Marketing Degrees: Understanding the Different TypesMarketing Degrees: Understanding the Different TypesMarketing Degrees: Understanding the Different Types

Marketing is the process of getting products into the view of potential customers. Effective marketing drives sales and revenue, making it essential for companies in every industry. Because of the significant role marketing plays in most businesses’ success, students can pursue different types of marketing degrees with confidence that, after graduating, they will have a diverse range of potentially lucrative career opportunities to choose from.

There are several important types of marketing degrees students should be aware of, including the Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in marketing. Bachelor’s degrees are designed to prepare students for entry-level marketing professions that involve researching markets and formulating strategies to determine the best way to thrive within them. With a master’s-level education, marketing professionals can better qualify for senior positions including leading or managing employees to devise and implement whole marketing strategies.

Demand for marketing degrees

Because marketing plays a vital role in a company’s growth strategies, it’s not surprising to learn there is strong demand for qualified marketing professionals. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 6% job growth for advertising, promotions, and marketing managers between 2019 and 2029, higher than the 4% job growth it projects for the labor market as a whole. Those equipped with a marketing degree can put themselves in a solid position to pursue a role in the field.

One of the key drivers of this job growth is the rise in digital marketing. While the BLS projects a slight decline in jobs centered on traditional marketing outlets such as newspapers and print magazines, they point to growth in roles built around targeted digital campaigns via outlets such as websites or social media platforms.

LinkedIn data from 2020 indicates a high demand for individuals who have both traditional marketing skills, such as strong written communication and market data analysis, and digitally driven competencies, such as those in social media usage and marketing technology. These trends open the door for marketing degree-holders with the knowledge and skills to build effective digital campaigns on the cutting edge of this evolving marketing landscape.

Why earn a marketing degree?

Earning an undergraduate marketing degree such as a bachelor’s degree in marketing is a fundamental step toward a successful career in the profession. Marketing roles typically require a bachelor’s degree at minimum. An advanced degree such as an MBA in marketing can enable individuals to stand out in the job market, and some employers require an advanced degree for senior and management positions.

A marketing degree can have several unique benefits. One prominent advantage is that it opens the door to a wide range of career opportunities. There are a variety of specializations within marketing, such as public relations, advertising, and sales. And, because marketing is so essential to all companies’ growth regardless of industry, individuals can pursue marketing careers in any of a number of areas.

Earning a marketing degree can help individuals sharpen core competencies such as communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills. This foundation can help graduates become company leaders.

A marketing degree can also lead to a lucrative career, particularly at the management level. The BLS lists the 2020 median annual salary of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers as $141,490, and the 2020 median annual salary of public relations and fundraising managers as $118,430.

What are the different types of marketing degrees?

A wide range of career paths fall under the marketing umbrella, and students can consider a number of different marketing degrees to prepare for a fulfilling career.

Bachelor of Science in Marketing

Earning a bachelor’s in marketing is an effective way to obtain the skills necessary to excel in this field. The coursework featured in these programs is designed to help students build their comprehension of marketing and emphasizes the impact of modern digital technologies.

Valuable bachelor’s-level marketing courses and electives

Introduction to New and Social Media — In this course, students learn what new media is and how it has reshaped the media landscape. By expanding their understanding of how new media platforms — such as social media — work, students can learn how to incorporate them into future content marketing strategies.
Marketing and Digital Media — This course covers the role new technologies play in today’s data-driven marketplace. Students learn how to monitor different marketing channels and evaluate their performance using website traffic analytics. A marketing and digital media course also details several digital marketing tactics, such as search engine optimization and social media marketing.
Consumer Market Behavior — Understanding consumers’ purchasing habits is essential to developing an effective marketing strategy. This course teaches students how to position products for success. Topics include how to develop pricing strategies based on consumer trends, how to determine the best locations to sell products, and how to communicate the value of a product effectively across different media channels, including social media.

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

A bachelor’s in business administration is a strong alternative option for aspiring marketing professionals, as these programs aim to develop students’ foundational knowledge of the core principles of business-related concepts, such as marketing. They offer a broader perspective of business, allowing graduates access to a diverse range of career opportunities.

