MA Marketing Communications

Delivery:
Full time according to Funding Council definitions, Part-Time

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Marketing communications professionals increasingly need an integrated knowledge of advertising, public relations, direct marketing, and social and digital media in order to deliver relevant, clear and consistent messages to consumers, the public and stakeholders.

This new MA Marketing Communications course will offer you the opportunity to develop, implement and critically evaluate marketing communications strategies, from both a theoretical and practical perspective. As such, you will be equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and skills to be agile in industry and to define new industry practice. You will also be exposed to new and emerging forms of marketing communications such as branded content, branded entertainment and digital storytelling.

This flexible course offers both a January and September intake and is open to applications from both students who have not necessarily studied marketing communication at undergraduate level, as well as those who are changing career tracks and require developing their existing knowledge and understanding of the marketing communications discipline.

This new programme comprises of an innovative curriculum that is balanced in terms of academic rigour and practical relevance and will offer students the opportunity to develop insights into the latest techniques of marketing communications research and practice.

An added option to the course is an optional 30 week professional placement within the communication or media sector, designed to enhance your employability after graduation.

MA Marketing Communications also benefits from strong industry connections with relevant professional bodies in the UK, including accreditation from the Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA), recognition from the Chartered Institution of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) under the Graduate Gateway Scheme, reinforcing the ‘integrated’ aspect of this course as well as its quality and relevance to industry practice.

Interested in studying this course part time with a placement? Enquire now

Key information

Next start date:

September 2020, January 2021, September 2021

Location:

Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus

Duration:

1 year full-time (September intake) or 16 months full-time (January intake) with or without optional placement. 2 years part-time without optional placement (September and January intake)

Accreditations:

Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA)

Entry requirements:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2, or equivalent. For more information check out our full entry requirements.

International entry requirements:

If English is not your first language you'll need IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in each component of speaking, writing, listening and reading. For more information see our full entry requirements.

Course details

On this course you will 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, demonstrators, technicians and research students. You will also benefit from regular guest lectures from industry.

Download the programme specification (pdf 354kb)

Core units

Marketing Communications: You will develop a critical understanding of the development of marketing communications as both an academic discipline and in practice. You will also learn how to apply the tools, techniques and theories of marketing communications to develop integrated marketing communications campaigns. This unit will provide you with an 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.
Consumer Insights: Through applied work, you will gain a critical appreciation of the role of theory in generating commercially consumer viable insights and in marketing communications practice. Throughout, the importance of understanding consumer culture and behaviour for the effective development and implementation of marketing communications is explored and analysed.
Digital Media Strategies: This unit covers the theoretical fundamentals of digital media and communications as well as the specific skills required to deploy efficient and effective strategies on digital platforms. By the end of the unit, you will be able to develop appropriate, effective and measurable digital media strategies within an integrated marketing communications plan. You will also be able to evaluate and assimilate new digital trends in a constantly moving arena.
Brands & Branding: This unit aims to consolidate your understanding of why a brand is a strategic asset for an organisation; how the asset is realised, protected and valued not as a cost but as a source of revenue/ value. You will also be encouraged to critically reflect upon the role and impact of brands and branding in today’s contemporary society and appreciate how branding and brand communications need to evolve in the world of 24/7/always on connected audiences. You will also be exposed to new and emerging forms of brand communication such as branded content, branded entertainment and transmedia storytelling.
Research in Action: In preparation for your final project, you will gain a broad grounding in social science research methods and the skills needed to rigorously and reflexively design, conduct, report and evaluate research. You will be exposed to a variety of cutting-edge research practices and will also be introduced to opportunities and challenges of conducting research of your own using some of the more industry-relevant data collection and analytical methods.
Corporate Communications: This unit aims to provide you with a critical understanding of the professional communicator’s role at a strategic level. It covers the complexities of communicating to internal and external audiences so as to recognise and address challenges in applied communication scenarios.
Final Project: You will have the opportunity to critically apply the principles and techniques of systematic research to produce either a piece of scholarly research or to intervene within an organisational setting to solve a practical marketing communications issue. The unit builds upon, and consolidates, knowledge and experience from all the earlier units in the course.

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.

Industry accreditation and recognition

Branded Content Marketing Association Accreditation

CIPR Recognition

Students who successfully complete the MA Marketing Communications course can benefit from being fast tracked to full professional membership grade of CIPR (MCIPR) – one year after graduation rather than two. Student members can access professional networking events (you can join 5 regional or sectoral groups of the CIPR). Once a student member you can also benefit from substantial membership fee savings early on in your professional career.

Graduate Gateway (GG) with The Chartered Institute of Marketing

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the leading professional body for marketers worldwide and exists to develop the marketing profession, maintain professional standards and improve the skills of marketing practitioners. Bournemouth University has joined forces with CIM to give you the opportunity to gain professional qualifications through the CIM Graduate Gateway once you have completed your MA Marketing Communications course. CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers, and their content is reflected in our own degrees which ensures we are equipping students with the best opportunities for a successful marketing career.

Exemptions

Students who successfully complete the MA Marketing Communications course with a pass mark or higher will be exempt on an Accredited Prior Learning (APL) basis from:

L4 Certificate in Professional Marketing modules ‘Marketing’ & ‘Integrated Communications’. You will be required to pass one elective module to obtain the L4 Certificate in Professional Marketing qualification.

L6 Diploma in Professional Marketing module ‘Strategic Marketing’. You will be required to pass two modules, Mastering Metrics (Mandatory) plus one elective module to obtain the L6 Diploma in Professional Marketing qualification.

These exemptions are valid providing you sign up to study with CIM within three years of graduation and pass the additional units within five years of graduation.

