Creative Advertising MSc



The MSc shaping the next generation of creative professionals

Course overview

This is the MSc shaping the next generation of creative professionals. We teach practical skills and an understanding of the industry required for a career in Advertising, Design and Marketing.

The Advertising world is fuelled by bright minds and creative thinkers. It generates millions of messages that reach people via an ever-increasing number of channels.

At the heart of these sectors are the creative professionals who shape ideas, campaigns and brand experiences.

Our course is designed to prepare students for a wide range of roles, including art director, copywriter, content creator, designer, strategist, and marketing executive, equipping them with the skills, knowledge and industry insight needed to thrive in these dynamic and influential careers.

This course has been developed in collaboration with the Scottish Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and is taught by leading practitioners.

Entry point to this course is in September. Please enquire for more information.

People walking around the room looking at the Degree show displays

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

1 year

Start date:

Sep

The calibre of the students from this course is seriously impressive. Smart thinkers, encouraged to be bold and original by folk who know that ideas are more important than ever in our industry.

Phil Evans Executive Creative Director, The Leith Agency, Edinburgh

Course details

Our course works closely with the advertising industry and will open doors for you. Our team is made up of industry professionals, and we have strong relationships with employers both locally and further afield.

We host guest lectures from Creative Directors and Ad Agency owners every week, and their insights ensure you stay at the forefront of the latest thinking, processes, and creative technology.

This course will help you build your network and provide the specialist training and experience that advertising employers demand. You'll develop skills in copywriting, art direction, and strategy, placing you at the front of the queue for internships, placements, and jobs.

You'll learn the best way to present your ideas and how to work both collaboratively and independently as you create advertising across a variety of media, including print, TV, radio, outdoor and online. Some live briefs are supported with visits to advertising agencies.

You'll develop your critical evaluation skills as you explore the strategies behind successful advertising campaigns and critique your own and others' work.

Our students have in recent years won 'Yellow and Black Pencils' in the D&AD New Blood awards and medals in the IPA Awards Scotland. We have won Gold awards in international competitions too.

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    How you’ll be taught

     We will draw out the creative within you. With exciting and demanding workshops, led by our award-winning lecturers and industry experts.
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    Assessments

     Notional grades will be informed after every project along with one-to-one tutorials. You'll be given a summative grade at the end of each trimester.

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    Work placement

     Work placements are arranged by the students themselves in Trimester 3 with help from tutors.
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    Facilities

    Our Merchiston campus, situated in the heart of Edinburgh, is home to creative industries students along with engineering and computing. This mix of disciplines helps create an inspiring, innovative and collaborative atmosphere.

    Inside you’ll also find the 500-seat Jack Kilby Computing Centre, open 24 hours a day in Trimesters 1 and 2, the library and the Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association.

Modules

Modules that you will study* as part of this course

Campaign Creation ( JAC11111 )

This module will explore and evaluate the impact of integrated advertising campaigns. The effectiveness of single-minded, original thinking across a significant range of media will be examined; what makes a brand famous, what makes an advertising message memorable and how classic campaigns evolve, engage with the consumer and endure for years. This module will also cover the role of the campaign slogan, the importance of a strong visual identity and style, the impact of music and associated key elements (such as Voice Overs) that trigger brand recognition. You will be encouraged to refer to great advertising campaigns, past and present and to develop your ability to 'stretch' the idea across a wide variety of communication channels and learn the principal skills, techniques and practices associated with creating effective advertising campaigns.

Further information

Concept Creation ( DES11168 )

Through practice, you will explore the creative process from strategy to final concept, and the various triggers that can be used to produce credible, memorable advertising. You will learn to interrogate the advertising brief and critically reflect on your own creative strategy and that of others. You will consider key elements of successful advertising, including the effectiveness of a headline as a stand-alone communication and the impact of a strong visual that needs no copy to explain it, and the role of photography, illustration, design, branding and language. You will be introduced to the different writing styles, formats and technical terms required for a range of media platforms. The generation of ideas will be formalised into projects, culminating in a series of creative presentations, where you will present your work and debate and defend your advertising.

