Our BA Digital Marketing degree is a unique two-year fast-track programme that immerses you in real-world, professional advertising and marketing communications:
It’s a powerful mix where you’ll be working with professionals to learn key skills in the fast-paced digital communications industry. You’ll find yourself making simulated advertising campaigns with agencies like Mediacom, or delivering marketing solutions to content brands like the BBC, or using the latest technologies to produce exciting events, interactive experiences and games for clients like Codemasters.
BA Digital Marketing is employment-led and teaches with a practice-based, knowledge-applied approach, where tutors and industry professionals work with you in classes and assignments to help you develop and grow your personal and professional development.
You’ll be based in the New Technology Institute, (NTI), at the City Centre Campus where you will engage in practical workshops, digital media production, lectures and assignments with your peers, tutors and industry mentors.
We’ll give you your own laptop to use for the duration of the course, state-of-the-art resources to work in and top industry mentors to work with.
As you progress through the course you will build a knowledgeable skillset that gives you proficiency and know-how across disciplines and specialist expertise within them. Along the way, you’ll build a tangible ‘portfolio of practice’ that showcases your work and proves your professionalism; you’ll be making and delivering real media assets for real clients in the real world.
This course aims to answer the creative industry’s calls for savvy digital talent to exploit new opportunities and trends in emerging markets and technologies.
This means you’ll be looking for ways to reimagine trends, build brands, find fame, add value, optimise content, disrupt behaviours and monetise ideas across a range of media, platforms and channels.
To do this you’ll need to understand how it all works, and your BA Digital Marketing course has the answers in a rich combination of options and projects.
The Digital Marketing course has given me 'access all areas' and hands-on experience with top advertising agencies, real work placements and industry mentors. I've got a proven portfolio of professional work and my final project is with the UK's most successful agency AMV..." David Murawski (graduated 2016)
To welcome all new home and EU undergraduate degree students starting in 2018 or 2019, we're giving at least £150 worth of credit to spend in a host of ways, on books and a range of learning materials. Even better, it doesn’t have to be repaid. Terms and conditions apply.
We accept a range of qualifications, the most popular of which are detailed below.
| Essential | ||
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At the point of application, you must have GCSE at Grade 4 (C) or above in English Language and Mathematics. Equivalent qualifications and/or experience will be accepted |
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| Typical Offers | ||
| UK Qualification | Requirements | |
| GCE A Level/ AS Level | BBB at A Level, excluding General Studies and Critical Thinking (120 points) | |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | Pass overall with 60 credits, 45 at Level 3 and 15 at Level 2, including merit or higher in 20 credits at Level 3. Media related Access courses only. | |
| BTEC National Diploma (12-units not including early years) | D*D* combined with other level 3 qualifications to achieve a minimum total of 120 UCAS points | |
| BTEC Extended Diploma (18-units not including early years) |
DDM (120 points) |
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| BTEC Subsidiary Diploma/ National Award (6-units not including early years) | Combined with other level 3 qualifications to achieve a minimum total of 120 UCAS points | |
| BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design | Distinction | |
| International Baccalaureate Diploma |
Obtain a minimum of 30 points overall. Students who do not complete the IB Diploma will be considered on the basis of their IB Certificates if they achieve a total of 15 points or above from three Higher Level subjects alongside other acceptable level 3 qualifications to meet 120 UCAS Tariff Points |
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| Irish Leaving Certificate | Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 120 tariff points, achieved in four Higher level subjects | |
| Scottish Higher/ Advanced Higher | Achieve a minimum of 120 tariff points achieved from either five Highers or a combination of two Highers offered with two Advanced Highers. | |
| Welsh Baccalaureate (core plus options) | Pass plus grades BB at A-Level (or equivalent qualifications) combined with other level 3 qualifications to achieve a minimum total of 120 UCAS points | |
| Other qualifications | ||
| If you have a qualification that is not listed in the table please refer to our full entry requirements on UCAS. Further guidance on tariff points can be found on the UCAS website. |
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| Essential | ||
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| EU/Non-EU (International) Qualifications | Requirements | |
| IELTS | 6.5 (no less than 6.0 in any bands) or equivalent | |
| International Baccalaureate Diploma (or equivalent, including internationally accredited Foundation courses). |
In addition to the above, applicants will also need: English Group A - Grade 4 or above |
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International students who cannot meet the direct entry requirements can begin their degree studies at Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC).
