Fifty-two students from The University of Alabama and four other colleges in the area traveled to Birmingham to tour five advertising agencies on Monday.

The tour, sponsored and hosted by the Birmingham chapter of the American Advertising Federation, is an annual tour giving students the chance to visit advertising agencies.

Glenn Griffin, associate professor of advertising and director of student education for AAF Birmingham, coordinated this year’s tour.

“It just helps advertising students figure out what role they would assume in an agency,” he said.

Katie Davis, a senior majoring in advertising, attended the tour the past two years.

“I think it’s always beneficial to get a taste of what the professional world is like,” she said. “It’s important to me to see agencies in their own environment and really get a dose of their culture.”

Davis said the tour helped her learn more about advertising and the professional world of advertising agencies that are different from other corporate jobs.

“Advertising agencies are unlike most workplaces,” she said. “Students should always take the chance to get a glimpse of reality when we can.”