As artificial intelligence becomes a larger part of advertising, faculty in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences' Department of Advertising and Public Relations are examining what students need to know before entering the field.
Through a partnership with the ANA Educational Foundation, Ed Timke, assistant professor in ADPR; Susan McFarlane-Alvarez, professor in ADPR; and Greg Taucher, Hopp Faculty Fellow Professor of Practice in ADPR, recently completed the 2025 Expectations in Advertising Education survey. The survey examines how advertising educators and industry professionals define student readiness as technology and workplace expectations change.
"The biggest takeaway for students is that today's advertising industry values adaptability as much as technical expertise," Timke said. "Technologies will change, but curiosity, critical thinking and strong people skills are what help professionals navigate continual change."
The survey gathered responses from 92 advertising faculty and practitioners, nearly evenly split between the two groups and largely based in North America. Researchers examined where educators and industry professionals agree on what students need and where their priorities differ.
While respondents agreed on many of the fundamentals, including strategic thinking, AI literacy, communication, adaptability, collaboration and integrity, they differed in how those skills should be developed and applied.
What has changed and what hasn't
The Expectations in Advertising Education survey dates to 2010, when Taucher and the late Jim Avery developed the survey and fielded it among hiring managers across more than 200 offices in the DDB Worldwide agency network. Taucher continued the research with surveys in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Across those iterations, several expectations have remained consistent. Employers continue to value graduates who understand strategy, can work effectively as part of a team and can put ideas into action. Internships have also remained a high priority, while GPA has consistently carried less weight than a student's ability to apply what they have learned.
The technology students are expected to understand, however, has changed. By the 2017 survey, digital had become a mainstream part of advertising practice. The 2025 findings reflect the industry's increasing use of AI and the questions that come with it, including how AI is used in advertising work and expectations around transparency and responsible use.
What tomorrow's advertising professionals need
When asked about the knowledge students need before entering the industry, faculty and practitioners shared several priorities. Both groups emphasized strategic thinking, data analytics and integrated campaign planning.
Their priorities began to differ beyond those areas. Faculty placed greater emphasis on integrated marketing communications strategy, AI literacy, internships and hands-on learning, and social listening. Practitioners prioritized programmatic buying, media planning, marketing technology, and using AI and analytics for speed and efficiency.
The survey found similar patterns when respondents were asked about the skills and attributes graduates need. Both groups valued strong communication, teamwork and collaboration, attention to detail, integrity and a strong work ethic. Faculty placed additional emphasis on critical thinking, curiosity and creativity, while practitioners emphasized professional presence, reliability, humility and other workplace skills.
Both groups placed relatively low importance on graduate degrees and published research compared with practical ability, interpersonal skills and a willingness to learn.
"Faculty and practitioners alike seem to agree: Education isn't about a collection of perfect grades," Timke said. "It's about developing the curiosity, critical thinking and drive needed to solve real problems, create value and make a difference in the world."
The findings also show that AI and analytics are becoming a greater part of advertising education. Faculty and practitioners agreed that both should be part of preparing students for the industry, along with adaptability, critical thinking and ethical decision-making.
Taken together, the findings suggest students need both the strategic and conceptual foundations emphasized by educators and the practical experience and technical skills prioritized by industry professionals.
"Our current and growing focus on engaged learning is more important than ever," McFarlane-Alvarez said. "The more we can give students opportunities to work on real-world scenarios, through internships, field hours and project-based learning, the more we can prepare them to be ready upon graduation to enter this rapidly changing industry. It really needs to be theory meeting practice at every stage of the student experience."
Connecting the classroom and industry
With advertising practices and technologies changing significantly since the earlier surveys, Taucher collaborated with Timke and McFarlane-Alvarez to bring the survey back and establish it as an annual initiative to track industry needs and workforce expectations.
The project reflects ADPR's focus on connecting research, industry engagement and student learning. By regularly examining what employers expect from graduates, faculty can use those insights to inform advertising education while bringing research, critical thinking and broader questions about ethics and society into conversations with industry professionals.
The research team has already launched the 2026 edition of the Expectations in Advertising Education survey, which will build on the 2025 findings and track how expectations among advertising educators and employers change over time.
By Claire Dippel