From A/AS Level with a minimum of 2 A Levels
| Award | Start | Mode | Duration | Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA (Hons) | Sep 2019 | FT | 2 years | £9,250 per year | Apply via UCAS |
| Award | Start | Mode | Duration | Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA (Hons) | Sep 2019 | FT | 2 years | £12,300 per year |
If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our PDF application form and equal opportunities PDF form instead. Fees for 2019/20 will be published as soon as possible. The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.
UK and EU students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.
There are three ways to apply:
You will need to complete our International Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form, and submit them together with scan copies of your original academic transcripts and certificates.
Our in-country representatives can help you make your application and apply for a visa. They can also offer advice on travel, living in the UK and studying abroad.
If you are applying for an undergraduate degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND), you can apply through the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
You can request a printed form from your school or nearest British Council office. You will be charged for applying through UCAS. Birmingham City University’s UCAS code is B25 BCITY.
UK / EU students are required to submit a personal statement as part of their application for this course.*
The personal statement gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.
Here are the key areas you’ll need to address:
Why does this course appeal? What areas are of particular interest?
If you have a specific career in mind, say how your chosen course will help you pursue this goal.
Mention any work that is relevant to your subject, highlighting the skills and experience gained.
Highlight skills gained at school/college, eg summer schools or mentoring activities.
eg Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise scheme.
You should also mention your future plans – if you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons. Talk about any subjects you’re studying that don’t have a formal assessment and any sponsorships or placements you’ve applied for. And don't be scared to add in details about your social, sports or leisure interests.
Get more information on writing personal statements.
*Non-EU students are not required to submit a personal statement when applying for this course.
Our courses include activities such as performance, exhibitions, field trips and production of works or artefacts which may require you to purchase specific equipment, instruments, books, materials, hire of venues and accommodation, or other items. Many of these activities are essential and compulsory parts of your learning experience.
The link below gives you an estimate of the possible costs associated with key activities on your course. Please bear in mind that these are only estimates of costs based on past student experience and feedback. The actual costs could vary considerably (either greater or lower than these estimates) depending on your choices as you progress through the course.
All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.
If you've got no idea where to start or just want to check you're on the right track, we’ve got expert advice and real examples from our students to help you nail your personal statement. You can even download our ultimate personal statement guide for free.
We offer further information on possible undergraduate financial support. This includes the type of loans, grants and scholarships available both from the government and from Birmingham City University.
Teaching methods may include practical sessions, lectures and group debates, featuring input from both University staff and guest lecturers from industry, providing you with a wide range of practical knowledge and insight. In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 160 credits): |
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following list of OPTIONAL modules: |
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Please note list of optional modules is indicative only. Your choice will not be guaranteed for optional modules but a fair and transparent process will be adopted and shared with you.
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In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 180 credits): |
In your first year, you will work closely with your marketing colleagues, tutors and industry practitioners to learn new insights and develop your professional approach to digital marketing and advertising projects.
You’ll learn how brands are built, how they reach their audiences and how you can add value and shared experiences to these through strategic and creative user journeys that optimise digital media channels and returns on investment.
In the summer semester, you will join forces with your Digital Art, Video Games Development and Film Promotion colleagues to put your learning into practice. You’ll be working on ‘live’ briefs with top agencies, industry partners and clients like the BBC or Sony to deliver real projects that prove your proficiency in the digital marketing sector.
In your second year, you will consolidate your own digital marketing expertise through professional practice placements and your own, self-defined Final Major Project. In this, you will choose to write a dissertation or produce a practiced-based portfolio of work that is employment-led. This is all about your choices and your professional development.
