What's the best major for someone looking to work in advertising?

Hi Stephanie,

There are several different majors that can help prepare you for a career in advertising. I personally majored in literature, and I now work in digital marketing.

Anything with communications, literature, English or business should put you on the right track. Honestly though, most places won't care too much about your major; they care more about experience.

My best advice to you is to start doing internships now, with any advertising places you can find. Internships will go much farther than any specific major on a resume. Good luck!

Hi Stephanie,
I agree with David and Eva. A degree in Liberal Arts is key. Your focus should be on Marketing and/or Communications. In terms of graphic design, there are always specific elective coursing for graphic design. I took Television Production classes and I received hands-on experience with graphic software.

Another of your interests is writing. It can't hurt to take some Journalism classes or volunteer at the school newspaper.

Good Luck!

Hi Stephanie,

First of all, I wouldn't worry too much about picking the "perfect" major for advertising. As you've already surmised, anything in the marketing/communications fields would do just fine. Additionally anything in English, literature or general liberal arts can also work well. What companies are primarily looking for are people that can express themselves well verbally and in writing. And, of course, relevant job experience!

The best thing you can do now is to do well in the courses that you're taking, read up on the advertising biz (lots of good books and on-line resources for this!) and try to get a relevant internship or job experience in an advertising-related field or company.

Best of luck to you! Dave

Hi Stephanie!
I am going to go against the grain here a bit and say you should major in Advertising. For my undergraduate degree, I studied Communications. They only offered one real course in Advertising which certainly was a nice overview but nothing in depth. If you go to a true Advertising program, you are going to learn so many more facets of the Ad world and make better connections with agencies or brands that may hire you. When you are in an Advertising program, you will often times concentrate on a particular area within the advertising world and it sounds like you would choose the Creative program within the Advertising Major. Take a look at the University of Texas program to get a good idea of what a well structured program looks like. At a rich program like theirs, you will get a deeper understanding and have a competitive advantage.

If you are still uncertain and want to leave options open for more types of jobs, you could major in Communication and then get a Masters in Advertising if you determine later you want to focus on that. That's what I did. If I had it to do over, I would consider a major in Advertising and then an MBA for my graduate study. Coming from a smaller city, having limited funds and limited advise kept me closer to home where I had fewer options. Advertising was not a major at any of the nearby colleges so I was unaware that was an option. Once I got into the advertising program at UT (did you guess that's where I attended?) I was amazed how much there was to learn and how many options I had for courses and specialties.

Best of luck to you! It's an exciting time in your life to explore options.