Digital Marketing and Public Relations - BA/BA (Hons) *

Digital marketing and public relations (PR) are fascinating, fast-moving fields that offer many rewarding career opportunities. Thanks to converged media and the voracious consumer appetite for digital content, they are constantly evolving and on this course you will enjoy frontline professional experience and tuition informed by cutting-edge scholarship.

You have access to and use a host of digital tools and software such as Premiere Pro and Photoshop from the Adobe Creative Cloud to edit videos and photos, Google Analytics to analyse website performance, Canva Pro for designing and creating impactful content, Hootsuite for scheduling social media posts, Semrush for competitor analysis and on-page SEO optimization, and PRMax for creating targeted media lists. This means that when you start your career in digital marketing and PR you will have a working knowledge of the products used by practitioners.

On this course you will:

• experience an unrivalled opportunity to study two closely aligned disciplines: marketing and public relations. Organisations often take an integrated digital approach to communication, bringing together these two disciplines to help drive success. While marketing focuses on relationships with the customer, PR manages relationships with a broader range of stakeholders including employees, the government and the media;
• develop strategic thinking, informed by theory, and apply this to live client work to produce communication solutions that aim to drive positive social change;
• consider how organisations build and maintain reputations, create social capital and manage issues and crises;
• develop storytelling skills to inform the media and persuade audiences;
• create authentic and shareable multimedia content such as video, photography, podcasts, infographics and blogs for a range of social media platforms;
• undertake research to gain insights from data that can inform your decision making, and measure the effectiveness of campaigns using a range of analytics and metrics;
• appreciate how businesses use search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, email marketing and influencer marketing, alongside more traditional forms of advertising, to drive more traffic to their websites, generate leads, and increase sales;
• gain a wealth of experience through work placement and volunteering opportunities; and
• have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner institutions for a semester. These include universities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA (subject to availability).

Structure

You can opt to study for an honours degree over four years or an ordinary degree over three years. You will complete a range of modules each year as outlined.

Teaching, learning and assessment

We use a mix of methods including lectures, seminars and practical workshops. As well as these face-to-face interactions, some content is delivered online. Each module is supported by a virtual learning resource site. As well as lecture notes, seminar activities, key readings, assignment specifications and discussion forums, additional materials such as videos, radio edits and links to other resources can be uploaded to the site.

The assessment strategy uses a range of methods to support your academic and professional development. These include: essays, reports, presentations, online discussions/postings, exams, reflective diaries, e-portfolios and content production for different media such as video, photography, website, podcasts, blogs, posts and tweets.

Access to facilities to support your future career: You will have access to our on-campus Business Gateway and Business Innovation Zone (BIZ) that together provide business incubation spaces for student-led or graduate-led start-up companies and offer: desk space, a QMU business address, meeting facilities, ad-hoc rehearsal space and editing facilities, Business Gateway support and advice, a profile for your company on the QMU website, support with marketing materials and access to entrepreneurial networks within QMU and other universities (including Enterprise Campus, Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Sporting Chance and Converge Challenge).

Placement

You will complete a four-week or 150 hours placement either in the summer vacation between years three and four or in year four alongside other modules. Students are responsible for sourcing a placement host organisation and this can be in the UK or abroad. To help with the process, we hold a speed interview event to match hosts offering placements with students. The placement is unpaid although some hosts pay a wage and others cover travel and subsistence. Regular hosts include PR and marketing agencies, big corporations, local and national government and charities.

Exchange opportunities

In Year Three you have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas. Please visit the Exchanges and Study Abroad pages for more information.

Teaching staff, class sizes and timetables

You can read more about the teaching staff on this course at the bottom of this page. Please note that teaching staff is subject to change.

For more information, please also visit ‘How we teach and how you’ll learn’.

Year One

You will:

• learn about key concepts in PR and marketing theory;
• look at the history of the industries and current practice, and debate the role the industries play in economics, politics and society; and
• consider contemporary communications practice and the importance of producing dynamic and creative content including video, photography, blogs, infographics and social media posts that are relevant to target publics.

Modules

• Studying Media and Communications
• Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
• Digital Content Creation
• Media and Communication Industries
• Media Production: Skills and Techniques
• Media Production: Video Project

Year Two

You will:

• expand your knowledge and understanding of digital marketing and e-commerce and how to use big data to provide insights into the effectiveness of your communications
• consider how organisations campaign on issues and communicate with external stakeholders through digital media and internally with employees
•  explore the rapid growth of podcasting and learn how to create great content for podcasts
• gain experience of event management by designing, planning and holding your own event

Modules

• Popular Media Cultures
• Digital Communications Campaigning
• Media Production: Podcasting
• Event Management
• Analytics, Insights and Impact
• Digital Marketing and e-Commerce Management

Year Three

You will:

• expand your knowledge of the principles of planning, by developing strategic PR proposals for a live client
• investigate the role and ethics of persuasive communication in marketing and PR
• gain knowledge of research methods that are used by marketing and PR practitioners and learn how to design a research project
• gain insights into traditional and digital advertising
• start to tailor your learning around your interests through the selection of two option modules and
• have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas. For more information, visit Exchanges and Study Abroad.

Modules

• Campaigning and Practice
• Marketing Communications and Digital Advertising
• Designing a Research Project
• Persuasive Communication
• Plus two options

Year Four

You will:

• Be encouraged to work more independently, developing your critical skills and follow your own area of interest. This happens through working on your dissertation, which can be a written dissertation or a practical photography or video dissertation, working in industry on a one-month placement and choosing an option.

Modules

• Professional Communication Placement
• Strategic Marketing Management
• Dissertation
• Plus one option

Year Three and Four options may include: 

• Reputation Issues and Crisis Management
• Photography and Visual Culture
• Film Festivals
• Communication Arts and Activism
• Political Communication
• Radio and Audio Media
• Photography Practice
• Pop Music
• Screenwriting
• Film and the Family
• Co-creating and managing your our own client project

The modules listed here are correct at time of posting (May 2023) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2024. Please check back here for any updates.

When you graduate you will be ready to make your mark in a wide range of career roles, including digital marketing executive, PR executive, social media strategist, advertising executive digital content creator, publicity and promotions executive, SEO strategist, digital advertising executive and events manager. There are PR and marketing specialists in almost every field you can imagine: from national and local government to charities, finance firms to whisky companies, and tourist organisations to universities.

Entry requirements

Scottish Higher: Standard - BBBB, Minimum - BBCC

A Level: BCC

Irish Leaving Certificate: H2 H2 H3 H3

International Baccalaureate: 28 points

International: IELTS of 6.0 with no element lower than 5.5

Required subjects: English or Media Studies preferred at Higher/ A Level. English required and Maths preferred at Nat 5/ GCSE. We can also accept National 5 Application of Maths or Lifeskills at the same grade.

Am I a Widening Access student?: We apply the minimum entry criteria to applicants who meet one or more contextual factor. To see if this would apply to you, please refer to the access and application page.

Mature/Access: We welcome applications from mature students with other relevant qualifications and/or experience. Visit our College Leavers and Mature Students Advice page for more information. 

Direct Entry:

Not available for this course. It is available for the BA/BA (Hons) Public Relations and Marketing Communications. 

Terms and Conditions

The delivery of this course is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our 2024/25 Entry Terms and Conditions (Undergraduate).

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