Creativity defines, builds and grows brands, setting apart the quick thinkers and opportunity-seekers from companies that are satisfied with the status quo. The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Creative Direction degree (formerly the Bachelor’s in Advertising) prepares you to take the reins to steer marketing and advertising in exciting, intriguing, unexpected directions; to influence every aspect of how a company looks, sounds, feels and presents itself to the world.

Program Overview

The creative direction major establishes your visual and verbal fluency in the languages of communication—including film, video, photography, graphic and interaction design, social media, digital engagement and app conception. With a strong and competitive foundation in advertising practices, our courses will help you craft compelling narratives in traditional and digital spaces to drive consumer interest.

Prepare for Professional Environments

At ArtCenter, we break the conventional classroom structure to give you a true sense of the experience you’ll encounter working for a creative agency or major brand with a team of peers. In the creative direction program, you will collaborate with students from other majors in Transdisciplinary Studio courses to develop consumer insights and dynamic campaigns that integrate all forms of contemporary and new media. Similarly, the art of advertising and media-making becomes vivid through Sponsored Projects, a competitive opportunity for direct experience with major companies.

Launch Your Career

Whether your ultimate goal is to work directly for a company like Apple, Google, Nike or Louis Vuitton, or to work for an advertising agency with the opportunity to touch many brands, ArtCenter’s BFA in Creative Direction degree will prepare you to create and creative-direct content in all of the most relevant and contemporary forms of media, as well as to master new technologies and emerg­ing platforms. You will join a broad network of established alumni who serve as creative leaders in some of the most recognizable companies and distinguished advertising firms across the globe in roles like:

• Art Director
• Design Director
• Creative Director
• Copywriter
• Creative Strategist
• Digital Creative Director
• Media Director
• Broadcast Producer
• Art Supervisor
• Creative Supervisor
• Media Supervisor
• Media Planner

Since its founding in 1930, ArtCenter’s Advertising program has produced some of the world’s most notable and award-winning advertising executives and creative leaders. Recognizing shifts in the industry and consumer behavior, in Spring 2022 we decided to change the name of our Advertising program and begin offering a bachelor’s degree in Creative Direction instead. Students who enrolled in the program prior to Spring 2022 will still receive a bachelor’s degree in Advertising.

Join the Creative Direction Program at ArtCenter

Forge your path toward a career that blends creativity, innovation and market insights with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Direction. Through your unique perspective and compelling ideas, brands will flourish and reach new vistas of possibility.

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