Marketing Major, B.B.A.

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Description

Studying marketing provides students with the basis to understand the art of developing, communicating, and delivering an offering that consumers find attractive. The goal of marketing is to persuade, earn, and keep customers, clients and partners through carefully articulating the value of your product or service. Studying marketing develops creativity, strategic problem solving, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior and motivation.

What careers can this major prepare you for?

After graduating with an undergraduate degree, students typically begin their career in one of many specialized roles. Many students enter the workforce or progress in their positions. Others pursue an MBA with a focus in marketing or management. Thirty of the most popular positions for those who have majored in marketing are listed alphabetically below: Admissions Representative, Advertising Manager, Brand Manager, Chief Marketing Officer, Content Director, Creative Director, Database Marketing Manager, Digital Marketing Manager/Marketing Specialist, E-Commerce Manager/Specialist, Global Marketing Manager, Market Research Analyst, Marketing Assistant/Consultant/Manager/Director, Media Buyer/Manager, Product Manager, Promotions Manager, Public Relations Representative, Sales Agent - Ad and insurance, Sales Agent - Financial services, Sales Manager, Sales Rep - Non-technical products/Technical products/Wholesale & manufacturing, Social Media Manager, Sports Marketing, Account Executive.

What skills are developed within this major?

Skills developed within this major include: Analytic Skills, Communication, Copywriting, Creative Thinking, Influencing, Problem-Solving, Public Speaking, Research Skills, Selling, Storytelling.

Special Tracks

Consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, international marketing, database marketing, and online marketing.

Additional Information

Internships, cooperative education arrangements, independent study projects, and international study programs are available.

Admission to Major

Major Declaration Standards

Completion of the required BBA lower core coursework with a final grade of C or better.

Pre-Business BBA Degree: BBA Major Declaration Course Requirements

Hours Required for Degree

Minimum hours for the degree: 120

Minimum hours for the major: 33, with a grade of C or better in each course.

College Requirements

See college page for college requirements.

Major-Field Requirements

Students who are newly-admitted to CSU for Fall 2014 and majoring in marketing must complete a minimum of 33 credit hours of marketing coursework beyond the college core requirements, which include a grade of “C” or higher in MKT 301 .

Required Courses (15 credit hours)

Electives - Choose six courses (18 credit hours)

Professional Marketing Internships

Students majoring in Marketing may chose to fulfill a major course elective requirement (up to 3 credit hours) through an internship with a sponsoring firm or organization, designed to extend the academic curriculum and provide a meaningful learning experience in the field of marketing. Interns must work in a professional environment under the supervision of a marketing professional for a certain time period, based on the number of credit hours they wish to earn. Prior to the internship, students must have completed MKT 420 (Consumer Behavior) and MKT 431 (Marketing Research), have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5, and complete an application process set forth by the Department of Marketing.

In order to apply to earn internship credit under the MKT 490 course (or MKT 490H ) in the case of Honors students), students must prepare a written proposal to be approved by a Marketing professor of their choosing, who has agreed to serve as faculty advisor for the project. The proposal and application forms are then submitted to the Department office for final approval by the Chairperson prior to the start of the semester in which the internship is to take place. At the end of the semester, students are required to submit a term report to their sponsoring faculty advisor and the internship employer, incorporating theory, marketing tools, and practical applications.

Internship application packets can be obtained from the Department Office in BU 460 or by calling 216-687-4771.

Honors Program/University Scholars Requirements

The following upper-division requirements apply for honors/scholars students who select a major in either the BBA or BSCS programs in the Monte Ahuja College of Business Administration.

Students will be required to take a minimum of 15 credit hours of upper-division (i.e., 300- and 400-level) honors courses in the College of Business Administration. General guidelines for these credit hours are given below. However, the specific courses that each student takes will be agreed upon by the student and the student’s honors/scholars advisor.

Honors Courses

A minimum of 15 hours of honors credits will be taken as follows:

Honors Thesis (required in senior year, three credit hours). Each honors/scholars student will conduct a piece of original research and write and present a thesis in his or her major area under the supervision of a faculty member from that department. This new Honors Thesis course will be available in each department and designated with the following titles and course numbers for each major as appropriate: ACT 499H - Honors Thesis in Accounting ; CIS 499H - Honors Thesis ; FIN 499H - Honors Thesis in Finance ; INB 499H - Honors Thesis in International Business ; IST 499H - Honors Thesis in Information Systems ; MGT 499H - Honors Thesis in Management and Labor Relations ; MKT 499H - Honors Thesis in Marketing ; and OSM 499H - Honors Thesis in Operations and Supply Chain Management .
Honors Internship (required in either junior or senior year, three credit hours). Each honors/scholars student will engage in an internship experience in which the student will gain work experience in an organizational environment related to the student’s area of interest. The student may choose to either sign up for the regular internship experience within the departments that offer such courses already (i.e. ACT 490 , FIN 490 , INB 490 , MGT 490 , MKT 490 , or OSM 490 ), or BUS 490 that will serve those majors that do not already have an internship available.
Honors Courses (minimum of nine credits). Honors/Scholars students in business will also be required to take at least three honors courses within the College of Business Administration, with at least one course (minimum of three credit hours) within the major. These honors courses will be created via a contract between honors/scholars student and a cooperating faculty member. The contract allows for any 300- or 400-level business or computer science course to be modified to become an honors course. The honors/scholars student and the faculty member agree to a contract that spells out how the course will be modified to provide an appropriate learning experience for the honors student. The contract, including a copy of the revised syllabus and an explanation of how the honors version of the course differs from the regular version, is then submitted to the department chair for approval. The student then registers for the honors version of the course, but attends a regular section of the course that the cooperating faculty is teaching. The honors section of the course is designated with the regular course number with the letter H added to designate that the student is enrolled in the honors version of the course (e.g., MKT 301H - Introduction to Marketing). Only the approved honors/scholars student is allowed to register for the course under the honors number. The designation of an H course needs to be approved by the director of the university’s honors/scholars program.
Honors credits can be used to replace a maximum of 16 credit hours of required major courses, major electives, or free electives, with the approval of the honors advisor.

Honors/Scholars Advisor

Each honors student will select an advisor from among the approved honors/scholars advisors in the department. The advisors will advise honors students and supervise the honors thesis course as well as the honors internship. The honors/scholars advisors will assist the students in designing their honors experience, including choosing their honors courses, identifying a thesis topic, and arranging for an internship.