Imagine creating a 30-second spot for the Super Bowl or an interactive Internet campaign for a corporate client. The online advertising minor prepares students for a variety of careers in the fast-paced and exciting field of advertising. Typical job areas include advertising sales, graphic design, creative services, copywriting, media buying, account planning and market research. Students in the advertising minor gain an understanding of the complex role of branding and how companies build successful brands through media and creative strategies to persuade a designated target audience.
The online advertising minor can benefit students in a variety of academic disciplines, including graphic design, English, marketing, business administration, psychology, communications, sociology and history.
The advertising minor requires the following five courses:
Choose one of the following:
JRL 101 Media & Society
Can be taken on campus or online. Examines the relationship between media,
culture and society, with emphasis on the history, structure, and organization
of the mass media.
ADV 201 Advertising and Society
Must be taken online. As a social institution, advertising plays a critical
role in our daily lives. This course examines the social, economic and legal
aspects of advertising.
ADV 215 Principles of Advertising
Can be taken on campus or online. An introduction to all sides of the advertising
field and to the process, quantitative, strategic and aesthetic, by which
the sales message is planned, produced and delivered.
Students must take the three courses listed below.
ADV 309 Advertising & Creativity
Must be taken online. Examines advertising copy and design concepts. Develop
your own advertisements and learn to critically analyze existing ad campaigns.
Prerequisites: JRL 101, ADV 201 or 215
ADV 409 Advertising Research & Media
Must be taken online. Introduces the selection and evaluation of different
media used in advertising campaigns. Learn to analyze and select audiences,
compare media and conduct media research.
Prerequisites: JRL 101, ADV 201 or 215
ADV 419 Advertising Strategies
Must be taken online. Examine the concept of branding. Learn how to use advertising
to help create powerful brand loyalty by analyzing case studies of successful
and unsuccessful branding attempts.
Prerequisites: JRL 101, ADV 201 or 215
To earn a minor in Advertising, a student must earn a GPA of 2.0 or better in the courses required for the minor. Students completing the entire minor online can expect to complete it in one year.
Students who double-minor in advertising and public relations may only take JRL 101 once and must replace the second offering with one of the School of Journalism’s 200-level or higher open-enrollment courses. Students who double-minor in sport communication and advertising must also take PR 215 (Introduction to Public Relations).
Students who triple-minor in advertising, public relations, and sport communication must complete all listed courses. However, JRL 101 and PR 410 (IMC for Public Relations) can be taken only once; each must be replaced with one of the School of Journalism’s online 200-level or higher open- enrollment courses.
All online courses are taught completely via eCampus. Students need to plan on logging into eCampus daily during the week but can do so at the time of their own choosing. Students should budget the same amount of time for an online class as they do for classroom classes.
For additional information contact MediaCollegeOnline@mail.wvu.edu. To register for online courses, contact WVU Online at (800) 253-2762 or email WVUOnlineInquiry@mail.wvu.edu.
The advertising minor is not available to any student enrolled in the Reed College of Media.