VCU Adcenter ranked nation’s top advertising program
Mike Frontiero
VCU School of Education
(804) 827-2415
mdfronti@vcu.edu
3/22/2005
The VCU Adcenter, Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Mass Communication’s graduate program in advertising, has been ranked
the No. 1 advertising program in the United States by Creativity
magazine based on a survey of creative directors and hiring managers at
the country’s leading advertising and design agencies.
The magazine’s first
formal advertising and design school review appears in the March 2005
issue and rates programs for overall quality, innovation and the quality
of the graduates. The VCU Adcenter ranked first overall and first in
each of the three categories.
“The Adcenter
constantly monitors trends in the industry and adapts the curriculum to
stay one step ahead,” said Rick Boyko, managing director of the VCU
Adcenter. “Adcenter students are prepared for an industry that is
rapidly evolving, and they’re taught to think of advertising as an
industry that challenges the conventional view of marketing.
“Ranking number one
in every category of the survey is testament to the innovation of our
program and the quality of our students and full-time faculty,” he said.
VCU Adcenter faculty
bring extensive practical and real-world experience to the program, many
having owned their own companies, headed agencies or served as creative
directors. The students have garnered many national and international
advertising industry awards, including the Clios, One Show, Art
Director’s Club, ANDYs and ATHENAs. They also have worked on national
advertising campaigns for clients that include Martha Stewart Living,
NASCAR, Napster, and Lux soap.
“Where some schools
spend so much time on the visual pun or solution, VCU Adcenter doesn’t
get caught up in gimmicks or the ‘what’s hot now’ executions,” said one
of the survey respondents. “They are constantly pushing the envelope
creatively by thinking for themselves instead of just a new twist on
what’s been done.”
Creativity magazine
is a trade publication that chronicles emerging trends in the fields of
advertising and design.
A copy of the review
is available by contacting Ashley Sommardahl at 804-828-8384, or visit
www.adcenter.vcu.edu/html/news/articles/adschoolreview05.pdf.
The Adcenter is currently organizing
its internship program and end-of-the-year portfolio review for agency
recruiters. For more information, please contact Ashley Sommardahl.
- About VCU and the VCU Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 32,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.
