Advertising and Marketing MA | Masters

Overview

Our Masters in Advertising and Marketing allows you to gain specialist knowledge in marketing management and communications, with a focus on advertising and branding. You’ll develop a comprehensive understanding of key areas of marketing such as strategy and consumer behaviour.

Taught by specialists with professional experience and internationally recognised research expertise, you’ll gain the skills and knowledge to pursue a successful career in marketing management.

The course offers a balance of both academic and practical learning, giving you the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice within genuine business situations. You’ll explore the latest developments in marketing management, both in theory and in practice, making sure you graduate with up-to-date knowledge that will make an impact with employers.

Dedicated modules will introduce you to essential marketing concepts, frameworks and approaches, whilst giving you the skills you need to work as a professional within marketing or advertising. You’ll also have a choice of optional modules allowing you to explore areas that suit your career plans.

Course highlights

This course is shaped by the Business School’s Global and Strategic Marketing Research Centre, one of the leading centres of research in marketing in Europe.
Learn from academics who bring their world-leading expertise to you in the classroom.
Develop cross-cultural thinking and understand how professional marketers operate across the world, helping you stand out in the global job market.
Your learning will be connected to developments in industry through guest speakers who share current trends and valuable real-world insight.
Build your professional skills and personal brand through the ‘Global Marketing Professional’ module which runs in coordination with the Careers Centre and Departmental Professional Development Tutors.
Graduate with the skills and knowledge to succeed in many different areas of advertising and marketing, such as communications, marketing management, strategic marketing, account management, marketing analytics, or even entrepreneurship.

Find out more about studying your Masters at Leeds University Business School.

Accreditation

This Masters degree is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), giving you the opportunity to work towards CIM qualifications during your studies and receive exemptions from selected assessments.

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.

CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers, ensuring you are equipped with the best opportunities for a successful marketing career.

Course content

Throughout the year you’ll study core modules covering different aspects of marketing, management and communications.

Modules in marketing communications, strategy and consumer behaviour will develop your understanding of the ways brands communicate with their audiences and how key marketing decisions are made.

From there, you’ll explore theories and practices of different types of advertising and examine how organisations plan their media strategies in a changing media landscape. In addition, you’ll gain an insight into important functions of brand management and digital marketing.

Optional modules will give you the chance to shape the programme to suit your interests or career plans.

The course culminates in a final dissertation, which allows you to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you’ve gained while focusing on a single topic in-depth. Two options are available – you could complete either a standard research dissertation on an academic topic of your choice, or a practice-based dissertation, allowing you to work on a real-world marketing problem.

Course structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Course content will include modules around the following themes:<ul><li>Global Strategic Marketing and Communications</li><li>Consumer Behaviour, Advertising and Media Planning</li><li>Marketing Management, Digital Marketing and Brand Management</li><li>Marketing Research and Professional Skills</li></ul>Typically, you will also choose one optional module, allowing you to pursue an area of more specialised study in line with your interests.

Learning and teaching

You’ll be taught using a range of methods including lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshops. The rest of your time will be spent in independent learning, which allows you to develop your skills in research and analysis.

Our Virtual Learning Environment will help to support your studies: it’s a central place where you can find all the information and resources for the School, your programme and modules.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

Assessment methods emphasise not just knowledge, but essential skills development too. This may include formal exams, group projects, reports, computer simulation exercises, essays and written assignments, group and individual presentations and reflective logs.

This diversity enables you to develop a broad range of skills as preparation for professional life.

Applying, fees and funding

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) in any subject.

International qualifications

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component . For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English

If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Marketing (6 weeks) and Language for Business: Marketing (10 weeks).

We also offer online pre-sessionals alongside our on-campus pre-sessionals. You could study a part-time online course starting in January, or a full-time course in summer. Find out more about online pre-sessionals.

You can also study pre-sessionals for longer periods – read about our postgraduate pre-sessional English courses.

How to apply

Application deadline:

We operate a staged admissions process for this course with selection deadlines throughout the year.

If you do not receive an offer in a particular round, you will either be notified that your application has been unsuccessful, or we will carry your application forward to be considered in the next round.

Please see our How to Apply page for full details and the application deadlines for each stage.

Apply

Documents and information you’ll need

A copy of your degree certificate and transcript, or a partial transcript if you’re still studying
Two academic references
A personal statement
An up-to-date CV
Your approved English Language test* (if applicable)
A letter of sponsorship, if you need one.

* Applicants who have not yet completed an approved English language test may apply for a Masters course prior to taking a test.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Taught Admissions Policy 2023

Fees

UK: £14,000 (total)
International: £27,500 (total)

Read more about paying fees and charges.

For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.

Additional cost information

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs.

Scholarships and financial support

We’re offering 50 Business School Excellence Scholarships to UK and International students starting one of our Masters courses in 2023. These scholarships offer a 50% fee reduction and will be awarded to particularly deserving applicants who demonstrate excellent academic, professional and personal achievements.

You do not have to submit a separate application for our Excellence Scholarships - you will be automatically considered when your course application is reviewed.

International Excellence Scholarships (International applicants)

Masters Excellence Scholarships (UK applicants)

Career opportunities

Graduates of the MA Advertising and Marketing can expect to have a wide and varied range of career opportunities in marketing communications agencies and in-house marketing departments.

Previous graduates have become brand managers, research managers, account executives, business development specialists, sales managers and even started their own businesses.

Employers include marketing agencies within the advertising, digital and marketing communications sectors, as well as retailers, communications groups, commercial banks, education and recruitment agencies.

Careers support

As part of this course, our dedicated Professional Development Tutor will provide tailored academic and careers support to help you achieve your career ambitions.

You can expect expert advice and guidance on your career choices, help in identifying and applying for jobs, support to boost your employability, as well as one-to-one coaching on developing the professional skills you will need to start a successful career, and how to evidence these to prospective employers.

You’ll also benefit from the University’s award-winning Careers Centre, where you can access range of support to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions, even after you graduate.