Online Master of Science in Marketing

Foundations in Accounting

This course educates students in the fundamentals of finance and accounting. The methods covered are used extensively throughout the MBA program. Topics include: the accounting process that results in the preparation of financial statements for external users, techniques for analyzing a basic set of financial statements, using accounting information to support management decisions, and using time value of money techniques to evaluate capital asset decisions. (MS Accounting students cannot earn credit by taking this course.) This course cannot be used as an elective course for Lindner College of Business Master's programs.

Data Analysis

Introduction to data analysis and statistical methods with focus on practical decisions using quantitative models in a spreadsheet environment. Topics include sources of data, descriptive and graphical statistical methods, probability, distributions, sampling and sampling distributions, estimation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing. This course may not be used as an elective course for Lindner College of Business Master's programs.

Foundations in Economics

This course provides an introduction to the fundamentals of economics at the graduate level for students without previous economics coursework. Students will be exposed to the essentials of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics topics to be discussed include the supply and demand mechanism,how markets are affected by regulation and taxation, costs of production, and how market structure affects outcomes. Macroeconomic topics to be discussed include the fundamental measures of the aggregate economy, the sources of economic growth, explaining short-run fluctuations in economic activity, and how government policies can affect these fluctuations. A particular focus will be to understand how fundamental economic principles at both the micro and macro level can affect companies, investments, industries, and national economies. This course may not be used as an elective course for Lindner College of Business Master's programs.

Marketing Foundations

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a foundation in Marketing. Concepts such as segmentation, targeting, positioning, customer and market analysis, and basic marketing planning will be introduced. This course cannot be used as an elective for Linder College of Business master's students.

Marketing Research for Managers

Explores the role of marketing research in marketing management. Students do hands-on assignments to develop their understanding of methods for designing and implementing marketing research projects, including collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data pertinent to solving marketing problems. Developing experience in key aspects of marketing research is stressed.

Buyer Behavior

Consumer behavior is the study of human responses to products, services, and the marketing of these products and services. The topic is of critical importance to managers because the focus on the consumer is the key contribution of marketing to business practice; other business functions (e.g.,finance, accounting, production) ignore the consumer. Managers who really understand the consumer develop better products and services, and also market their products and services more effectively.

Marketing Ethics

This course is designed to provide MS/MBA students with a broad, practical overview of ethical issues in marketing. Drawing from moral philosophy and cognitive psychology, students will acquire and refine analytical and managerial decision-making skills through the application of ethical principles to moral dilemmas represented in case examples. The primary emphasis of this course is on managerial decision-making. A central theme of this course is that good decisions are informed by a thorough understanding of the subjective biases to which individual human judgments and group decisions are prone.

Marketing Strategy for Managers

This course aims to develop a conceptual framework for strategic planning and introduce a handful of analytical tools. Importantly, strategy involves wrestling with knotty problems and testing solutions in a group context. Therefore, we develop descriptive familiarity and some analytical prowess around real problems and develop vital points of reference we can utilize in future, analogous circumstances. We analyze marketing cases that pivot on substantial, contemporary issues involving branding, market selection, business definition, program development and management, among others.

Master of Science in Marketing Capstone

At UC's College of Business, the MS/Marketing Capstone faculty supervisor solicits proposals for projects from organizations (for-profit and not-for-profit) based on participating students' general areas of interest. After the project proposals are previewed and rated by students, the faculty supervisor assigns each student to a project for a five-month learning experience in which students address real marketing problems provided by various client organizations. The scope of these projects centers on any of the following: marketing planning, marketing research,branding and brand architecture initiatives, distribution or channel assessment/ alignment, customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and implementation, analysis of potential marketing initiatives, marketing for non-profits, healthcare marketing, new product development initiatives, and sports marketing. The prime objective of this course is to produce a "win-win"situation for students and clients: these assignments should prove to be valuable "real-world" learning experiences for students, and it is expected that each student will provide a valued output for the client organization.

Systematic Innovation Tools

This course focuses on how to create value and growth through innovation in new and existing markets. Students will learn the skills of innovation and how to apply those skills within the context of a marketing strategy framework. Students will apply innovation methods across the entire marketing management continuum including strategy, segmentation, targeting, positioning, and the 4P's. The course will be taught using interactive workshop methods and techniques throughout. Students will first experience these facilitation techniques while learning innovation. They will then learn and practice these techniques so that they can apply them routinely throughout their graduate experience and beyond.

Professional Sales

The course is designed to enable the student to increase his/her understanding and competence in professional selling through a combination of discussions, exercises, role playing, and a simulated sales presentation. The course will also help students understand the role of professional selling within the context of the marketing and promotional mix of the firm, and guide students in their understanding of the principles of professional selling.

Consumer Insights

The class focuses on the method, theory, and practice of consumer research designed to uncover consumer insights. The goal of the class is to learn the skills necessary to plan and execute a qualitative research project that will lead to actionable consumer insights. Students will complete a project and may be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Product Management

Examining the strategic decisions and tactical elements of managing a product throughout its lifecycle.

New Product Development

Students will study the process of market analysis, customer needs assessment, new product concept development, and market launch strategy.

