticeships and welcome applications from students with a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship recognised by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Deferred entry: We are happy to consider eligible applicants for deferred entry. If you have already submitted your application, please submit your deferral request through our website.

Direct entry: We welcome applications from students who have previously studied at degree level at other institutions and wish to transfer onto a BU course. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) procedure enables credit awarded from one institution to contribute to a BU award, subject to an application process. Please visit our RPL webpage for more information.

Mature applicants: We recognise that mature applicants may have a wealth of experience rather than formal qualifications, so we’ll consider your application on these merits if included in your application. You’ll need to apply to BU in the usual way through UCAS and you may be invited to an interview to discuss your suitability for the course based on the experience you tell us about in your application.

International entry requirements

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry onto Year 1 for September 2021 and September 2022 entry:

Chinese Senior High School Graduation Certificate (Huikao) average 80%, or Gaokao 61-71%. Grade depends on the course
Hong Kong HKDSE Diploma (4,4,3 to 4,4,4 from three subjects). Grade depends on the course
All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Standard XII) 60-70%
Italian Esame di Stato with 60-70%. Grade depends on the course
Titulo de Bachillerato with 6 or 7. Grade depends on the course

We offer a number of preparatory programmes through Bournemouth University International College. These courses offer you progression from High School in your home country to a Bachelor’s degree at BU.

Options include:

Foundation Certificate for Media & Communications

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you can understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

For September 2021 and September 2022 entry: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in all other components, or equivalent. For more information, check out our international entry requirements.

View further information about our English language requirements.

If you do not meet the English language requirement for your degree then why not join our Pre-Sessional English course? Successful completion of our Pre-Sessional English course will meet your English language requirement.

Careers

This course will give you all the skills you need to get ahead in this thriving sector and the work placement will allow you to make contacts and build relationships with those already working in the industry.

You’ll be career-ready with 100% of our graduates in employment after 15 months, with 85% in professional/managerial positions.

Careers advice, resources, events and job opportunities

Typical starting job roles

Example employers

Every business needs to market itself to its target audience, no matter who they are, which means competent and versatile marketing professionals are always in demand.

So while our graduates will typically find themselves working in areas such as marketing and communications, advertising, media and digital, the industries in which you could apply those skill are almost limitless.

Further study

Costs and fees

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per year. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course. You can find full information about funding your studies and paying your fees in our undergraduate fees and funding section. That’s also where you’ll find information about the scholarships and bursaries on offer – including unlimited Academic Excellence Scholarships for UK, EU and International students.

Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise, and we’re committed to ensuring there are no hidden extra costs while you’re at university – that’s why we’re clear about what you can expect us to cover, and what your cost of living will be.

Find out more about budgeting and living expenses

No hidden extras

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity
Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement
A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) scheme
Disability and additional learning support
The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

Laptops, tablets and mobile devices
Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website
Travel costs, outdoor wear and footwear for optional field trips (where applicable)
Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of textbooks and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shops stock a wide range of stationery supplies on both campuses
Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation
Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website
Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement
SportBU membership.

Repeat units

Help and support

Our staff

On this course you will be taught by staff with relevant expertise and knowledge appropriate to the content of the unit. This could include senior academic staff, qualified professional practitioners and research students, many of whom are actively engaged in research and/or professional practice which is integrated into the teaching of this course. Please note that staff can change.

Shenel McLawrence – Course Leader

Shenel McLawrence, with a background in Law (LLB Hons) and Global Business Analysis (MBus) from the University of Manchester, is the recipient of a BU Vice-Chancellor’s Doctoral Scholarship, for her current research in High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) Client Relationships. Specifically, her qualitative research aims to review such client relationships within a services context, from the client’s perspective.

Previously teaching Marketing & Strategy (PG) at BU Business School, her current teaching includes units in the Applied Marketing Communication Campaigns (UG), Marketing Skillset (UG), and Academic and Professional Research (UG), alongside supervising Final Year UG Marketing, Advertising and PR student dissertations.

In 2014, she was appointed FdA link tutor between the Media Faculty and Bournemouth and Poole College, for the Marketing Communications course. Shenel has previously held other associate academic positions at Manchester Business School and Leeds Trinity University, in addition to delivering executive business education for University of London external programmes. Prior to academia, Shenel worked for Lloyds TSB (Black Horse Finance) and JP Morgan, in addition to undertaking some individual consultancy projects. Currently, she is looking to developing links between the University and industry (specifically those with connections with the Institute of Directorrs) for future collaborations.

