MS in Advertising

Why BU COM is Among the Best Graduate Schools for Advertising

At Boston University’s College of Communication, the MS in Advertising program equips you with the strategic insight, creative agility, and industry know-how to thrive in today’s fast-paced advertising world. Blending rigorous coursework with real-world experience, our graduate program prepares you to be a forward-thinking leader and innovator. You can customize your experience through full or part time study, a semester in London, Los Angeles, or Washington, D.C., research opportunities, and a wide variety of courses.

• Learn from Industry Experts: Seasoned professionals with decades of experience and a long list of professional awards in the industry will guide you through our strategic and creative curriculum that’s grounded in both theory and current practices.
• Gain Real-World Experience: AdLab, the longest-running student-run ad agency in the country, offers the chance to tackle real client briefs and develop comprehensive campaigns, build your portfolio, and apply classroom knowledge directly—giving you a competitive edge.
• Compete—and Win—on a Global Stage: BU COM students regularly earn top honors at industry competitions like the Hatch Awards, D&AD, and the global Young Ones (One Show) competition.
• Build a Standout Portfolio: From class projects to client work, every assignment is designed to help you develop a strong professional portfolio, which you can have reviewed by a panel of Ad alums and industry pros at our Creative Cafe.
• Tap Into Industry Connections: Located in a media-rich city, BU COM connects you with industry leaders and internship opportunities that launch careers.

Career Outcomes: Shaping the Future of Advertising

Graduates of BU’s MS in Advertising program are driving innovation, leading creative teams, and shaping the brands of tomorrow. Whether launching creative campaigns, building strategies for global clients, or analyzing consumer insights, our alumni thrive across top agencies, global brands, and tech giants like Google, Meta, and Apple.  

Typical career paths include account management, brand strategy, copywriting, art direction, media planning, and digital marketing. Recent titles include:

• Creative Development: Copywriter, UX Designer, Art Director
• Client Services: Account Executive, Client Partner, Account Manager
• Strategy & Analytics: Data & Analytics Lead, Insight Analyst, Marketing Analyst
• Marketing & Brand Management: Senior Integrated Marketing Manager, Brand Director
• Other Paths: Speechwriter, Media Coordinator, Director of Communications, Professor

Our program’s strategic foundation and hands-on training prepare graduates to grow into leadership roles such as Managing Partner, Head of Strategy, Brand Consulting Director, and Marketing Director.

Where our Alumni Work

• Agency examples: Accenture Song, BBDO, Amp Agency, Barbarian, McCann, Saatchi and Saatchi, Digitas
• Tech Companies: Amazon, Apple, Alibaba Group
• Consulting Firms: C Space, Chadwick Martin Bailey
• Brands & Organizations: ASICS, AstraZeneca, Blue Bottle Coffee, Boston Beer Company

Our alumni are highly skilled in strategic planning, consumer behavior, creative development, media planning, account management, digital advertising, data analysis, brand building and strategy, communication, problem solving, and collaboration.

From entry-level positions to executive leadership, BU Advertising alumni are shaping the future of a dynamic, ever-evolving industry.

I entered the program interested in copywriting and after taking a couple strategy classes with Professor Mascott, I’ve started to pivot to creative strategy. It’s very exciting. You’ll get to try out lots of different things, and there might be something you like that you didn’t know existed.

Kenna, current student

What You’ll Learn in the MS in Advertising

Our professionally-oriented graduate program in Advertising is designed to give you a 360-degree view of the industry. You’ll explore both traditional and cutting-edge approaches to strategy, creativity, and client management.

Core areas of study and electives in our curriculum include:

• Advertising Strategy
• Account Management
• Creative Development
• Art Direction
• Interactive Marketing Strategy
• Brand Experience Marketing
• Copywriting
• Portfolio Development

Elective courses allow you to broaden your focus or explore niche areas within advertising and communication. Across our curriculum, you’ll get hands-on experience through an array of student projects.

This program is designed to be professionally oriented, so that when you graduate, you have the skills, the tools, and the insights to be able to jump right into a career in advertising. We come from industry, and all of the assignments that you do, the cases that we share with you, are real-life examples — work that you’ll have when you start your career in advertising. We designed the program that way. We also have a lot of hands-on opportunities within the program that help replicate the advertising agency experience. You’ll gain broader knowledge of the discipline, and you’ll start to figure out what you’re good at and what you’re interested in.

Professor Karen Mascott

Gain Real Experience: AdLab and Beyond

At BU, your advertising education goes beyond the classroom. Through AdLab, internships, AdClub, and global opportunities, you’ll gain practical experience and build a strong professional network.

AdLab: Learn by Doing

AdLab is the nation’s oldest student-run ad agency—and the heart of hands-on learning in the program. You’ll work with real clients ranging from startups to major brands like Celebrity Cruises and Under Armour, developing fully integrated campaigns in a collaborative, agency-style environment.

AdLab is set up to mimic a real agency. There’s a student-run executive board, and client teams with roles across creative, strategy, account management, and project management, advised by 2 faculty members. Clients range from small start-ups to larger well-known clients — it runs the gamut. It’s an incredible and unique experience that we have.

