Integrated Marketing Communication Minor
A brand speaks in more than one voice at once: an ad, a press release, a product page, a post. Integrated Marketing Communication is the discipline of making all of them say the same thing to the same person. This minor blends coursework in marketing, advertising, and public relations so you learn to research an audience, coordinate a message across channels, and build the relationships that make it land.
Why Study Integrated Marketing Communication
Most students learn either the marketing side or the communication side. This minor is built across both schools deliberately. You take marketing principles, consumer behavior, and integrated strategy in the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise, then advertising, public relations, and campaign work in the Department of Communication. The result is that you can read the research and write the work, which is the combination agencies and in-house teams keep saying is hard to hire for.
Program Details
The Integrated Marketing Communication minor is 24 credit hours: four required courses plus two you choose. Faculty from the Department of Communication and the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise teach across the minor.
Required Courses
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| COM 2400 | Principles of Advertising and Public Relations |
| COM 4400 | Strategic Communication Campaigns |
| MKT 3160 | Marketing Principles |
| MKT 3360 | Integrated Marketing Communication |
Marketing Course, Choose One
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| MKT 3260 | Consumer Behavior |
| MKT 3270 | Sales Management and Personal Selling |
Communication Course, Choose One
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| COM 2500 | Visual Communication |
| COM 3410 | Advertising Creative |
| COM 3420 | Advertising Writing |
| COM 3450 | Public Relations Writing |
| COM 4350 | Social Media Strategies |
- Start with MKT 3160. Marketing Principles is the prerequisite for three of the six courses in this minor: MKT 3360, MKT 3260, and MKT 3270. Nothing on the marketing side moves until it's done.
- MKT 3360 unlocks the capstone. For interdisciplinary minors, COM 4400 requires ART 3410, ART 3510, or MKT 3360 as a prerequisite. In this minor MKT 3360 is your gateway course, which means the sequence runs MKT 3160, then MKT 3360, then COM 4400. Plan for three semesters minimum on that chain alone.
- Choose your communication course with prerequisites in mind. COM 2500 is the only one of the five options with no prerequisite. COM 3410 requires COM 2500 or ART 1120. COM 3420 requires COM 2500 plus either COM 2110 or COM 2400. COM 3450 requires COM 1500 and COM 2500. COM 4350 requires COM 3420 or COM 3450. If you want anything other than COM 2500, budget for the courses underneath it.
- Earn a 2.0 in the minor. All minors at Florida Southern must be completed with a 2.0 grade point average.
- Complete half the minor here. At least 50 percent of the minor requirements must be completed at Florida Southern College. AICE, AP, CLEP, and IB credits are recorded as transfer credits.
Beyond The Classroom
The minor is built on applied work. Strategic Communication Campaigns has you researching and designing messaging for a real client or employer working toward measurable outcomes, and Integrated Marketing Communication teaches the coordination strategy behind it.
Outside of class, two long-running programs turn that coursework into a portfolio and a network. Lux12, Florida Southern's student-run digital marketing agency, produces real content for local brands and gives you agency experience before you graduate. AdFed, the student chapter of the American Advertising Federation, holds monthly campus meetings that bring local and nationally recognized speakers to campus and connect you with professionals working in the field. The Florida Public Relations Association student chapter offers the same on the public relations side. Students also tour advertising agencies and pursue internships in the Tampa and Orlando media markets, both within easy reach of campus.
Where It Can Lead
The minor gives you the two halves of the job at once: the research to know what an audience responds to, and the craft to produce the message. That combination maps directly onto agency account and strategy roles, in-house brand and marketing teams, public relations and corporate communications, media planning, and nonprofit and association communications. For students whose major is not itself communication, it is the credential that makes the marketing side of a career reachable.
How To Declare This Minor
Skip to next section- 1
Meet with program director to review the minor and map your sequence.
- 2
Three of the six courses depend on it, and the path to the capstone runs through it. This is the single most important scheduling decision in the minor.
- 3
It will appear on your official transcript.
Get in Touch
Questions about the Integrated Marketing Communication minor? Connect with the program director.
Alex Ortiz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communication
- 863.680.3003
- 863.680.6244
- aortiz@flsouthern.edu
- Chatlos Building
Take the Next Step
This is a big decision, and we’re here to help you make the choice that’s right for the future you’re imagining. Choose a next step to explore the possibilities at FSC!