Marketing Communications BA(Hons)

In your first year, you'll delve into the fundamentals of marketing communications theory and practice. You'll learn core marketing principles and explore how to reach a brand’s audience in an engaging way while meeting business objectives. You’ll develop a simple yet essential toolbox of methods to gather audience insights and put those skills into practice by designing innovative marketing campaigns. You’ll gain practical skills in planning, pitching, strategy, copywriting and problem-solving to equip you for working in the marketing communications industry. 

Modules

Copywriting

In this module you’ll learn the fundamentals of copywriting. Considering different channels and how best to speak to your target audience, you’ll focus on varying your copywriting for mediums like social media, websites and publications.

Creative Problem Solving

In this module, you’ll explore industry methods, tools and frameworks used in the creative process.

Marketing Essentials

In this module you’ll look at the importance of brand research when creating a communications strategy. You’ll explore ways of analysing a brand, understanding their values and unique selling points (USPs), and conveying them to their target audiences. 

Marketing Communications

In this module, you’ll consider key issues such as sustainability and diversity when it comes to marketing communications. You’ll look at how to respond to these areas when developing a marketing communications plan for a brand.

Agency Life

This module will give you an overview of agency life, the roles and responsibilities common across agencies and the processes and ways of working you can expect upon graduating.

Strategy and Planning

You’ll consider strategy within the creative process and the thinking that underpins all choices made within advertising campaigns. This in turn will enable you to create effective campaigns that deliver on a brand’s needs.

Your second year will involve a deep dive into aspects of creating effective marketing campaigns and understanding how consumers behave in different environments and media channels. You'll engage in debates about the ecological, ethical and social impact of business and the shifting expectations of consumers. You'll also learn how innovation can play a meaningful role in tackling some of these issues by taking on live challenges.

Modules

Media Lab

You’ll consider a wide range of media channels and their role in delivering effective marketing communications. You’ll examine the pros and cons of different channels and their relevance to varying audiences. This will allow you to develop effective marketing campaigns that deliver results.

Brand Creation

In this module you’ll examine what it takes to create a brand. From researching and defining a brand’s purpose and values, to designing and implementing new assets and launching a campaign. You’ll gain the expertise needed to build a strong and successful brand.

Behaviour Change for Good

You’ll explore a range of research methods and frameworks to inform your ideas for tackling important social and environmental issues through behavioural change.

Campaigns

In this module, you’ll develop the necessary skills to plan and develop creative and campaigns for brands. You’ll look at how to build an effective campaign to meet brand goals, connecting the campaign across channels and audiences.

Marketing Consultancy Project

In this module you’ll work on a live brief from one of our external clients or industry partners. Gaining real-world experience, you’ll work collaboratively with your peers and your client, tackling a marketing challenge and coming up with an innovative marketing communications solution.

You can choose to take an optional professional placement after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the Employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your professional placement 

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

In your final year, you'll sharpen your critical and creative thinking as you build a professional portfolio that showcases your skills and individual voice. You'll have the chance to embark on an entrepreneurial project to help hone and challenge your creative process and practice. And you'll get the opportunity to top up your BA with a professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing – the most recognised marketing professional body in the world. 

Modules

Final Year Project - Development

You’ll research, plan and develop a self-initiated final year project based on a brand or topic of your choice that reflects your creative passions or professional aspirations.

Advanced Campaigns

You’ll create a series of campaigns in response to live briefs set by industry professionals and take advantage of placement opportunities.

Final Year Project - Showcase

You’ll create a Final Year Project that showcases your critical thinking and creative practice, while learning key marketing principles and how to apply them creatively.

Final Portfolio

You'll develop an industry-ready portfolio that showcases your knowledge and skills across the three-year degree.

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route? 

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree. 

What you'll study in your Foundation year

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs. 

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver and accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject. 

If you apply for and enrol onto a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year, you’ll have the option to switch onto a five-year version including a placement year. That means you’ll complete the first three years of your course before completing a placement in industry in your fourth year and returning to Falmouth for the fifth year of your programme. 

The Integrated Foundation Year pathway for this course is new for entry year 2023 and subject to validation.

As a studio-based course, this Marketing Communications degree is constructed around the marketing agency. You'll learn through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops, supervised studio time and group or individual tutorials. You'll also gain invaluable insights through lectures and masterclasses delivered by industry-leading guest speakers. You may also wish to take advantage of optional study trips offered throughout your degree.

At Falmouth, we use a 'digitally enhanced learning & teaching' approach. Your experience will always be predominantly in-person, including seminars, tutorials and studio teaching, with some, more targeted elements, being online either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous). You can read more here.

You'll be assessed with practical exams and coursework.

Assessment methods

We use a variety of assessment strategies over the course of this degree including:

• Portfolios of practical work 
• Presentations 
• Essays 
• Written or verbal reports 
• Major research project 
• Peer group assessment 
• Foundation year assessments are 100% coursework based

Your summative (final) assessments occur at the end of each module, usually at the end of the study block. However, you may have interim formative assessments part way through a module as well. These assessments help ensure that you remain on track with your work.

You'll receive continuous feedback on all your work throughout the year. This will be delivered through tutorials and while you're working in the studio. At the end of a module, you'll receive detailed written feedback and will have the chance to discuss this with your assessor.