Course Guides

MBA in Marketing

An MBA in Marketing has become one of the most desired degrees by both students and employers in recent years. With the shift to digital and online marketing, most businesses now have their own, in-house marketing teams specializing in bringing traffic and customers to the company.

While there are a number of specific areas of marketing, an MBA specializing in marketing doesn’t limit the degree holder to pursuing marketing careers alone. The skillset can be put towards dozens of other career options, from consulting to entrepreneurial management.

However, if you like the sound of taking on a diversified role in an ever-changing landscape, the role of the marketing manager might just be your calling.

What is an MBA in Marketing?

An MBA in Marketing teaches students about sales, marketing, consumer trends, strategies and research in a wide range of fields, allowing them to land job as the heart of organizations.

What You Need to Study an MBA in Marketing

The broad nature of marketing, encompassing everything and anything from art and design to human behavior and quantitative skills, means that almost any background can lend itself to the degree.

The basic entry requirements for an MBA in marketing are a solid GMAT score and GPA and a bachelor’s degree – whether this is in a subject from the humanities or in pre-professional studies or anything in between. As with any other MBA degree or specialization, admissions officers will, for the most part, be looking to see at least two years of experience before accepting a student into a program.

Prospective students hoping to show they have the potential to become an excellent marketing manager require a broad skillset. Well-rounded individuals with skills in both mathematics and the softer skills, such as communications, tend to fare well in MBA in marketing specializations. Other desired skills for marketing typically include analytical and leadership skills.

MBA in Marketing – Course Content

Common courses found within MBA in marketing specializations include:

Marketing management
Operations management
Consumer and brand insight strategy
Digital marketing and social media management
Forecasting, modelling, and marketing strategy
New product strategy, branding, and marketing
International and multi-national marketing
Sales force management

Stanford Graduate School of Business has been ranked as the best business school in the world for specializing in marketing yet again, with 18 percent of graduates going into a relevant industry. The complete top 10 can be found below.

1) Stanford Graduate School of Business

2) Michigan Ross School of Business

3) UCLA Anderson School of Management

4) Kelley School of Business

5) Marshall School of Business

6) The Kellogg School of Management

7) Carlson School of Management

8) Harvard Business School

9) The University of Texas at Austin - McCombs School of Business

10) The Fuqua School of Business

Top Careers to Pursue with an MBA in Marketing

Marketing MBAs can channel their energies into preparing for marketing career roles, from IT to retail and anything in between.

As every sector of the business world has a product it wants to reach the appropriate channels, every sector requires marketing and marketing managers. Popular specializations in marketing careers over the past few years include (but are no means limited to):

Internet and digital marketing trends, channels, management, and strategies
E-commerce
Brand management
Market research and analytics
Content marketing

Here are some of the top-tier jobs you could land with a marketing MBA:

Marketing Manager
Marketing Director
Public Relations Specialist
Market Research Director
Director of Sales
Advertising Manager

Boutique vs. Corporate

With a marketing MBA, you’d be able to land jobs at both boutique and corporate firms.

A boutique (i.e. smaller) advertising agency or marketing firm requires more flexibility and adaptability from a marketing manager than a large corporation will. A large corporation will have other branches to deal with aspects of finance, artistic design, sales, product development and design, and other duties that could fall under the remit of a marketing manager attached to a smaller firm.

A large corporation will instead be looking for a marketing manager to manage one or two aspects of a marketing campaign, whether that is new product research, marketing strategy, consumer strategy, or brand strategy.