MSc in Marketing

Based on the conversations with employers (marketing and sales managers in multinational and national companies), firms prefer to employ students, who

• have founded marketing knowledge
• are able to process and interpret customer and market data
• have strong analytical skills
• can prioritize and can work in line with the strategic goals
• can draw conclusions from analysis to support marketing decisions
• have strong sales skills in B2B positions
• have excellent and up-to-date presentation skills,
• are able to think in concepts (not platforms and tools), respectively, in brand management
• have a problem-solving attitude and a project approach
• have very good written and oral communication skills
• speak English at a very high level
• be able to apply digital technologies in business
• work effectively in a multicultural environment

Employers’ expectations and our responsibility to prepare you for marketing career determine the aims of the programme, which are as follows:

The objective of the Marketing MSc programme is the training of marketing experts who perform marketing activities in various business and non-business organizations, institutions, and enterprises.

Detailed aims are to train marketing experts who:

• they are capable of developing a marketing strategy,
• managing various marketing activities and projects in various organizations, processes, and professional programmes,
• defining the content of the necessary marketing tools, coordinating the execution of tasks,
• communicating with internal and external functions and organizations,
• capable of communicating in written and oral forms, and modern info-communication tools in two foreign languages.
• They are prepared to continue their studies in post-graduate programs (i.e., MBA or PhD programmes).

The curriculum will help you and us reach the Marketing MSc programme’s objectives, which have the following characteristics. You have to complete eight quarters (7-week terms), of which the last two quarters provide you with an opportunity to specialize in a contemporary marketing problem.
The quarter terms build on one another, and there are tight relations between courses of the curriculum. You will apply knowledge and skills gained in core courses in upcoming marketing courses. Several courses are unique and not available at other domestic universities. The curriculum is designed to address international labor market needs for marketing professionals.

The logic of your studies is as follows:
The intensive week offers you courses to improve your soft skills, including design communication, identity management, intercultural communication, and sustainability and ethical management.

Quarter 1-4
In Quarters 1 – 4, you have the opportunity to attend core business and marketing courses and lay down the fundamentals to work as a marketing professional in a corporate environment. These courses provide the necessary knowledge and skills for upcoming marketing courses.

Quarter 5-6
These quarters offer courses that help you to go deeper into major fields of marketing, like marketing innovation, sales management, advanced research methods, services marketing, and branding. These courses prepare you for coping with the most important marketing strategy decisions. In addition, you will start to work on your thesis work with the help of a supervisor.

Quarter 7 – 8
During this period, you shall specialize in a contemporary marketing field, such as online marketing communication, innovative channel management, or data-driven marketing. These quarters enable you to develop expertise in a particular area that supports your career goals. You will close your studies by finishing and submitting the master’s thesis work.

A module consists of 3 courses on a contemporary marketing field. You will have three options to choose from: Online Marketing Communication, Innovative Channel Management, and Data-driven Marketing. For details, see the modules (click here).

During the Marketing Master’s, you will encounter various teaching methods that help you acquire the knowledge and skills for your career expectations. The programme uses the following teaching methods:

Lectures
Lectures typically aim to build, explain, and discuss theoretical knowledge in the class that completes your readings. Most lectures are 90-minute events, but many professors hold interactive lectures that require your active participation. In the case of large courses, lectures are held online, or you are asked to watch a video (or more).
The role of lectures varies and is not restricted to frontal presentations of professors. Often your existing knowledge will be organized, you will be thinking together, different views will be contrasted, etc. Lectures are events that prepare you for seminars and develop your professional skills.
Frequently, you are required to prepare for a lecture, e.g., read book chapters, academic or business articles, or watch a video. In such cases, the lecture will be built on the assumption that you have prepared and possess the relevant knowledge and skills acquired from your previous preparation.
Though lectures are not compulsory, the knowledge and the information are relevant to your overall course performance. Moreover, seminars often build on the information shared in the lectures, so make sure to participate in lectures.

Seminars
Seminars are events where you focus on applying theoretical knowledge discussed in the lecture and prepared at home. Seminars might include class discussions, individual or team exercises, and presentations. You might have to prepare assignments before the seminars discussed during the class, whereby you will receive feedback from your tutor and fellow students. Thus, seminars are highly effective in learning the competencies and skills you need for your future career. Please note that participation in seminars is compulsory.
Lectures and seminars are mainly built on problem-based, research-based learning methods and project works.
Problem-based learning (PBL) is an effective learning methodology in which you study a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem. By working on a business or marketing problem and its solution, you will learn concepts, principles, and facts and how to apply them. In addition, problem-based learning promotes the development of critical thinking skills, using creative problem-solving, communication skills, and enhanced group collaboration.
Research-based learning (RBL) is a learning methodology in which you actively gather information from multiple resources, materials, and texts to explore important, relevant, and interesting questions and challenges. In the case of RBL, you have to collect, process, structure, and evaluate information and ideas as you build reading skills and vocabulary. You learn how to read for understanding, interpretations, develop and evaluate hypotheses, and think critically.
Projects comprise a series of tasks that need to be completed to reach a specific outcome. You will be working on several projects during your studies. Projects will teach you to apply and combine knowledge and skills learned during the courses. Furthermore, you will have to complete a business project course in your chosen module.

Outside-class learning
A large part of your learning will take place outside the classrooms. This might mean studying at home on your own or working in team at the university, in a library, at Starbucks, or anywhere else.
Frequently, you will be asked to read something, watch videos or a pre-recorded lecture, conduct research, prepare project works, and case study assignments for the classes. You will be working on your individual assignments and team projects outside of class.
Outside-class learning requires substantial time and effort, thus, taking responsibility for your own learning process.

Soft skills
Soft skills are non-technical skills that include how you interact with colleagues, solve problems, and manage your work. Soft skills consist of interpersonal skills, common sense, personality, emotional intelligence, and attitude toward people. They are essential for succeeding in the workplace, impacting how you perform and interact with your co-workers. Soft skills include teamwork, presentation, problem-solving, time management, decision-making, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills. Companies emphasize increasingly soft skills of their employees.
In your Marketing Masters programme, we emphasize developing your soft skills by providing an opportunity for teamwork, working on real marketing problems, preparing peer reviews, and managing and implementing research and business projects. These tools will develop your written and oral communication skills, critical thinking, analytical and digital skills, or learning data visualization. Furthermore, we provide intensive-week courses like Design Communication, Identity Design and Creative Management, Intercultural Communication, and Sustainable and Ethical Marketing that allow for developing your creativity, design thinking skills, and cross-cultural communication skills and increasing your sensitivity to sustainable marketing activities.