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The Advertising concentration at Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Journalism prepares students for both creative and management careers.

Students are taught to write and create print advertisements and broadcast commercials, and they learn principles of media planning and advertising management.

The faculty who teach advertising have diverse professional experience. In addition to teaching, they remain active as consultants and researchers.

The Ad Club, for advertising majors and minors, allows students to become actively involved in extracurricular activities and participate in the Nashville Advertising Federation's activities. The Nashville Advertising Federation allows students to learn about internships and particular areas of advertising by “shadowing” a professional.

John Bodle
Mass Comm 112A
615.898.5871
jbodle@mtsu.edu

John Bodle, professor of advertising, teaches courses in creative advertising and other journalism specialties. He holds degrees from San Jose State University and Ohio University. Dr. Bodle worked three years as director of information for a public relations firm and published weekly newspapers for nine years in northern California and southern Oregon. He has sold advertising space, designed ads and newspaper pages, written news articles, operated an offset press and managed personnel. He has won awards for his writing and photography.

Dr. Bodle has presented papers to academic conferences and has had articles published in Journalism Educator and Journalism Quarterly. He has also written for Newspaper Research Journal and College Media Review, and he is the past head of the Media Managment and Economics Division of AEJMC.

Tricia Farwell
Mass Comm 214
615.898.2987
tfarwell@mtsu.edu

Tricia M. Farwell, associate professor of advertising, joined the School of Journalism in 2008 to teach media writing, advertising campaigns, public relations principles and related courses. She is the past teaching co-chair of the public relations division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and co-secretary of the Entertainment and Sports Section for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Dr. Farwell holds a bachelor of arts degree, concurrent master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Professionally, she has worked in small corporate communications for more than 17 years.

Prior to arriving at MTSU, Dr. Farwell taught public relations at Arizona State University and advertising and public relations at Morehead State University. Research interests include product placement, branded entertainment, media depictions of practitioners in advertising and public relations and impact of technology in advertising and public relations. She has presented her research at several conferences including the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities and the Midwest Popular Culture Association. Her book reviews have appeared in Journal of Advertising Education and Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Additionally, Dr. Farwell has authored the book Love and Death in Edith Wharton’s Fiction.

ADV 3020 Principles of Advertising

Three credits. Overview of advertising principles and practices including the role of advertising in society and the marketplace, consumer behavior, advertising media, budgeting and planning, and the creation and production of advertising messages.

ADV 3060 Issues in Advertising: Sexuality and Gender

Three credits. Explores use of sexuality and gender portrayals in print, broadcast, outdoor, and online and new forms of advertising from various theoretical perspectives and using actual cases.

ADV 3160 Advertising Design and Visuals

Three credits. Prerequisite: ADV 3060 or permission of instructor. Creating and producing advertising messages for various media, including publications, broadcast, outdoor, and direct mail.

ADV 3170 Strategic Communication Writing for Advertising

Three credits. Prerequisites: JOUR 2710 and ADV 3020. Techniques for analyzing, creating, and writing strategic messages for advertising and social media with attention to message strategy and presentation across multiple platforms.

ADV 3480 Media Strategy and Buying

Three credits. Planning, implementing, and evaluating of media objectives and strategy in advertising, including media characteristics, limitations, and budgeting.

ADV 3520 Special Topics in Professional Issues

(Same as JOUR/PR/VCOM.) Special topics in journalism, advertising, public relations, and visual communication focusing on practical applications. Topics change each semester and have included investigative, environmental, sports, and political reporting; visual editing; international public relations; and advertising account management. May be repeated up to 6 credits.

ADV 4230 Case Studies in Strategic Communication

Three credits. Prerequisites: ADV 3020 or permission of instructor and junior standing. Problems, decisions, and decision-making processes of advertising and strategic communication managers. Emphasis on decision making across functional areas of advertising and strategic communication processes.

ADV 4250 Interactive Advertising and Social Media

Three credits. Prerequisite: ADV 3020. Explores advertisers' use of social media from various theoretical perspectives and using actual cases. Focuses on building skills in various platforms.

ADV 4970 Advertising Campaigns

Three credits. Prerequisites: ADV 3480 and ADV 3170 or permission of instructor. Planning, designing, and executing all phases of a complete advertising campaign. An opportunity for advanced students to synthesize and apply skills from previous courses.

You should meet with the advisor for your concentration to create your course plan and to make sure that you meet all graduation requirements for your concentration. A list of Media and Entertainment advisors is here: Media and Entertainment Advising Center.

You should also use the upper division form for your concentration to make sure to meet all requirements. Download the Journalism upper division form: UD_Advertising.2016.pdf

Required courses in the School of Journalism are listed on the main MTSU site here:
Advertising Concentration