a)    Short history

Founded in 1986 and owned by the professional body of the Advertising industry, the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) since 1990. The AAA School of Advertising is the official higher education institution for the South African advertising industry, with campuses in Johannesburg and Cape Town and a satellite campus in Mauritius.

The support the AAA School has from the official body (ACA) and its member’s means that it has access to a wealth of experts within the advertising business in addition to our lecturers who are respected academics and industry professionals and therefore our students interact with and receive the most up-to-date, relevant tuition available.

Guest speakers and hands-on participation from the experts give our students the opportunity to interact with, and sell themselves to, advertising people who matter. With the result that, long before graduating, our students can begin moulding their careers and, indeed, many final year students receive employment offers before they write their final exams.

The AAA School approach to teaching advertising and marketing communication is totally integrated and incorporates the challenges of new technology and new media (e.g. digital and mobile media). Over and above the exposure to agency people, students are given real projects to work on within simulated agency teams. They put theory into practice right from the start. Full time final year students also participate in a four week internship programme to experience for themselves the excitement and challenges of the advertising world.

The school is a creative buzz. We believe in providing more than just knowledge, skills and practical experience. Potential is turned into achievement by encouraging creative exploration, while innovation is integral to the learning process. Excellence is both encouraged and expected and each year the best creative work is entered for (and often wins!) both important local and international awards.

In 2011 the School will celebrate 21 years of academic excellence. By the end of 2010 AAA will have graduated close to 3000 graduates since 1990.

b)    Why study at the AAA

                i.         Owned By The Ad. Industry

The School has been owned by the ACA (Association for Communication and Advertising), the professional body of the industry since 1990.

This means that we have access to ad. industry experts, our students interact with them, they lecture to us and we work on real life projects and campaigns with them.

               ii.         Career Focused

We’re an advertising school, preparing young talent with the necessary knowledge AND skills for a successful career in advertising. Final year students are placed in the ad. industry for a 4 week internship during their final year, giving them a great opportunity to be employed.

              iii.         SAQA Accreditation, CHE Registration

All our qualifications are fully accredited by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) and we are registered with the CHE (Council on Higher Education) as a PHEI (Private Higher Education Institution) for the qualifications shown on certificate 2000/HE07/015.

             iv.         International Accreditation

The AAA School sets and maintains globally recognized standards for world-class education in advertising. We are the only private academic institution in Africa accredited by the IAA (International Advertising Association), New York, USA. This means that our graduates ALSO receive an IAA Diploma.

              v.         Empowerment

The AAA School endeavours to identify, recruit and educate talented youngsters from previously disadvantaged groups for the ad. industry.

             vi.          Small Classes

We educate and train a limited number of talented students, give them personal attention and mould them one-on-one for a career in advertising or marketing.

            vii.          World Class

AAA School is rated by Lürzer’s Archive (Austria) as the no. 2 Advertising School in the world.

c)     Campuses

i.                Johannesburg Campus

1st Floor

Bond Street Centre

Cnr Bram Fischer Drive & Bond Street

Kensington B

RANDBURG

2194

d)    School Terms

The 2012 Academic Terms are:

Term 1: 23 January 2012 – 23 March 2012

Term 2: 10 April 2012 – 11 June 2012

Term 3: 16 July 2012 – 28 September 2012

Term 4: 08 October 2012 – 07 December 2012

ii.               Cape Town Campus

4th Floor

Manhattan Place

130 Bree Street

CAPE TOWN

8001