The International advertising course allows students to see international companies' advertising up close. For two weeks, students enrolled in International Advertising will have the opportunity to visit three countries, meet with representatives from major advertising agencies, see firsthand the new European political system and earn three hours of college credit. Birgit Wassmuth, professor of advertising, and her husband David Thompson, a professor at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, started the study abroad program last year.
Textbooks can only do so much.
Students are required to bring a camera to take pictures of billboards, store fronts, cars or individual products that are different from the United States. They also have to do a journal entry each day. Specific topics are suggested, but they could also just record their own personal experiences. Some of the topics include culture shock, architecture, transportation and, of course, advertising. If you are immersed in a cultural environment you can understand and respect those differences.