BA in Advertising and Integrated Communications

Advertising and Integrated Communications

On Campus

By learning to craft a branding campaign ad for a sports team, strategizing for a new fashion line or designing an interactive mobile app, you’ll excel in the competitive field of advertising and integrated communications.

Students collaborating during a meeting for The Agency in the School of Communications.

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Program Overview

Students discuss and observe various advertising campaigns with a professor in the School of Communications

Shape the brand identity of modern companies

The BA in Advertising and Integrated Communications teaches concepts and skills necessary to create powerful and interactive branded content across numerous platforms. Our curriculum illustrates how advertising and content creation integrate for an overall communications campaign. Over time, you’ll conceptualize and create large-scale campaigns that draw upon audience and media data and analytics, and leverage content for web, social media, mobile devices and traditional media.

Our classes bring the industry into the classroom and allow for deep exploration of social media strategies, media buying, consumer trends and visual design. A required minor, which may be chosen from either inside or outside the School of Communications, will further complement your career goals and personal interests. With such a deep repertoire of strategies and techniques, you’ll know be prepared for both sides of the advertising world as creatives or brand managers.

Program Statistics

100% Success Rate

Percentage of the 2023 graduates with a BA in Advertising and Integrated Communications who are currently employed or pursuing an advanced degree.

$127K Well-Positioned

The median annual salary for advertising and promotions managers is $127,150. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022)

+7% In Demand

The projected percent change in employment for advertising and promotions managers from 2021 to 2031. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022)

Gain practical experience

Students discuss and observe various advertising campaigns with a professor

Our School of Communications provides a dynamic, hands-on education that focuses on personal and professional development beyond the classroom.

Practical experience, internship opportunities and the chance to build a strong portfolio of work are also central to the program. This combination of career-centered academics and field experience, positions you for professional opportunities in advertising, public relations and social media agencies, as well as branded content newsrooms, media organizations and corporate communications.

Embark on an enriching journey towards building a robust portfolio while honing your skills through hands-on experiences at The Agency or immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestries of London and Greece to understand how different aspects of the rich culture combine to shape a city's brand and visual identity.

With many more opportunities similar to these, you'll be equipped with the expertise and experience needed to stand out in your career.

Explore the School of Communications student experience

Exploration in the classroom

Our classes bridge the gap between the industry and the classroom, facilitating in-depth exploration of a variety of topics. Advanced technology is revolutionizing advertising and public relations, and our curriculum explores how it is being used. We examine cutting-edge campaigns utilizing tools such as AR, VR, AI, EEG headsets and the Metaverse.

Through "Simternships," you'll experience real-world work environments virtually, applying classroom knowledge, collaborating with virtual supervisors and managing projects and campaigns. We leverage industry-standard technologies and platforms, such as SRDS, Google Ads and VIVIX Adspende, to teach media planning as practiced by professionals in the field.

Below are just a few examples of the courses available to students.

STC 320: Strategies for Social Media – Throughout the course of the semester, each student completes the Mimic Social Simulator which is an extensive experience of managing the social media portfolio for a brand using a social media management dashboard and media library.
ADPR 335: Media Systems and Planning – The major team project in this course is a full strategic communications campaign including a major emphasis on budgeting for tactics. The format of this work follows the process as it would be in industry and introduces our students to media cost work that is rarely incorporated in undergraduate core curriculum. This experiential learning is often completed in partnership with a major brand as our class client.
ADPR 346: Health & Strategic Communication – Students complete activities and discuss assigned readings related to health inequities, as well as case studies on health promotion programs targeting minority and marginalized groups in the United States and abroad. In-class activities ask students to consider heath communication concepts and tools for specific groups in a variety of living scenarios.
ADPR 410: Branding Strategies – In this course, students consider how brands work and examine them as the guiding forces for integrated communication campaigns. Students identify the common characteristics of successful brands and explore the tools and techniques that are used to build brand equity.

Partner with real clients at The Agency

Interested in pursuing a career in advertising, marketing, public relations or graphic and interactive design? Build your portfolio and sharpen your skills as you work with real clients at The Agency — our award-winning and student-run interdisciplinary firm.

Within The Agency, students assume roles that prepare them to step in and succeed in professional environments. Some students will serve as dedicated account executives, mastering the art of professional communication as they manage client relationships, set project deadlines, identify key deliverables and share external feedback with their colleagues. Others will work as functional subject matter experts, taking the lead as vice presidents in copy, design, social media or video to deliver the materials and strategies that address the holistic communications needs of their client portfolio.

Offered as a 400-level elective, The Agency epitomizes learning by doing. Under the guidance of our esteemed faculty — many of whom are experienced communications professionals outside of academia — The Agency has successfully funneled student creativity and passion into projects spanning website and app design, social media, print collateral and promotional materials, market research and data analysis, media relations and community engagement and strategic planning and branding.

Student-run Agency earns industry awards

Governor Ned Lamont with student members of The Agency at CT Innovation. — The Agency meets with a new client, Ellis Brooklyn, at the CT Innovations office in New Haven. Agency members had the chance to meet briefly with Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, who is working to bring more innovative, growing companies to the state.

In Their Words

Ephemia Nicolakis ’23, MBA ’24

Account Executive at The Agency

Working at The Agency at Quinnipiac with other like-minded and motivated students makes me excited to do our client work! I have learned everything from client management to teamwork to time management with the best professors and classmates by my side.

Louis E. Stamoulis ’23

Senior Account Executive at The Agency

My experience working at The Agency has been invaluable. I have learned so much about client relations, team building and professionalism. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving as Senior Account Executive and have decided to continue this work next semester with a whole new set of clients. I look forward to putting the skills I have gained across writing, delegating and internal communications to use.

Jillian Catalano ’23

Vice President of Copy at The Agency

My experience thus far in The Agency has taught me a great deal about myself as a future public relations professional. Getting the opportunity to take the lead on projects involving real clients has been both rewarding and valuable. I would recommend this course to anyone who has the desire to gain experience in the industry.

Mason Glod ’23

Senior Account Executive at The Agency

The Agency has taught me how to apply the lessons I have learned in a real-world setting. This class has allowed me to develop communication, management and public relations skills that I know I could not learn in any other class. My experience in this class has certainly made me feel more prepared to enter the professional workforce.

Career Paths

Our BA in Advertising and Integrated Communications positions you for a growing number of specialized and in-demand opportunities. Graduates gain valuable skills suited for a wide array of potential careers.

Advertising Manager

$127,150

Advertising managers create interest among potential buyers of a product or service. They work in advertising agencies that put together advertising campaigns for clients, in media firms that sell advertising space or time and in organizations that advertise heavily (BLS, 2022).

A communications student dressed in a suit interviews with a potential employer at a career fair

Marketing Manager

$135,030

Marketing managers estimate the demand for products and services that an organization and its competitors offer. They identify potential markets for the organization’s products (BLS, 2022).

Advertising Sales Agents

$58,450

Advertising sales agents sell advertising space to businesses and individuals.

Market Research Analyst

$68,230

Market research analysts study consumer preferences, business conditions and other factors to assess potential sales of a product or service (BLS, 2022).

Career-Building Resources

Students speaking to recruiters at the University-Wide Career Fair held in the Athletic and Recreation Center.

Design your career path

With an abundance of career-focused information and resources, the career advisers within the School of Communications support students as they expand their professional networks and attract the attention of prestigious employers.

Learn more about career development