Undergraduate Courses
For descriptions and times of our numbered cataloged courses, refer to the university catalogs and registrar's website.
ADV/PR 378 Elective Course Descriptions | Spring 2025
Creativity in AI | New Hire | TTH 11:00am-12:30pm, Web-based
Students will explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and creative processes. They will examine how AI can enhance and augment human creativity in various domains such as art, music, writing, and design. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on projects, students will gain a deep understanding of the latest AI technologies and techniques used to generate innovative content. They will also critically analyze the ethical implications and societal impacts of AI-driven creativity. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to harness the power of AI to push the boundaries of human creativity.
Immersive Media Studio | Ben Randall | W 5:00-8:00pm, CMA 3.124
This is a project-based course that encourages creative exploration within the space of Immersive Technology. Much like a hackathon, students will work on experimental projects over short periods of time and will learn through discovery and sharing their findings with other students. This course is open to all majors and there are no prerequisites. A curiosity about immersive technology is the only expectation of incoming students. This is a good introductory class for all UT students interested in applying to Texas Immersive.
Strategic Science Communication | Anthony Dudo | MW 10:00-11:00am, DMC 4.204, F Web-based
Using insights from strategic communication and social science, this course explores how to design effective science communication. The course examines the crucial roles that strategic thinking—specifically communication goals, objectives, and tactics—play in maximizing science communication’s ability to achieve positive behavioral impacts. The course includes case studies and also focuses on how to evaluate the effectiveness of science communication efforts.
Sustainability Communication Research | Lucy Atkinson | TTH 2:00-3:30pm, CMA 3.108
This class examines integrated communication in the context of sustainability and environmental issues. We will work with a corporate partner to develop and conduct applied communication research on a sustainability issue. Students will get exposure to all phases of research, from conceptualizing the problem and developing research questions to collecting data and presenting the findings.
Influencer Marketing | Adam Ornelas | TTH 2:00-3:30pm, ETC 2.132
To integrate influencers into campaigns, marketing executives must know how to distinguish the truly influential – those who can motivate actual behavior – from the "merely popular." That is especially critical in social media, where commonly cited measures of "influence" – such as followers and likes – can be purchased and otherwise artificially inflated. Marketers need to conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis, since many influencers may have little to no social media popularity. In this course, you will learn not only how to work with influencers to reach your business goals – including identifying, analyzing, approaching, managing, and measuring them – but also how to differentiate between attention and influence.
Pop Star Activism | Dave Junker | Web-based, asynchronous
Pop star activism occurs at the intersection of marketing (commercial interests), issue advocacy (political interests) and art (individual and cultural interests), presenting fun and instructive case studies in strategic communications (an umbrella term for public relations, advertising, marketing, political campaigns and other organized efforts to persuade). This class engages with issues of diversity, political activism, public relations, and marketing communication through the lens of popular music.
Issues of African American Advertising and Public Relations | Sean Upshaw | TTH 2:00-3:30pm, DMC 4.206
The course explores cultural critiques of the advertising and public relationship industry related to historical and contemporary challenges involving representation, stereotypes, and corporate social responsibility involving the Black/African American experience. The course will also explore strategic pathways for improving advertising and public relations practices to advance sociocultural sustainability, brand purpose, and social ecosystem evolution centering on Black contributions. Furthermore, the course draws heavily on the creative intellectual diversity of Black/African American contributions to the advertising and public relations field.
Digital Social Media Production | Octavio Kano-Galvan | TTH 9:30-11:00am, CMA 4.144
Digital social media mobile technology offers a creative and interesting new way to create visual content. Mobile video on social media production is a major asset for businesses to create brand awareness, share information, and engage targeted audiences. This class aims to provide students with the required skills to plan, capture, edit, and produce digital social media content. Students will learn how to use tools to create digital storytelling with mobile devices. Students will come out of the course with expanded knowledge of industry editing and motion graphics software for mobile devices. Students will produce high-quality video shorts in a variety of contexts, including advertising campaigns, interviews, site visits, events, products, restaurant reviews, and news stories.
360 Video Production | Octavio Kano-Galvan | TTH 3:30-5:00pm, CMA 4.144
360-video technology offers creative and interesting new ways to create immersive visual content. The goal of this class is to provide students with the required skills to plan, capture, edit, and produce 360 videos. The course centers on project-based learning; students will explore 360-Video technology to create visual-immersive content. The goal of this class is to provide students the required skills to plan, capture, edit, and produce 360-videos.
Digital Social Media Analytics | Brittany Paxman | M 5:00-8:00pm, DMC 3.206
Explore cutting edge technologies that enable public relations and advertising professionals to better understand online conversations and audience behaviors. Examine how to recommend creative solutions for engaging key stakeholders. Determine how data, creative, and strategy intersect.
Fashion PR | Amber Hutchins | Web-based, asynchronous
Fashion is a multi-billion-dollar industry that plays a significant role in our daily lives, and career opportunities for professional communicators are on the rise. In this course, we will explore the skills needed for careers in fashion PR and media, as well as industry trends and issues. In addition, we will also analyze fashion's impact on communication and culture, including how individuals use fashion to communicate and create identity, and the role of fashion in TV and film.