Design Thinking for Business

This course introduces design thinking as a business problem solving approach. It overviews design thinking techniques and has hands on practice applying these to classic business challenges. It fosters creativity and teamwork in the increasingly ambiguous business world in which today's business leaders must compete.

Advertising and Marketing Communication

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to elements of advertising and promotion.The course is designed from the perspective of managers who will need to make decisions about marketing communications programs. Topics covered include: setting objectives, positioning, target audience selection, creative strategy, media strategy, advertising research and evaluation. The marketing communications program is seen as one part of the overall marketing mix. The material covered in the course is relevant for all types of organizations (large, small, public, or private).

Influence Strategies

Social influence refers to the attempt of one party to gain compliance from another party. It is a universal feature of human existence and widely practiced by sellers. This course will examine principles of social influence and their applications in marketing. Based on noted psychologist Robert B. Cialdini's authoritative book "Influence: Science and Practice" students will learn the psychological secrets underlying powerful persuasion techniques used by advertisers, sales professionals, direct marketers, politicians, religious cults, and others.

Digital Marketing Tools

This course explores use of digital technologies as they are used for the marketing, selling, and the distribution of goods and services. New developments unfold rapidly in this arena, hence course content changes as appropriate. The goal is to develop an understanding of the opportunities and limitations of digital tools for marketing and how these tools support marketing strategy.

Branding Strategy

This course will explore a range of issues related to the strategic management of Brands including an overview of Brands and Brand Management, brand equity/brand positioning, designing and implementing Brand strategies, and managing Brand Equities across geographic boundaries. Emphasis will be on applying the Strategic Brand Management theory to practical application/case studies. The class will focus on Strategic Brand Management principles which are relevant across a wide range of Branding situations (consumable and non-consumable products, services, retail outlets,people, organizations, places, and even ideas like a political or social cause).

International Marketing for Managers

MKTG 7031 is a text, case, and country-based exploration of key aspects of international marketing: foreign entry, local marketing and global marketing.

Sales Management Strategy

In the 50s and 60s Marketing was perceived to be largely a Sales function. As Marketing permeated the way it has, in the past twenty years, the Sales function has merely become a component of Marketing. It is considered an integrative component of Marketing since it is the one that translates plans/programs into results/revenues. It converts the potential into actual. As a focal point, Sales Management is considered indispensable particularly to those who wish to develop a marketing career. Sales people benefit first, from the implementation of the marketing programs to achieve goals and, second, from the exposure to the "customer"- the market. So, therefore, experience in Sales is essential not only for better understanding the market and the various tools of marketing but also for developing a solid background necessary for climbing up the latter to the corporate executive ranks.

Retailing Strategy

This course gives an overview of the retailing industry with an emphasis on the cutting edge strategies, technologies and success stories by major retailers originating in the U.S. and beyond. You will be introduced to retailing from both theoretical and managerial perspectives, with a special emphasis on the most current developments in the industry. Major topics covered include the basic principles of retailing, pricing and financial strategy, winning strategies of successful retailers (including use of store atmospherics, customer service, CRM and technology) and their success stories, as well as the rampant globalization and digitization of the retailing industry.

Consumer Decision Science

To influence consumers’ decisions, marketers first need to understand how those decisions are made. Such decisions would be quite easy to understand if we assume consumers (1) are perfectly accurate information processors, and (2) always choose options that maximize their happiness. In this course, you will learn how and why both of these assumptions are rarely true. Specifically, we will look at how things like risk and uncertainty, heuristics and biases, feelings and emotions, contextual factors, and even our evolutionary history lead consumers to both systematically deviate from traditional notions of rationality, and even define new ways in which we think about rationality itself.

Digital Marketing Strategy

This course explores the use of digital marketing – the integrated use of demand generation digital platforms and multiple social channels – to create digital conversations that enable brands to send the right message, to the right person, at the right time. A digital conversation is a sequence of communications, or "touch points," that nurture a prospect through each of the marketing funnel stages. It is the execution of the brand’s storytelling in a digital format, addressing the prospect's “moment that matter” in each funnel stage, and progressively profiling the prospect to optimize content delivery. The goal is to quickly connect with the prospect, reduce the time it takes to convert them to customers, and create long term loyalty.

Digital Marketing Analytics

Digital Marketing Analytics refers to the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data associated with digital marketing touch points such as web sites, mobile sites, email, and mobile apps to improve the customer experience and drive desired outcomes. Digital marketing analytics has become an integral part of core business strategies and maintaining a competitive edge. Digital marketing analytics can help the manager determine how to best spend marketing resources.