Your application

How and when to apply

There is no application deadline for this course. However, if you will need a visa to come to the UK to study, think carefully about the length of time it will take for your visa application to be processed and make sure your visa will be ready in time for the beginning of your course.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

Placements

An exciting and valuable part of your studies with us is the opportunity to engage in a 30-week optional placement during this degree. The placement provides you with the experience of how an organisation operates, as well as an opportunity to enhance your personal development and future employability. This means you can begin to put theory into practice.

Find out more about placements for postgraduate students

What support is available?

Entry requirements

General entry requirements

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:

China: 学士学位 (Bachelor degree) with a minimum of 65% overall.
Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution in Nigeria.
Thailand: Thai Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution.
Vietnam: Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of at least 7.0, or a Master’s degree/Thac si.
Turkey: Bachelor’s Degree (Lisans Diplomasi -four years) to be considered for a postgraduate course at BU.

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

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

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 6.0 in writing, speaking, listening and reading or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level.

Careers

This course will prepare you for a career in advertising, marketing, public relations, branding or any other marketing communications related field. As a graduate of this course you will:

Be equipped with the knowledge, skills and insights to contribute effectively as strategic practitioners or research practice
Acquire appropriate relevant transferable skills that will contribute to successful practice in the workplace
Be well-versed in a number of pervasive issues that shape and set the parameters for contemporary marketing communications practice
Be able to develop, implement and evaluate effective marketing communications programmes responsibly.

Further study

Costs and fees

You can find full information about the deposits required and how to pay your fees in our postgraduate fees and funding section, including details of the Postgraduate Loan (subject to fee status).

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling and are per year. Fees quoted are for tuition only unless stated otherwise. Your tuition fees will be the same for each year of your course.

Find out more about living expenses for postgraduate students

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
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:

Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
Optional fieldwork travel, outdoor wear and footwear (where applicable)
Text books, 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 your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.

Repeat units

Deposits

International (non-EU) students need to pay a non-refundable £2,000 deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

Financial help available from BU

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.

Dr Tauheed A. Ramjaun – Programme Leader

Dr Tauheed Ramjaun is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing Communications at Bournemouth University. He is a former UN staff member and also worked for several years within the advertising and public relations arenas holding different positions such as client service executive, account manager and strategic planner. His PhD work explored brand relationships within the non-profit context and his current research interests include brand communities, branded content and storytelling, branded litter and sustainable marketing communications.

View Dr Tauheed Ramjaun's staff profile

Dr Janice Denegri-Knott

Dr Janice Denegri-Knott is the Director of the Promotional Cultures and Communication Centre at Bournemouth University. She leads cutting-edge research in the areas of digital consumption and has helped major media brands like ITV and Hearst at a strategic level on ways to capitalise digital content. Since 2001, she has been researching and publishing in the areas of digital virtual consumption and consumer/marketing research. Her award-winning work has been published in high profile academic journals. She is also an Associate Editor for Marketing Theory and co-edits the Journal of Promotional Communications, CMC’s in-house journal showcasing outstanding student work.

View Dr Janice Denegri-Knott's staff profile

Dr Anastasios Theofilou

Tasos is currently a Principal Academic in Public Relations at the Faculty of Media and Communication at Bournemouth University and a Chief Examiner for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration (specialising in International Relations) awarded by the University of Athens, an MBA awarded by the National Technical University of Athens and the Athens University of Economics & Business and finally a PhD awarded by the Athens University of Business & Economics. His research interests expand on all aspects of organisational communication including crisis management, CSR, public relations and sponsorship, while his soft-spot has always been to explore the mentality, idiosyncrasies and engagement of the “simple” football fan.

View Dr Anastasios Theofilou's staff profile

Dr Sevil Yesiloglu

Dr Sevil Yesiloglu is a Lecturer in Digital Communication Marketing and the Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Marketing Communications with Digital Media. She is currently teaching and leading the following modules: Digital Communication (Level 5 students); Digital Marketing (accredited by CIM); Digital Insights (MA students), Advertising Innovation & Enterprise (Level 6 students); Digital Essentials (Level 4 students). Her recent professional practice projects have covered social media mentoring (as part of the Grads for Growth EU-funded scheme) and development on literature review of attention and magazine ads. She continues to work on digital marketing communications related research fields including social media, digital consumption, copyright issues on social media, influencer marketing.

View Dr Sevil Yesiloglu's staff profile

Dr John Oliver

Dr John Oliver is an Associate Professor of Media Management and an experienced academic who has published in international media and business journals. His research has made a demonstrable impact on UK Communications policy and regulation decisions relating to Sky Plc and influenced the public policy debate on future internet regulation. His ideas and findings have also created financial benefits for several world-class management consultancies which had resulted in direct economic impacts in terms of new jobs and multi-million-pound investments made by FTSE 100 firms. The reach and significance of his research has also extended outside the UK with a number of Middle East government agencies changing their strategy practices, operational structures and capacity-building capabilities in strategic communications.

View Dr John Oliver's staff profile

Dr Rebecca Jenkins

After reading a handful of papers about the imagination in consumer research Becky was fascinated with the notion of consumption in the imagination and conducted a study based on consumer desire for her Masters dissertation in 2005. After a couple of years working in the marketing industry, in 2007 Becky returned to academia, and embarked on her PhD in Consumer Culture, specifically Consumption in the Everyday Imagination. Becky was appointed as a Lecturer in the Corporate and Marketing Communications department of Bournemouth Media School in 2010 and became a Senior Lecturer in 2014. She teaches Consumer Culture and Behaviour, Consumer Cultures and Societies and Academic and Professional Research.

View Dr Rebecca Jenkins' staff profile