With the Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) - previously known as (Public Communication), see your future career in advertising and/or public relations.
Strategic Communication
Within this hands-on course, you'll develop an extensive set of skills in campaign design and production, copywriting, media liaison and writing, research and evaluation, sponsorship and event management.
With a combined stream in Advertising and Public Relations, you'll gain practical experience and specialised skills that will prepare you for your future career. You’ll also explore communication across cultural, social and political contexts and learn how to create campaigns and strategies for today's digital world.
This course is embedded in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Strategic Communication is a field and a study area
an area of professional practice that primarily deals with professional communicators
to produce compelling, purposeful, high-impact messaging.
We have been teaching Strategic Communication for a long time,
and the teaching team is almost exclusively made up of researchers and academics who
are either still active in industry or have to develop
extremely strong connections and networks with industry persons.
We embed a lot of professional practice and skills development,
teaching our students to apply their skills
across a range of media for a diversity of stakeholders.
I think the course content is really practical.
You can try to create some strategies for the brands you like, and for most of the course content,
it's most likely related to the current issues that are worldwide or
in Australian society.
So Strategic Communication deals primarily with two really broad areas - Advertising and Public Relations.
So those two professional areas, if you like, are close friends, but they are quite different.
But what we do is immerse our students in the skills development and the knowledge required
of practitioners in advertising and in PR,
and all those in-between areas - marketing media, events management and planning
So really it's got to do with skills
that will allow you to produce effective high-impact messages.
I think the course in UTS, they are actually trying to gear you up
and give you the image or the knowledge about what public relations is.
And from there, they will deliver the message to you like
what kind of the job content and the job tasks
public relations specialists would need to handle.
UTS will build up your skills of how to write better and will train your presentation skills like
how you should present yourself or your own brand with confidence.
We develop those skills
for our students to be able to work with clients,
work in a collaborative setting.
Throughout their degree or their time with us,
they gradually build up that that skills base.
Courses
- Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication)
- Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) / Bachelor of International Studies
- Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) / Bachelor of Laws
- Bachelor of Communication (Strategic Communication) / Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation
Related postgraduate courses: Master of Strategic Communication, Graduate Diploma of Strategic Communication and Executive Master of Strategic Communication
Related postgraduate online courses: Master of Strategic Communication (online), Graduate Certificate in Strategic Communication (online)
Download an Undergraduate Course Guide
Why Strategic Communication at UTS?
- Real clients, real case studies
With our hands-on approach to learning, you'll gain industry-relevant skills by exploring real case studies and campaigns. In the capstone subject, you'll spend an entire semester working on a brief from a real client. Past clients include NSW Multicultural Health, Dropbox, Isentia, City of Sydney and The Hunger Project, to name a few. - Specialised streams
Within the Strategic Communication major, you will now specialise in both Advertising and Public Relations. This combined stream will give you the skills and expertise needed to pursue your dream career. - Accreditation
The Strategic Communication major is accredited by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA). The International Advertising Association also provides a Diploma in Marketing Communications if you study a particular pattern of subjects. - Industry connections
Our strong industry connections will ensure you actively engage with industry throughout your degree, with the opportunity to undertake internships and participate in industry competitions. - Leading academics
Our Strategic Communication teaching staff are renowned academics with extensive professional experience. Using a combination of theory and practical activities and assessments, they'll ensure you graduate with an extensive skill set and a portfolio of works, ready for your first interview. - Add a second major
Expand your career opportunities by adding a second major to your degree. Options include Digital and Social Media, Journalism, Media Business, Social and Political Sciences or Writing and Publishing. An Honours degree is also available for outstanding students who want to prepare for higher degree research.
Sample subjects
- The Ecology of Public Communication
- Integrated Communication
- Media Writing Production
- Brand Advertising Strategies
- Strategic Public Relations
- Professional Advertising Practice
View the full study plan in the UTS Handbook.
Careers
Graduate roles include communication strategists, public relations consultants, advertising executives, media liaison officers, event coordinators, publicity officers, political media advisers, advertising copywriters, community relations managers, marketing officers, integrated communication specialists, internal communication specialists.
Meet more of our students and graduates or explore some examples of student work.
Testimonials
For the capstone subject, we worked with Dropbox on a communications strategy, which we eventually pitched to the client. The Dropbox representative was really happy with us and even invited us to speak at their office as part of their innovation event, Hack Week. This was nerve-wracking but such an amazing opportunity.
Beattie Tow
Bachelor of Communication (Public Communication) / Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (France)
Project Consultant, KJA Consultancy
Having an actual client not only gave us a tangible and invested point of reference for our brief but also motivated us to deliver high-quality and well-rounded products. When someone actually has a stake in your work, you work a lot harder to achieve for them. This opportunity was second to none in preparing me for industry.
Clayton McKinnon
Bachelor of Communication (Public Communication) (Creative Writing), Honours
Marketing and Social Media Manager, InspirED HSC
I’m Wilson Kwong, and I studied a Bachelor of Communications at UTS, majoring in Public Communication.
And I now work at Ogilvy Sydney as a Social Community Manager.
Once I knew that I wanted to be a part of the communications industry, UTS was always my first choice.
What I enjoyed most about my degree was the diversity of experiences on offer.
Even though I studied public relations I was kind of able to explore my interests in advertising, UX and app design, and that’s especially important for people in my line of work because we’ve got to adapt to so many different roles.
So the broader your skill set, the easier that will be.
The great thing about working in Marketing is that no two days are ever the same. Some days I might be out on a shoot, other days I might be at my desk editing content that we’ve just shot, and other times I might even be brainstorming new content and campaign ideas.
My advice to UTS students is to get involved in extra-curriculars, and really diversify your skill set as much as possible.
Landing that first job can be tough, and I found that having those extra experiences under my belt really helped me stand out from the crowd and gave me that edge.
More information
- UTS Student Centre: 1300 275 887
- Head of Discipline: Kate Delmo
Industry recognition
The UTS Strategic Communication program is recognised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).