BA (Hons) Professional Communication (Business, Design & Strategy)
Programme Overview
- Degree: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Professional Communication (Business, Design & Strategy) (Awarded by Arts University Bournemouth)
- Programme duration: 3 years (Full-time)
- Location: BUV Campus, Ecopark, Hanoi
- Timetable: Students’ timetables will be sent to BUV students’ emails prior to the commencement date of each semester.
Comprehensive understanding of communications industry’s creative & business sides
Hands-on learning with a variety of communication and presentation techniques
5-star campus, learning experience and services
Opportunities to engage with industry practitioners
- Interdisciplinary Approach: The programme uniquely combines creative practice with strategic business principles.
- Research Emphasis: The programme places significant focus on historical, theoretical and research skills for strategic decision-making.
- Practicality: Hands-on learning and a variety of communication and presentation techniques ensure students gain practical experience.
- Professional Development: The programme fosters goal-setting and effective resource management to fully prepare students for the professional world.
- Course Industry Patron Scheme: The programme is connected formally with industry partners, practitioners and businesses that act as critical influences to the programme and academic team. Many modules work with several industry partners, but more formal Industry Mentors offer the opportunity for students to collaborate and maintain close relations with the communications industry. This is a concept that ensures BUV programmes are industry-relevant and maintain current practices while providing further opportunities for students to engage with industry practitioners.
This programme is subject to validation.
Course Structure 
Year 1
Year 1 Introduction to Creative Communications
Communicating Ideas through Strategy
Communications in Context
Year 2 
Year 3
This module sets the basis for understanding research methodologies, the creative process, and practical skills such as image creation and visual ideation. Students will learn the importance of the history and theories of communications (Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations) as a basis for ideation and exploration while acquiring essential practical digital skills (cameras, software, etc.) to form early campaign presentations.
Design strategy can be defined as a structured approach that merges tactical business insights with the demands of the end-user, thereby facilitating the creation of highly efficient communication design, products, or services.
In the Designing Communication and Testing Strategies module, students will develop their understanding of the dynamics between producing a campaign, understanding an audience, and responsibility to stakeholders. They will explore the role of hierarchy in controlling the meaning of messages and how to shape communications strategically. Communications skills and advanced presentation abilities are required to provide them with critical tools for conveying their ideas effectively.
In the Designing Communication and Testing Strategies module, students will develop their understanding of the dynamics between producing a campaign, understanding an audience, and responsibility to stakeholders. They will explore the role of hierarchy in controlling the meaning of messages and how to shape communications strategically. Communications skills and advanced presentation abilities are required to provide them with critical tools for conveying their ideas effectively.
The Professional Practice and Communications Strategies module forms a critical component of the programme, offering the experience that references the workings of the Comms industry. It necessitates active student engagement with competition briefs, also other exercises that are designed to exhibit students Comms competence and skills aligned to industry standards and benchmarks.
Programme Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
• Evidence a variety of relevant primary and secondary research strategies.
• Analyse findings to develop communications concepts based on audience behaviours and cultural values.
• Evidence understanding of subject knowledge through functional, aesthetic, historical and critical perspectives.
• Analyse findings to develop communications concepts based on audience behaviours and cultural values.
• Evidence understanding of subject knowledge through functional, aesthetic, historical and critical perspectives.
Professional skills
• Evidence and articulate the intellectual processes involved in the production of complex, strategy-led, creative communications projects.
• Synthesise theory and practice research findings to initiate and inform a variety of written and visual ideas and responses.
• Identify, develop, and apply a range of relevant problem-solving strategies that will support a creative communications process to deliver innovative solutions.
• Experiment with materials, media, processes, and environments in an informed and innovative way.
• Display an elevated level of technical skill in the production, presentation, and documentation of work.
• Synthesise theory and practice research findings to initiate and inform a variety of written and visual ideas and responses.
• Identify, develop, and apply a range of relevant problem-solving strategies that will support a creative communications process to deliver innovative solutions.
• Experiment with materials, media, processes, and environments in an informed and innovative way.
• Display an elevated level of technical skill in the production, presentation, and documentation of work.
Transferable skills
• Articulate personal identity as a creative practitioner through reflecting on personal practice in relationship to professional contexts.
• Participate thoughtfully and professionally when working and collaborating with others.
• Participate thoughtfully and professionally when working and collaborating with others.
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Employability
Roles achievable by graduates in Professional Communication (Business, Design & Strategy) include:
- Application Designer
- Account Manager
- Art Director
- Brand Designer
- Client Services Director
- Copywriter
- Creative Director
- Digital Content Developer
- Editorial Designer
- Marketing Communications Planner
- Media/Public Relations Strategist
- Mobile/Social Media Planner
Admission requirements
Academic Requirements
- Successful completion of a recognised foundation course.
- All applicants must have Level 3 qualifications, which should include at least one creative subject. We’re looking for between 112 and 120 UCAS Tariff points. You can use the UCAS Tariff Calculator to work out how many points you have.
- The standard offers for degree courses include:
- GCE A-Levels – BBB at A-Level excluding General Studies, or 120 UCAS Tariff points
- Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Pass
- BTEC Level 3 Diploma at Distinction*
- T-level grade of Merit or above
- BTEC/OCR Extended Diploma at Distinction, Merit, Merit
- RSL/UAL Diploma – must be combined with other Level 3 qualifications equivalent to 112-120 UCAS Tariff points
- RSL/ UAL Extended Diploma at Merit
- A combination of BTEC Subsidiary Diploma and A-Levels – equivalent to 120 UCAS Tariff points
- Three BTEC Subsidiary Diploma passes at Grade Merit
- Scottish Highers – five passes at Grade C or above
English Language Requirements
One of the following:
- Academic IELTS or UKVI IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each band. We will accept IELTS Online (Academic) scores.
- TOEFL iBT with 92 overall with a minimum score of 19 in writing, listening, and reading and 20 in speaking. Please note the home version of this test is not accepted.
- PTE Academic UKVI or PTE Academic with 62 overall and at least 51 in each section.
- LanguageCert International ESOL SELT B2 Communicator with 38 in each section (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking).
- Cambridge C1 Advanced English exam with a minimum grade of C.
- Cambridge C2 Proficiency English exam with a minimum grade of C.
Fees & Financial Aid
Fees
Tuition fee information for students enrolling from January 2024:
| Tuition Fee | Other Fees* | Total Fee | |
| Pathway Programme | VND 83,840,000 | VND 14,690,000 | VND 98,530,000 |
| Degree | VND 756,558,000 | VND 189,600,000 | VND 946,158,000 |
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* Other fees include Education Resource Fee and Student Affairs Fee
Tuition Fee & Fee Policy
Scholarships & Financial Aid
The British University Vietnam (BUV) scholarship fund was established in 2018 with the goal of giving students the opportunity to study UK undergraduate and graduate programmes in an international learning environment. With an aim to improve and increase accessibility to high-quality education, BUV has officially launched the fund valued at 87 billion VND in 2024 with hundreds of scholarships and financial aid made available.
You can visit our Scholarship page to find out more and check your eligibility.