Valuable bachelor’s-level business administration courses

Principles of Marketing — To excel in entry-level marketing careers, professionals must understand how marketing strategies are constructed and how to carry out the individual steps of those strategies. Principles of Marketing courses introduce students to concepts they can tap into when performing various marketing tasks, such as product distribution, planning, and promotion.
Principles of Management — To complement their marketing knowledge, business administration students are also taught the basic theories and concepts of management. By studying these ideas, students can hone their ability to make plans, set goals, and achieve success through decisive, ethical team leadership.
Business Communications — Successfully carrying out marketing strategies often involves some level of collaboration among interdisciplinary groups of professionals. This course highlights the essential communication techniques that students will need to develop to effectively express themselves through different business communications channels.

Master’s degrees in marketing

A bachelor’s degree is the first step toward success in a marketing career, but graduates will need additional skills and knowledge to advance to the next tier of their professions. Earning a postgraduate degree can be a good way to take this next step.

Among the different types of marketing degrees available are the Master of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing (MBA in marketing), the Master of Science in Advertising, and the Master of Science in Marketing or Marketing Management, each of which may offer noteworthy benefits to upwardly mobile marketing professionals.

MBA in Marketing

MBA marketing programs aim to build on the concepts in bachelor’s-level coursework. Graduates should be better qualified for senior marketing positions that have more impact on the overall success of an organization. These are some examples of courses students can complete in their MBA in marketing program:

Organizational Behavior and Development — Coursework covers many of the advanced topics that relate to leading teams and promoting collaboration within an organization. It covers critical skills, such as leadership, communication, and conflict management, as well as technical concepts like motivation theory and work design theory.
Branding — A company’s brand comprises any asset produced under its name and the company’s name itself. Brand management is a multifaceted task that involves planning how to present a brand in the market while using analytics to determine how well the brand is being perceived. Good brand management requires knowledge of branding techniques and the ability to leverage data to enhance the perceived value of brands.
Strategic Marketing — While marketers with a bachelor’s degree have the competence needed to carry out marketing functions such as market research, MBA in marketing graduates should be prepared to plan entire marketing strategies. In Strategic Marketing courses, students learn how to remedy strategic marketing problems by holistically evaluating their employer’s marketing approach and identifying areas for improvement.

Master of Science in Advertising

After completing an undergraduate program, some marketing professionals may decide they are interested in producing and managing advertisements. Advertising and marketing are similar disciplines, so the concepts featured in graduate-level advertising programs are complementary to marketing-related bachelor’s programs. Some of the key topics included in such programs include:

Advertising theory
Research methods for advertising
Communication strategy

Master of Science in Marketing

Some students may prefer to double down on their marketing expertise by following their bachelor’s degree with a marketing master’s degree. At the graduate level, marketing programs aim to help students comprehend the more complex, technical aspects of marketing functions. While many of the featured topics build upon the concepts taught in Bachelor of Science in Marketing programs, such as brand management, graduate-level marketing students can also expect to study the following topics:

Product development and pricing
Marketing analytics
Marketing strategy and decision-making

Master of Science in Marketing Management

A master’s in marketing management is a less common, but often valuable, option for professionals who desire a unique program that covers marketing-specific competencies and administrative techniques. The goal of this program is to prepare students for leadership positions in the marketing field. To this end, their coursework exposes them to the following interrelated business skills:

Marketing research
Account management
Product strategy
Design and manufacturing management

The value of a marketing degree

Although there are many different types of marketing degrees available, they all will help students learn how to generate sales and revenue for their future employers. Whether students desire a career in public relations, international marketing, advertising, or anything in between, the way graduates apply their professional expertise is up to them. But before aspiring marketing professionals can get started, they need to identify and enroll in a marketing program that aligns with their career goals.

Earn your marketing degree at Maryville University

Your chance to start a career in marketing is close at hand. By choosing to pursue online education, you can earn your marketing degree without compromising your daily schedule to attend in-person classes. Students interested in a career in marketing should find out how Maryville University’s online bachelor’s in marketing can prepare them for career opportunities in the field.

Recommended Readings

SEM vs. SEO: Comparing Two Key Marketing Terms

Social Media Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

Traditional Marketing vs. Digital Marketing

Sources

The Balance Small Business, “Strategic Marketing Plan Components and Benefits”

Entrepreneur, “Market Research”

Impact, “31 SEO Statistics for 2021 and What They Tell Us (+ Video)”

LinkedIn, “Marketing’s Evolution: A Look at the Jobs and Training Skills in Highest Demand”

Maryville University, “Master’s in Business Administration Online”

Maryville University, “Online Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing”

Maryville University, “Online Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Curriculum”