MSc Marketing
University of Stirling
Key Information
Campus location
Stirling, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
12 - 24 months
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
Request info
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* For up to date fee information, please see website
Introduction
Our Masters in Marketing gives you the opportunity to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of marketing, and its role within organisations. You’ll learn about the practice and theory of modern marketing, as well as current business trends in the areas of brand identity creation, multi-channel marketing and digital marketing.
The MSc Marketing course was one of the first in the country to be accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). CIM accreditation means that when you successfully complete the course, it's easier to gain a Professional Diploma in Marketing. Two of the Diploma modules will be waived and to gain the CIM Professional Diploma you will only need to undertake two CIM modules rather than the usual four, giving you a competitive edge in your career.
Our research-led teaching combined with a focus on practical applications is a key strength of this course. In addition to consistently engaging in academic literature through weekly readings and module assessments, the course gives you a number of opportunities to apply concepts, theories and frameworks to practical aspects. You will collaborate during your studies with a wide variety of organisations including not-for-profit, third sector and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Top reasons to study with us
#1 We’re ranked 1st in Scotland and 2nd in the UK for Marketing and Public Relations (Guardian University Guide 2023)
#2 You’ll have an opportunity to work on a consultancy-style project within a business giving you practical work experience
#3 Our Flying Start Leadership Programme and the creation of your own Insights Development Personal Profile helps you develop self-awareness about your strengths and acquire new skills in a supportive environment
Curriculum
Course objectives
MSc Marketing provides you with an understanding of the concepts and systems underlying marketing practice and allows you to develop your skills of diagnosis and implementation in marketing management and research processes. At the end of the course you’ll be able to:
- Nurture and consolidate a customer-focused management approach in a variety of different market settings, organisation types and policy situations.
- Design, plan, implement and evaluate research-based marketing strategies.
- Gain exposure to ethical issues that arise from marketing activities and to understand the impact marketing has on society in general.
- Conduct research into contemporary marketing practice.
Industry connections
The University of Stirling Management School has excellent links with local and national organisations. Guest speakers from across the private, public and third sectors regularly engage with our MSc Marketing students, providing a practical perspective on contemporary marketing topics through a series of guest lectures and workshops.
In recent years, students have worked on consultancy projects with organisations such as the National Wallace Monument, Waterski Scotland, Strathearn Strategic Consulting, Stirling Albion Football Club, Scottish Biomedical, Snowsports Scotland, EASA Training Ltd, and Stirling Art.
Our students have also benefitted from site visits to external organisations such as ASDA and New Lanark Visitor Centre.
We’ve been running our core Consultancy Project module for over twenty years, with the aim to provide you with an experience similar to an industry placement, to help you prepare for a future career in marketing. You’ll gain knowledge and increase your confidence working on a ‘live’ marketing topic, operating within the management boundaries and budget of a client organisation.
Developing your brand
You will be encouraged to reflect on your overall strengths, identify weaknesses, and explore the directions in which you want to develop. You will learn about:
- your approach to decision-making
- your key strengths and weaknesses in working relationships
- your value to the team
- your communication style
- you will then develop your personal brand to be marketed to future employers.
Preparing Business Leaders of the Future
Postgraduate education at the University of Stirling Management School goes beyond textbooks and lecture rooms, we also focus on your personal and professional development.
Our unique Flying Start Leadership programme equips you with the awareness, knowledge and techniques essential for building a successful career. These range from practical skills, like effective public speaking, to developing ways to work under pressure in difficult situations such as conflict management. Find out more about Flying Start.
The Marketing Management Applications core module in the spring semester aims to provide you with an equivalent experience to an industry placement. It gives you the opportunity to gain knowledge and increase your confidence by working on a ‘live’ marketing topic as you operate within the management boundaries and budget of an external client organisation.
The combination of academic frameworks and theories within the constraints of what can feasibly be done by the organisation within its own resources will prepare you for similar tasks that will be required of you in your future career.
Professional accreditations
Our Masters course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the world’s leading professional marketing body, and counts towards the CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing. Graduates of the course gain exemption from half of the CIM Professional Diploma modules.
Course details
There are three core 20-credit modules in Semester 1; these will provide you with the basic frameworks of modern marketing thought and show you how they apply in practice through a wide range of relevant and up-to-date examples. You'll also start to practice the skills required of a marketing professional in an additional core 10-credit module: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical-thinking.
In your core Semester 2 module, you’ll practice the key quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques required of a new marketer. Being able to apply these skills will be very important for the work on your consultancy project. You can also gain an appreciation of those contemporary issues in marketing that interest you most through your choice of five elective modules. The pool of elective subjects is refreshed on a regular basis.
Over the summer, you’ll then complete the Masters course by showcasing your learning through a group-based business consultancy project in the area of marketing.
Consultancy style project
You'll have the opportunity to gain first-hand practical experience by working on consultancy projects with external clients over the summer. The consultancy module aims to provide you with an equivalent experience to an industry placement. You'll increase your confidence working on a ‘live’ marketing topic as you operate within the management boundaries and budget of an external client organisation.
Each group has a client organisation that sets a real-world task and asks the group to explore that topic before presenting solutions. We work with a range of private, public and third sector organisations, such as charities and social enterprises. The projects cover a host of subjects, from identifying potential customers through to the opportunities for international expansion. It'll be up to you, working with an academic mentor, to set up the study, to investigate the issues that arise and to present your findings back to the client.
The combination of academic frameworks and theories within the constraints of what can feasibly be done by the organisation within its own resources, will prepare you for similar tasks that will be required of you in your future career. In some cases, a student conducting a project has been employed subsequently by the organisation with which they partnered during the module.