Further information

Digital Creative ( JAC11127 )

This module will engage you with creative possibilities in fast-moving, multi-channel digital environments. You will work on live industry and/or competition briefs that demand total media integration to develop unified strategies and creative campaigns. Reflecting current industry trends this module will be asking you to carefully reflect on the nature of advertising in a highly interactive and globalised digital environment.The module is: interactive (reflecting the nature of digital media); inter-disciplinary (reflecting the complexity of digital media); and inter-cultural (reflecting the nature of digital space and use of social media.)

Further information

Major Project Portfolio in Advertising Practice ( DES11135 )

In this module you will produce a portfolio of professional knowledge, skills and critical reflection on your advertising practice. An individual Learning Agreement (LA) will be negotiated with the module leader to define an appropriate level of output commensurate with Level 11. You will critically analyse and evaluate your experiences and activities within your field of expertise in advertising and present your findings in a portfolio of creative and/or strategic professional work that has been agreed in the LA, supported by a reflective report of 5000 words. It will be possible for you to work creatively in a pair with another student whatever the circumstances, within either an industry placement or a simulated advertising-industry practice if work-based learning is not possible. You will identify your specific contribution to each component of partnered-work that you have created, while reflecting on the collaborative learning experience.Student-centred learning is supported by the development of an individual LA. In this LA you will reflect on how you develop your portfolio by using a reflective model or framework. You will learn how to write learning outcomes at level 11 and explore the different types of evidence that might be used within the portfolio and establish a deep understanding of the processes involved in critical thinking.

Further information

Planning in Advertising ( DES11133 )

In this module you will use a combination of planning theory and practice-based creative briefs in our advertising studios. The focus of this module will be on modern communication strategies that use socio-cultural innovations to establish a two-way relationship with the consumer. In responding to creative tasks, you will apply planning theory, and test and critically evaluate ideas in the context of the brand values and audience, and use audience insight to determine effective methods for consumer/customer engagement. In commercial and social contexts, you will critically explore the role of planning in the advertising industry, and the use of appropriate media and trans media strategies. You will evaluate precedents in advertising planning, and record the process of the implementation of your own ideas and strategies.

Further information

* These are indicative only and reflect the course structure in the current academic year. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Meet your Programme Leader and Teaching Team

Throughout your studies, you'll learn from experienced professionals and industry leaders who bring valuable expertise, insight and real-world perspectives to your learning experience.

George Shepherd, Programme Leader MSc Creative AdvertisingProgramme Leader: George Shepherd. George is an award-winning advertising practitioner, educator, and Honorary Fellow of The Marketing Society Scotland. Before moving into higher education, George worked with leading agencies and global brands including The Leith Agency, Hakuhodo, Guinness, Nike and LEGO. His experience spans creative strategy, creative direction, campaign development and client leadership, bringing extensive industry insight and real-world practice to our MSc Creative Advertising.

Course Tutors: Students are taught by a team of experienced advertising, design and creative communications professionals whose careers include many of the UK's leading agencies and creative organisations. Collectively, the teaching team has worked with agencies including The Union, T&P, M&C Saatchi, McCann, Digitas, Start Design and Fitch. Their expertise covers creative strategy, art direction, copywriting, branding, design, digital communications and integrated campaign development, ensuring students learn from practitioners who have created award-winning work for major national and international brands.

Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

This course never disappoints — it produces exceptionally talented young creatives, and I’ve hired several of its graduates in recent years.

Graeme Clark, Creative Director, Multiply Agency, Edinburgh

Entry requirements

What are the entry requirements for Creative Advertising? 

The entry requirement for this course is a Bachelor (Honours) Degree at 2:2 or above in any discipline. 

We may also consider lesser qualifications if you have sufficient relevant work experience within the industry.

Can I get admission into Creative Advertising based on my working experience in this sector?

This course has academic entry requirements which are assessed alongside relevant work experience. Full details of any relevant work experience, including references should be submitted with your application and may be considered for entry where the minimum academic entry requirements are below those required.