So far, Digital Marketing students have used this final project to work on a national advertising campaign for the government through the UK’s most successful advertising agency AMV, international movie channel launches with branding agency Red Bee Media and automotive launches with digital agency MediaCom.
You'll be assessed in a variety of different ways, including practical project work – both group and individual - presentations, written reports, practical portfolios as well as oral exams.
You are also assessed on your work within a project delivery team whilst you are based within our simulated studio environment.
Assessment is embedded into the course, which will mean your learning experience isn't interrupted by exams; allowing you to concentrate on becoming an effective team member.
1. Agency: ThinkJam
Cinema chains and Hollywood studios want lucrative teenage audiences in their movie theatres. Your brief is to build a social media campaign so get the real ‘red carpet’ experience of film-going glamour… not the dodgy download.
2. Agency: MediaCom
MG Rover launching a new SUV into the UK car market. Your brief is to optimise Search around your brand, build a bespoke landing page for your product, bring target audiences to experience a test drive and persuade them to make the purchase!
For successful graduates there is a natural progression from BA Digital Marketing to MA and MSc Future Media: Pro, which is a one year accelerated masters degree focused on exploiting digital media and marketing opportunities through emerging technologies and advertising agency techniques. Students taking this option can gain an undergraduate and postgraduate degree within 3 years.
Alternatively, Birmingham School of Media at Birmingham City University offers a wide range of MA courses, allowing you to specialise in such areas as online journalism, social media, photography, public relations, television or event management.
Details can be found on the postgraduate section of the website.
Workplace simulations, placement activities and industry standard projects are all key pillars in the course content. In addition you’ll be working closely with professional practitioners, top agencies and prestigious clients to develop and deliver your assignments.
There are visiting specialist lecturers, Honorary Fellows and industry experts who you’ll meet on field trips or in class and these professionals frequently work with you and your fellow students as mentors.
Towards the end of your studies you’ll complete a final major project and this may lead you to working directly with a client. This direct professional contact will give you the experience, confidence and freedom to put into action all you’ve learned during your studies. It will also give you a proven track record of professional placement activity and a portfolio of work to showcase your abilities.
On top of this course specific experience you’ll gain, the University has introduced the BCU Graduate+ programme, which is an extra-curricular awards framework that is designed to augment the subject-based skills that you develop through your programme with broader employability skills and techniques that will enhance your employment options when you leave university. The key components of the award are:
Allied with this course-specific experience you will also have access to a range of support staff and services from the University’s careers service, who can help with:
Placement activities on the course range from the collaborations you share with our industry partners in your assignments to actually working for clients that the University introduces you to as part of the programme.
In your assignments, you’ll find yourself taking various briefs from your tutors, clients looking after brands, and agency strategists and planners who run prestigious accounts. You’ll be taught how to use the tools of the trade and expected to deliver your work to industry standards. Sometimes your placement activities will take the form of a brief only and at other times you may find yourself on projects where you are heavily involved with your client and hold regular milestone reviews of your progress.
By the end of your second year you are able to demonstrate professional proficiency and channel this into your Final Major Project. This is where most of our students develop employment-orientated relationships with the mentors of their choice. It’s these kind of relationships that build valuable professional contacts, promote networking across the industry and often lead to internships and eventually jobs for our students. You will be encouraged to engage with industry professionals throughout the programme and your tutors will make every effort to introduce you to contacts across the digital marketing and advertising and sector.
An awesome experiential event and showcase for student work, attended by VIPs from the digital games, advertising and art industries.
OpportUNIty: Student Jobs on Campus ensures that our students are given a first opportunity to fill many part-time temporary positions within the University. This allows you to work while you study with us, fitting the job around your course commitments. By taking part in the scheme, you will gain valuable experiences and employability skills, enhancing your prospects in the job market.
It will also allow you to become more involved in University life by delivering, leading and supporting many aspects of the learning experience, from administration to research and mentoring roles.
Through our courses we give you the skills and experience needed to get a head start when applying for jobs. But we offer something extra too – Graduate+.
Our unique programme gives you the chance to develop valuable skills outside of the more formal classroom learning. We award points for Graduate+ activities (including firewalking!) and these can be put towards a final Graduate+ award.