Marketing Performance Metrics

There is an increased need for marketing managers to measure and justify marketing spending to CEO’s, CFO’s, Management Consultants and Investors. Companies are increasingly cautious about marketing spending due to the economy and the continued fragmentation of marketing channels, and the increasing importance of word of mouth. These changes make marketing resource allocation decisions much more complex. In addition, the increasing availability of data (“Big Data”) and techniques for dealing with it (i.e., machine learning, computational mathematics) has made assessing marketing performance more feasible. This course focuses on providing you with tools and approaches to gauge the impact of marketing actions – short and long term. More specifically, it provides an overview of currently available marketing metrics, how to determine the most appropriate marketing measures (Key Performance Indices-KPI) for a specific company, and whether that data is available or needs to be created, and how to construct a marketing measurement system or dashboard to enable return on marketing investment (ROMI). Students who will benefit from this course include those interested in current or anticipated positions in the following: • Marketing at either the firm or business line level • Planning and strategic planning, • Operating positions for a business line or firm • Entrepreneurs launching new businesses

Marketing for Social Change

A company's most important asset may be its reputation. A powerful way to enhance that reputation is by supporting a relevant and meaningful cause, one that aligns well to the company's brands and to the customers it serves. Marketing for Social Change is all about how to use marketing to further a worthy cause. A well-designed cause marketing program has many benefits which you will explore in this course.

Artificial Intelligence for Marketing Managers

MKTG 7043 is designed to provide the student with a cohesive understanding of how to use various artificial intelligence platforms across the entire continuum of marketing management through the exploration of marketing problems with an emphasis on qualitative and quantitative analysis, integrative marketing decision-making, and strategy formulation.

Marketing Special Topics

This course explores selected and timely topics in depth. Focus of this course will publicized prior to each offering.

Current Issues and Tools

This course explores selected and timely topics in depth. Focus of this course will be publicized prior to each offering.

Data Visualization

This course provides an introduction as well as hands-on experience in data visualization. It introduces students to design principles for creating meaningful displays of quantitative and qualitative data to facilitate managerial decision-making.

Statistical Computing

This is a course on the use of computer tools for data management and analysis. The focus is on a few popular data management and statistical software packages such as SQL, SAS, SPSS, S Plus, R, and JMP although others may be considered. Data management and manipulation techniques including queries in SQL will be covered. Elementary analyses may include measures of location and spread, correlation, detection of outliers, table creation, graphical displays, comparison of groups, as well as specialized analyses.

Data Analysis Methods

This course covers the fundamental concepts of applied data analysis methods. Various aspects of linear and logistic regression models are introduced, with emphasis on real data applications. Students are required to analyze data using major statistical software packages. BANA 7038 should not be taken for credit by MS-Business Analytics students.

Design Strategy

This course provides an introduction to Design as strategic problem-setting and problem-solving activities within a service/social system levels approach. Students will explore methods of design thinking that apply to all design disciplines including integrated product development, strategy development, translational research, and other methods of design practice that apply across disciplines and be able to apply these to the identification and analysis of key problems with the creation of innovative design opportunities.

Study Abroad Chile: Doing Business in Chile

Eight to nine day program conducted in coordination with our partner university in Chile: Universidad del Desarrollo-Santiago. You will attend seven class session at UC prior to departure that will focus on basic background information on business, politics, economics, and travel logistics. In Chile the focus will be on start-up businesses, innovation, and existing Chilean and multinational businesses. The program will include meetings with entrepreneurs, managers of Chilean and multi-national business, and classrooms session on local business. Assignments will be project-based and tailored to your specific company visits.

Study Abroad France: Doing Business in Europe

Eight to ten day program conducted with one of our French partner business schools (University of Bordeaux IAE, Toulouse Business School, or Audencia School of Management). The program focus is customized and varies by location. The Bordeaux program focuses on financial and market risk management in the wine industry. The Toulouse program focuses on the aircraft manufacturing industry (Airbus is headquartered in Toulouse). The Audencia program has focused on innovation. Each program includes company visits, classroom lectures by academic and industry experts, and cultural activities. Programs may include some time in Paris. Each program also focuses on cross-cultural management, international marketing, and international finance issues. Assignments are project based and are specific to the companies, industries and places that you visit.

Study Abroad Italy: Luxury Innovation

This is a portfolio development course that applies a capstone approach to solving a client’s business challenge. This course is designed to help students who are seeking a career in a consulting practice, or as a senior leader in a business development group, demonstrate competency in international marketing, luxury marketing models and the application of innovation techniques.

Managing Across Cultures

This course will focus on providing students with a foundation in knowledge and analytical skills to understand management in the global business context of the 21st century. We will examine the concept of national culture as it applies to management practice and we will examine sample cultures from several key business environments. We will focus on Brazil, Russia, India and China as these four countries represent a diverse landscape of opportunities in developing economies. Moreover, many of the basic concepts and lessons (although not the specifics of the cultures) apply universally.

Career Management

Designed for Graduate Business students to assist them in their job search. Covers such topics as your elevator speech, practice interviewing, resume construction and salary negotiations.

Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation

"Entrepreneurship: New Venture Creation" focuses on the total enterprise creation process: all the functions, activities and actions associated with perceiving, clarifying, and refining opportunities, crafting a business plan, and creating organizations to pursue your entrepreneurial objectives. This course seeks to help students develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to be effective as entrepreneurs or members of entrepreneurial teams. While our primary focus will be on independent ventures, the knowledge, skills, and capabilities gained here should be relevant to those involved in creating new ventures within the context of established corporations, public or private, although corporate venturing will not be the primary focus.