Professor Pegeen Ryan

In AdLab, you’ll:

• Develop integrated campaigns for real-world clients
• Gain experience in strategy, creative, media, and account services
• Work in cross-functional teams (including an art director, copywriter, project manager, account manager, and strategist) that mirror professional agencies
• Build a standout portfolio that showcases your professional skills and thinking

My client is a donut shop in NYC… their big issue is that even though they’ve had celebrity endorsements, they’re not thriving on social media. You get to work with a lot of different levels of clients with different challenges. Because I’m on the strategy side, I get to work on the creative brief. You do brand audits. It’s student run, but it feels very professional. The deadlines are real, the client meetings are real. You actually get to sit down on a call and talk with them, which I think is valuable. Not a lot of programs would allow you to do that in a class, though it’s not a class in the traditional sense of the word.

Kenna, current student

AdLab is almost like a job that you’ll have while you’re studying – it’ll definitely grill you, but it’ll be worth it for sure. My client is a healthcare company, and they want a complete rebrand. Since I’m into creative, I get to make the logos, the taglines, and even change their image altogether. You have to work like a real agency, so it’s similar to an internship. Recruiters respect the fact that you’re in AdLab, so mention it on your CV and boast about it.

Tanishka, current student

AdClub and Internships

As part of BU’s chapter of the American Advertising Federation, AdClub connects you with professionals, peers, and national competitions that elevate your experience.

BU also helps place students in internships at top agencies and organizations, including Hill Holliday, Digitas, Publicis, and leading media and marketing firms.

Go Global

Some students choose to spend their third semester in the BU London Graduate Mass Communication Summer Program, where they study topics like British Media in the Digital Age and Global Marketing Communications—and intern abroad.

Network, Compete, and Get Noticed

Build your Professional Network

From guest speakers and workshops to agency tours and alumni events, you’ll gain more than insights—you’ll build meaningful industry connections. Students can visit top agencies in Boston and New York, where they learn firsthand what life is like inside the industry.

One highlight: our annual New York agency tour.

What amazed me the year I went was the networking event—we had 12 current students with us, and over a hundred alumni showed up. It was an incredible show of how dedicated and interested our alumni are.

Compete – and Win

You may even graduate from BU COM with a prestigious award on your resume — BU COM students regularly earn top honors in national and international competitions, including the Hatch Awards, D&AD, and the global Young Ones (One Show) competition. In fact:

• BU ranked in the top 5 globally in the One Show student awards
• Students have earned 37 Young Ones awards in the past five years
• At the Hatch Awards, BU students won 16 of 21 total student awards last year

View student work

Creative Café: Industry Feedback on Your Portfolio

BU COM annually hosts Creative Café, a fast-paced, portfolio review event where students’ work receives feedback from advertising professionals around the world. Think of it as speed dating for your book—an incredible opportunity to sharpen your work and make industry connections.

Reviewers are a mix of BU advertising alums and other industry professionals, ranging from mid-level creatives to chief creative officers. Since it’s a zoom event, we’re able to invite talent from all across the country and sonmetimes even across the globe. It’s a really great event.

Professor Pegeen Ryan

Faculty: Learn from Industry Leaders

In our advertising graduate program, you’ll be guided by professors who combine academic excellence with real-world expertise. These are professionals who have led award-winning campaigns, built top-tier creative teams, and shaped advertising strategy for major global brands.

Our faculty’s experience spans every corner of the industry—media strategy, brand development, creative direction, production, design, and more. They’ve held leadership roles at top agencies like Arnold Worldwide, Hill Holliday, MullenLowe, and Digitas, and have produced acclaimed work for internationally recognized clients.

Their campaigns have earned honors from Cannes, Clio, Hatch, Echo, One Show, MITX, and USA Today—including ads ranked among the top 10 Super Bowl commercials of all time.

Having been on the agency side before I came to BU, I loved hiring people who went through the BU AD program because they had real hands-on experience. They understood the language, the assignments—the work they did as students replicated the work they did when they came in. You graduate well-prepared to hit the ground running.

Professor Karen Mascott

Whether you’re learning theory or applying it in practice, you’ll be mentored by instructors who know what it takes to succeed—and are committed to helping you do the same.

Benefit from Boston

Boston is more than just your backdrop—it’s your launchpad.

• One of the world’s most livable cities
• Known as America’s college town, home to a vibrant, diverse student community
• A Top 10 U.S. media market, with major outlets like The Boston Globe, WBUR, GBH, and five commercial TV newsrooms
• Access to leading ad agencies such as Hill Holliday, Arnold Worldwide, Merge, CTP, A&G (Allen & Gerritsen), MMB, Digitas, Amp Agency, Publicis Sapient, and MullenLowe —many of whom host our students for tours, internships, and guest lectures
• Boundless opportunities for networking, internships, and career growth in a thriving media and tech ecosystem

Whether you’re connecting with industry leaders or building your resume, Boston offers the access and energy to take your career further.

Purpose Driven

COM stands out from our peers. Our faculty offers a mix of researchers and practitioners who endorse a cross-discipline, hands-on approach to learning. Our location lies at the heart of an electric, media-savvy city.

But it may be COM’s shared values that matter most. We believe that communication requires diversity, critical thinking, and creative expression. We believe that communication must be grounded in truth, authenticity, effectiveness, and purpose. We believe that communication builds understanding among people and across society.