In addition to delivering specialist lectures and hosting field trips our industry partners get involved in structuring your course, updating the content as the digital landscape evolves and helping to frame your assignment briefs.
These partnerships include some very prestigious industry players and you should take time to explore what it is that they do in this highly creative environment of innovation and communication:
SapientNitro describes itself as “a new breed of agency for an always-on world… SapientNitro is redefining how stories are told across brand, digital and commerce”.
ThinkJam represents some of Hollywood’s biggest studios and markets their movies globally. Since 2004 they’ve delivered nearly 2,000 campaigns for the clients who range from famous film makers to global publishers, distributors and celebrities.
AMV was named ‘most successful agency in the UK’ by the advertising industry’s leading creative professional association, the D&AD, as well as ‘Creative Agency of the Year’ at the 2016 Creative Circle Awards and ‘Agency of the Year’ at the British Arrows Awards. AMV’s client list is epic.
Other top agencies we work with include FOUND, MediaCom, Red Bee Media, UNRULY, Chapter, Hunterlodge, BBC Creative, Bulb, Nimbletank, Ogilvy One and Lambie-Nairn.
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
The UK remains one of the world's leading study destinations for international students.
The first-class experience offered by universities are reflected in the world’s largest survey of international students. International students are more likely to recommend the UK than any other leading English-language study destination.
International students who have a serious interest in studying with us but who perhaps cannot meet the direct entry requirements, academic or English, or who have been out of education for some time, can enter Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC) and begin their degree studies.
BCUIC is part of the global Navitas Group, an internationally recognised education provider, and the partnership allows students to access the University’s facilities and services and move seamlessly through to achieving a Bachelor’s degree from Birmingham City University.
Our students come from around the world but our interactive entertainment course is most popular with international students from:
The New Technology Institute (NTI) is a part of Birmingham City University's City Centre Campus at University House.
We help you learn a specific discipline such as digital marketing, programming or art and put that discipline into practice by offering flexible teaching space, dedicated development studios and open access work areas for group projects, as well as course-specific facilities.
Discover more about the industry experts you can meet on our two-year fast track degree course.
Zuby Ahmed is one of our lecturers, watch this video to find out more.
Mike started his broadcasting career in 1983 as a journalist in cable TV newsrooms and progressed to becoming a news Producer/Director before moving into broadcast TV as a Network Director for Thames Television and Producer for the BBC.
In 1990, Mike joined the BBC team responsible for branding and promoting the corporation globally winning international awards, including BAFTA and D&AD Gold for on-air and off-air marketing and promotions campaigns.
Mark has worked in digital advertising and marketing for over 20 years and during that time his focus has been on delivering campaigns in emerging channels: web, mobile, social and now innovation through The Internet of Things. He has worked with global agencies such Aegis Dentsu and WPP, and brands including Unilever, Mondelez, Louise Vuitton and Chevrolet (to name just a few). Professionally, his strength is as a strategist – a role that combines data, insights and creative development. Mark’s teaching philosophy takes its cue from the punk ethic by encouraging students to give things a go and try out their ideas: ‘Here’s a chord, here’s a another, here’s a third. Now form a b(r)and!’
Venita has previously worked on a number of titles on a variety of platforms including the mobile hit Sonic Dash and at many games studios from nDreams, SEGA and Jagex going all the way back to old veteran studios such as Team17 in Wakefield.
Wai is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing and Future Media and has 10 years’ industry experience working at leading agencies such as MediaCom (WPP) and Universal McCann.
Her media career began in 2008 as a Digital Media Assistant whereby she gained fundamental experience in digital media planning and implementation for clients across digital communication channels such as Display, PPC, VOD, Social and Mobile.
During her media career, she has been appointed Senior Digital Strategist and Associate Director where she has fulfilled a leading role in providing clients with a long term digital communications strategy to execute and deliver.
Wai’s digital media experience spans across many sectors including Retail, Travel, Automotive, Finance, FMCG, Charity, Healthcare, Leisure and Education.
