Program Overview:

Given the broad scope of marketing, it is not surprising that a significant proportion of the work force is employed in some aspect of the field.  Many individuals with marketing degrees, particularly in smaller firms, become marketing managers responsible for all marketing related activities of the firm.  Many other specialize in one specific area.  Some of the more common areas include e-commerce, advertising and promotion, sales and sales management, brand management, product development and planning, marketing research & analytics, customer relationship management, media management and retail buying or merchandising.  To accommodate the various career track options in marketing, the marketing department offers three concentrations:  marketing management, sales management and integrated marketing communications.

Each program is designed to provide a full set of fundamental skills and work place competencies essential for success.  Both theory and practice are stressed through a series of foundation courses, concentration courses that focus not only on “what to do,” but “how to do it” and a professional capstone experience that includes projects with real companies, internships and or professionally taught specialty courses on state-of-the-art marketing practices.

Our majors must meet all requirements of 1) the General Education program, 2) the Pre-Business program and 3) the College of Business Core Curriculum.

Marketing Major Foundation Courses

The four common foundation courses, in addition to the business core, provide a conceptual and analytical foundation for all three marketing concentrations.   The need to understand the process of selling, whether it be products, services, ideas or oneself, is critical in 21^st century relationship building.  Information is a commodity; insight is not.  The skill to formulate and test research questions about customers, markets and competitors is fundamental to knowledge-based decision-making.  The advent of customer, transactional, sales force and web-based databases has fueled an information explosion.  These databases are  invaluable if marketers know how to organize, manipulate and interpret  content.  Understanding how buyers search for information, make buying decisions, respond to persuasive appeals and use products and services is critical to the marketing process.

All Majors Complete These 12 credits

Students choose one of the three concentration areas below:  Marketing Management, Sales Management or Integrated Marketing Communications.  Each of these concentration areas offers four courses.  All four are required.  You may also wish to consider a dual concentration.  For example, one may have a dual concentration in Marketing Management and Sales Management.  This generally requires only three additional courses.

The Marketing Management Concentration

The skilled marketing manager aids in the process of creating committed customers through product development, branding, customer service, distribution, pricing and promotion. The marketing management concentration prepares you to become adept at adding value to any organization, profit or non-profit.  

Complete These 12 credits

The Sales Management Concentration

Experts estimate that sales professionals account for as much as 10 percent of U.S. employment. Despite the critical role of sales, there are very few accredited sales management programs. Not only do we offer a sales management program, it has recently been ranked as high as the #3 program in the country. We also offer a minor in Sales Management and certificate programs in Professional Selling and Health Care Selling.

Complete These 12 credits

Integrated Marketing Communications

Marketers have a myriad of ways to communicate with customers and potential customers. IMC refers to the process of coordinating a firm’s communication programs to create a consistent position and image in the marketplace. IMC includes traditional and digital channels of communication. Digital channels include websites, digital advertising campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, webinars, podcasts, email and blogging. Traditional channels include TV, print, radio, billboard, mail order, telemarketing and public relations.

Complete These 12 credits

The Professional Experience

A unique element of our program is the “Professional Experience” which is designed to ease your transition from academics to industry.  The statement, “I hear and I forget.  I see and I remember.  I do and I understand,” is attributed to Confucius.  All marketing majors will participate in the Marketing Capstone course in which you will consult a major firm in the region. You will also choose between a marketing internship or three 1-credit courses in our new Professional Workshop program.  These workshops, taught by area executives, will deal with cutting edge marketing issues (See links below).

All Majors Complete Six Credits

Endorsements:

Minors and Certificates

For those of you not considering a major in marketing, please consider a minor in Consumer Marketing, Cross Cultural Negotiation, Database Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sales Management or International Business.  Our certificates in Healthcare Selling, International Business and Professional Selling are attractive to students outside the College of Business and non-degree students. The Database Development and Webmaster Certificates are also useful considerations depending on your specific interests.