Course changes

Changes for 2021 entry

Date	Changes to this course
08/10/20	Where the change was made: Course details Change: Academic or Consultancy Dissertation unit changed to Dissertation Previous text: Academic or Consultancy Dissertation

Changes in 2019

Date	Changes to this course
13/08/19	Where the change was made: International entry requirements Change: 2020 IELTS requirements updated Previous text: If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in all other components, or equivalent. For more information, check out our international entry requirements.

Changes in 2018

Date	Changes to this course
18/09/18	Where the change was made: 2019 entry requirements Change: 2019 entry requirements updated Previous text: 112-120 tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM.
16/03/18	Where the change was made: Course details Year 4 Change: Strategic Management for Public Relations - new PR core unit Social & Intercultural Communication and Data Driven Marketing - two new option units. Previous text: Social Communications, Transcultural Communications, Campaign Planning and Strategic Marketing & Planning all removed as units from options list.

Changes in 2017

Date	Changes to this course
14/11/2017	Where the change was made: Fees Change: After an annual review of the placement year tuition fee, a price increase in line with current inflation, equating to 3% has been introduced. Previous text: £790
6/9/2017	Where the change was made: Key facts and 2018 entry requirements Change: 2018 entry requirements have changed to 112 - 120 tariff points including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent. Previous text: The entry requirements for this course are 120-120 tariff points from 3 A-levels.
6/9/2017	Where the change was made: 2018 entry requirements Change: 2018 GCSE entry requirements have changed to This course requires GCSE English and Mathematics grade C (or grade 4 in the reformed GCSE grading) or equivalent qualifications. Previous text: This course requires a minimum of 4 GCSEs grades A* - C (or grade 4 or above in the newly reformed GCSE grading) including Maths and English or equivalent qualifications.
27/02/2017	Where the change was made: Course details content - Year 1 Change: Unit content has changed, the title of the unit is the same but the content delivered will be different. Previous text: Applied Marketing Communications Campaigns: This unit will provide you with industry contextualised knowledge of marketing communications, to create effective communications that build sustainable relationships with customers and other stakeholders in an organisation.

What our students say

Katy Dawson

The lecturers are really dedicated and want you to succeed. They'll take the time to help - not just on the academic side of things, but to check you're happy.

Hear from our staff

Colin Merrett

Our graduates have gone on to work within large multinational companies such as Sony, Twinings, Unilever and Siemens as well as many smaller independent firms.

Statistics shown throughout this page are taken from Unistats and BU institutional data unless otherwise stated.

BA (Hons) Marketing Communications (with Foundation Year option)

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Why study BA (Hons) Marketing Communications at BU?

Graduate with a BU degree and more

See what it's like to study on this course

Key information

Next start date:

Location:

Duration:

Required subjects:

Entry requirements:

International entry requirements:

Scholarships

Related courses

Student experiences on placement

365 days in the workplace, working for a global team and remotely during COVID-19.

Reflecting on my placement year at the Walt Disney Company

My year working for the biggest beauty brand in the world!

Our industry involvement

BU students turn Coffee Culture Month into an academic exercise in a joint venture with the Town Centre BID

BU students organise Mike Warne event in partnership with the CIM

CIM awarding body commends BU for excellent performance of its students

CIM Graduate Gateway

Qualifications and exemptions

Benefits for you and employers

Additional costs

Course details

Contact hours and assessment

Year 1

Year 2

Placement year

Final year

Programme specification

Placements

How placements benefit you

How long will your placement be?

Help and support

Our placement students have previously worked with

Your application

What we’re looking for

Selection methods

How we assess your application

Our offer making process

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

International entry requirements

Careers

Typical starting job roles

Example employers

Further study

Costs and fees

No hidden extras

Costs of living and other expenses you need to consider

Repeat units

Help and support

Our staff

Shenel McLawrence – Course Leader

Course changes

Changes for 2021 entry

Changes in 2019

Changes in 2018

Changes in 2017

What our students say

Katy Dawson

Hear from our staff

Colin Merrett