STCC unveils program that puts students on path to advertising career

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield Technical Community College this fall will offer a new web and advertising design major to prepare students for a career in the exciting, fast-paced world of digital media and ad agency management.

The program, an option for students seeking a degree in graphic communications and photography, exposes students to applications used in modern advertising agencies, including search engine optimization and search engine marketing. Students will get hands-on experience by applying the tools and techniques they’ve learned in a creative way, said Adjunct Professor Christopher Zarlengo, one of the instructors in the program.

The flexible program includes evening and summer courses.

The curriculum will put students on the path toward jobs in package design, advertising design and a variety of creative and management positions in an advertising agency, said Professor Matt Kriftcher, department chair, Graphic Communications and Photography.

“There aren’t any other schools in this area that have strictly web design and advertising courses,” Kriftcher said. “The program’s unique. We think it will appeal to younger and older students. It’s a career-oriented program designed to get students right into the job market.”

We want to resurrect the creative process for students. Christopher Zarlengo, Adjunct Professor at STCC

Students who complete the requirements of the new program will earn an associate degree in graphic communications and photography.

The new courses include:

• Advertising agency management: This course teaches the basic principles for setting up and managing a full-service advertising agency, including managing finances, hiring sales and administrative tasks. Students will use professional agency software programs and equipment found in today’s advertising agencies. “This course is really based on my experience managing and running an agency and the design work involved in that,” Zarlengo said.
• Creative concept development for advertising: This course teaches design principles related to the creation and production of advertisements for various media, including print, television and radio.
• Packaging design concepts: This course teaches students about the materials and processes used in the design and production of packaging for consumer goods.
• Internet advertising principles: This course teaches students about the principle elements of internet advertising, including digital display ads, database marketing, targeted emailing and social media networking. Students will understand search engine marketing and search engine optimization, and the practical applications of each. The course prepares students to take an exam for certification as a Google media reseller.
• Integrated advertising campaign development: This course teaches the origins of contemporary advertising and the relationship of marketing strategies and tactics.

More information about the program and required courses can be found here.

“We want to resurrect the creative process for students,” Zarlengo said. “It’s not just about learning the application. It’s about how to apply the application.”

Zarlengo said the goal is to teach students not just to understand how to use tools, but to allow them to learn how to complete design projects.

“I might ask them to design a label for a peanut butter jar or to design a soap dispenser,” he said. “They have to apply what they’ve learned in a realistic situation.”

“That’s what this program is all about,” Zarlengo said. “They should be able to leave here after two years and land a position.”

The Graphic Communications and Photography Department at STCC offers a curriculum designed to prepare students for careers in printing, publishing, advertising, digital media and photography. Web and advertising design is one of the three options students can focus on. The others are digital photography and graphic design.

Graduates with their associate degree in graphic communications and photography also might decide to transfer to a four-year college. STCC has transfer agreements with Elms College in Chicopee and Central Connecticut State University in New Britain that allow graphic communications and photography graduates to enter as juniors.

In addition, some colleges, including Rochester Institute of Technology, accept credits from STCC’s program.

For more information about applying, call the admissions office at (413) 755-3333 or visit www.stcc.edu/apply.

About Springfield Technical Community College

Founded in 1967 and located on 35 acres of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, STCC is a major resource for the economic vitality of Western Massachusetts. As the only technical community college in Massachusetts, STCC, an Achieving the Dream Leader College, offers a variety of career programs unequalled in the state. STCC’s highly regarded transfer programs in business, engineering, liberal arts, science and technology continue to provide the most economical options for students pursuing a four-year degree. With an annual enrollment of more than 8,500 day, evening, weekend and online students, STCC is a vibrant campus rich in diversity.

For more information about STCC, visit www.stcc.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@S_T_C_C).

Media Contact:

Jim Danko, Coordinator of Media Relations

(413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

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