Unbalanced Major

My last three years at Marquette have flown by. It honestly still has not hit me that I am a senior and will be entering the real world in a few short months. Looking back at my time spent at Marquette, more specifically the advertising classes I’ve taken in the College of Communications, I can’t help but feel gypped by the program.

In order to graduate, advertising students are required to take between 27-35 credit hours of general communication studies. In addition to that, about 32 credit hours toward the advertising major. I agree with the majority of the courses that are required, but do feel that the order in which they are take should be more structured. For example, last spring I finally got around to taking Intro to Small Group Communication.  As a junior, this class was a waste of my time. I had already been successfully working in groups on projects for the past five semesters. This class frustrated me because it would have defiantly been useful if I took it as a freshman; however, I had already learned all the material through experience.

My real problem with the major is the lack of design classes offered. Typically, when people think of advertising, they immediately think of the creative aspect: commercials, print, and outdoor. The current program Marquette offers only prepares us for the planning, strategy, and research positions in the field. Students are at a serious disadvantage if they opt to pursue a graphic design career. Luckily, from the get go I knew I was interested in learning layout design, so I took it upon myself to get a minor in Communication Design at MIAD. The program puts undecided students at a disadvantage. If they become interested in creative their junior or senior year it becomes challenging to complete a minor or even take design classes at MIAD. Taking classes at MIAD poses challenges for students for several reasons: they need to take into account the travel, accommodating a three hour class, and the prerequisites. If students are required to take writing, law, ethics, campaigns, and research classes why shouldn’t we be required to take a class in advertising design as well?

Overall, I think the objective of the major should be to familiarize students with the different aspects of the agency. Classes that resemble the different positions or career paths found in an agency should be required. The classes might include: research, campaigns, media planning, copywriting, social media, event planning, account planning, programming (adobe suite), design.

Personally, I am still torn about the position I would like to hold within an advertising agency. I don’t think I’ve learned enough in my classes about each position to make the decision. Part of the problem is that the “upper level” courses should be introduced sophomore and junior year. This would give students more time to take classes in the area they are interested in. While I know that learning doesn’t stop after undergrad, I find it frustrating that designers have to spend an additional two years in portfolio school before they can get a job.