Usually, unrelated work experience is not considered sufficient for entry without meeting the minimum academic entry requirements. Please contact us with your specific circumstances by submitting an enquiry form above and we will be happy to discuss your options.

Can I make an appointment with an advisor to discuss further about the admission process?

If you want to get more information on the admission process, please get in touch with the postgraduate admissions team by submitting an enquiry form above.

If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test.  The English Language requirements for this programme are IELTS (Academic) with an overall score of 7.0 with no individual component score of less than 6.5.  For guidance on the acceptability of other English Language tests please contact pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk

This may not apply if you have completed all your school qualifications in English, or your undergraduate degree was taught and examined in English (within two years of starting your postgraduate course). Check our country pages to find out if this applies to you.

Our entry requirements indicate the minimum qualifications with which we normally accept students. Competition for places varies from year to year and you aren't guaranteed a place if you meet the minimum qualifications.

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • MSc Nursing courses
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to our students.

Tuition fees
Students from 2026/27 2027/28
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland £8,030 £8,435
Overseas and EU £20,540 £21,365

Tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next. For more information on this and other tuition fee matters, please see our Fees and Funding links above.

The University offers a 20% discount on Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes to its alumni. The discount applies to all full-time, part-time and online degrees. The discount can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount. For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount. Please read our full T&C here.

Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2021 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.


Please note:

The discount for Edinburgh Napier alumni can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount.

For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.

Please read our full T&C here

Edinburgh Arts Excellence Scholarship for USA applicants

We are offering competitive scholarships for US-based applicants of eligible degrees that start in September 2027. The winning scholar will receive full tuition fees and we will also award several partial scholarships.

Careers & employability

What can you do with an MSc in Creative Advertising?

Enter the dynamic world of advertising and unleash your creativity in our intensive programme designed for aspiring advertising professionals. Through a blend of strategy, creativity and hands-on practice, you'll learn to develop compelling and effective advertising campaigns that resonate with audiences and drive results for clients.

The course has one of the highest employment records in the University and graduates go on to lucrative careers in the Advertising industry. Creative directors and agency owners have a strong interest in the course. Every week we have a guest lecture from a senior industry professional as they are always keen to meet the students and discover new talent. Industry-driven projects will expose you to employers and generate a valuable set of creative ideas that will enhance your portfolio. After completing this degree, you can expect to work in one of these roles:

  • Copywriter
  • Art Director
  • Brand Strategist
  • Marketing Executive
  • Media Planner/Buyer
  • Creative Producer
  • Content Creator
  • Account Executive/Manager
  • Creative Director

You'll have a chance to explore a diverse range of topics, from brand strategy and consumer psychology to copywriting and art direction. Through real-world projects, agency placements, and industry partnerships, you'll gain practical experience crafting campaigns for a variety of media channels, from traditional print and TV to digital and social media.

This course will help you to become a strategic and creative advertising professional, ready to tackle the challenges of the advertising industry with confidence and flair. Whether you aspire to work in advertising agencies, marketing departments, or creative studios, our MSc in Creative Advertising will provide you with the knowledge, skills, and connections to thrive in the fast-paced and competitive world of advertising.

What does a Creative Director do?

As a Creative Director, you will lead the charge in shaping brand identities and storytelling narratives. Your strategic vision and leadership will inspire teams to create compelling and memorable experiences across all channels. In this role, you'll be the visionary behind marketing campaigns, brand activations, and creative projects that captivate audiences and drive results.

Your responsibilities will encompass everything from setting creative direction and managing teams to overseeing project timelines and budgets. Picture yourself collaborating with clients and stakeholders to understand their objectives and brand values, then leading teams to develop innovative concepts and executions that bring those visions to life.

Leveraging your skills of design, copywriting, and multimedia production, you will create cohesive and impactful campaigns that resonate with target audiences. Your focus will be on ensuring that every element of a campaign reflects the brand's identity and message while providing feedback on creative assets, or presenting concepts to clients,. Your passion for creativity and your ability to inspire and motivate teams will set you apart as a visionary leader, driving innovation and excellence in every project you touch.

MSc Creative Advertising student with his arms crossed standing beside a project board