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Creative Advertising Top-up

Course details
  • BA (Hons)
  • 1 Years
  • Full-time
  • 09/2026
  • Undergraduate
Course location
High Wycombe Campus

Course summary

Completed a foundation-level degree, HND, or equivalent qualifications in a relevant Art and Design subject? Top-up your studies to gain a full bachelor’s degree in Creative Advertising. Learn how to channel your way with words or your unique art directional style to solve live briefs and create compelling campaigns. Benefit from over 30 years of experience as an advertising course and a teaching army of advertising gurus, both past and present. Together, we will transform you into a clever-thinking idea machine and a future advertising star.

Why Study BA (Hons) Creative Advertising Top-up at BNU?
A degree for you
A top-up degree is the equivalent of the final year of an undergraduate degree, and offers a chance to deepen your knowledge, skills and understanding of your subject, while also getting an internationally-recognised qualification.

If you have completed a foundation-level degree, HND, or equivalent qualifications in a relevant Art and Design subject, you can choose to top-up your studies to gain a full bachelor’s degree.

Industry Connections
The Creative Advertising degree is widely recognised by the sector with a reputation built up over twenty-five years collaborating with agencies, it is a successful collaboration between education and industry, and staff are always creating new opportunities for students to engage with the best creatives and strategists. These include live briefs, agency visits, crits, industry-focused modules and work experience in the second and third years.

We also often have our army of alumni students, the BNU Mafia as they are affectionately known, constantly return to give tutorials, workshops, mentoring, advice, placements, internships and jobs.

Led by a dedicated and experienced course team, made up of tutors with decades of advertising experience, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and the industry links they bring to the course.

Mentorship and Placements
Benefit from our mentor scheme, MyMentor, where, every 3rd year gets a working mentor, usually a BNU alumni, who are currently employed in a top agency. They are tailored to each student’s chosen creative discipline, copywriter, art director, creative team, planning, or digital. They will work with you to help shape your book, teach you interview techniques to use, and how to negotiate agency networking.

During your time studying Creative Advertising at BNU, you’ll could have the opportunity to gain placements, internships and even jobs. Majority of our students will have either of had at least one placement or an internship lined up upon graduation.

What will I study?
Advertising is a global business, with new creative ideas being constantly in demand. Meaning there is a flow of opportunities for fresh talent.

Whether you want to create those unforgettable Christmas ads, brand awareness pieces or social-change campaigns, this course will give you the skills you need to create a book ready to blow-away agencies all of the UK and the world.

On this creative advertising course, we have a reputation for nurturing creative individuals able to think on their feet and adapt to an industry in a constant state of change. You’ll join a community of intuitive thinkers who look at everything, challenge boundaries and invent innovative and engaging solutions to advertising problems.

The course sets about developing you as individuals, helping you to think in different ways and voice your opinions for effect. We’ll encourage you to experiment and push your ideas and concepts, and gain in confidence when taking risks. You'll have every opportunity to improve your skills and not worry about getting things wrong. Making mistakes is an important part of the creative process.

You will learn to apply creative problem-solving to create targeted and innovative communications and solutions to a diversity of briefs. Above all you will be able to create engaging and compelling campaigns.

Modules

Year One
Core Modules
Final Major Project
Agency Competition
Agency Briefs
Dissertation
Research and Development

Assessment method

Being in agencies on a regular basis, getting your work noticed and your voice heard is by far the best way to land your ideal job in advertising. Some of the best ideas come from people who push the boundaries. Our critique sessions prepare you for the challenges of the agency world - how to pitch and how to deal with knock backs. For this reason, you will be in agencies presenting your ideas to creatives and strategists.

You’ll only be taught by agency professionals both as dedicated tutors and visiting guests. They will help develop you as individuals, helping you think in different ways and voice your opinions for effect. You will gain a better understanding of people and gain insights into how they think, behave and act, through creative and strategic workshops, real live briefs, inspirational talks, agency visits, work experience and major competitions.

To achieve the full BA (Hons) in Creative Advertising you’ll need to complete the modules listed, as well as a major project and a dissertation.

The major project and dissertation will allow you to investigate a topic important to you within advertising. You will cover the whole research process, undertaking empirical investigation and analysis. You will be allocated a dissertation supervisor, who will offer support and advice.

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
WN30
Institution code:
B94
Campus name:
High Wycombe Campus
Campus Code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

International applicants

Visit bnu.ac.uk/international to find out more about applying to BNU as an international student!

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

HND (BTEC)

Completed related level 5 HND

Additional entry requirements

Interview

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6We require an IELTS score of 6.0 (with no element lower that 5.5) or a recognised equivalent.
If English is not your first language or if you have studied in a non-majority English-speaking country, then you will typically be required to demonstrate your English language ability (speaking, listening, reading & writing) by way of a test such as IELTS.

BNU English Language Requirements https://www.bnu.ac.uk/study/general-entry-requirements

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

We aim to cultivate an environment where individuality, diversity, and academic excellence thrive.
Our decision-making process is not just about grades; we assess the entire application, including personal statements, relevant experience and where appropriate portfolios. Within our Contextual Offer Scheme, we strive to embrace students whose educational and social backgrounds may have influenced their academic journey.
This underpins how we champion an inclusive community that transforms lives.

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Not enough data available

We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England£9790Year 1
Northern Ireland£9790Year 1
Scotland£9790Year 1
Wales£9790Year 1
Channel Islands£9790Year 1
Republic of Ireland£9790Year 1
EU£15910Year 1
International£15910Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Buckinghamshire New University tuition fees cover the cost of instruction, assessment, and core academic materials. However, additional costs may be incurred for course-related items or requirements, such as, but not limited to:

  • Text books and supplementary reading materials
  • Specialised equipment or resources required for specific courses
  • Field trips, placements, or external activities
  • Printing, photocopying, and binding
  • Accommodation, travel, and living expenses

Additional costs will vary by course. It is your responsibility as a student to budget for any additional expenses associated with your studies.

For further details on what is included in your tuition fees, please check bnu.ac.uk/fees-and-funding

Sponsorship information

There are several ways you can fund your studies, including sponsorship and student loans. You may be able to use ELCAS credits for some of our courses. We also have scholarships and bursaries to help support our students.

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