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MBA Marketing Online
Deciding to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) can be a life-changing decision, opening doors to career opportunities in nearly any field. However, what many potential students are unaware of is that numerous specializations exist under the MBA umbrella, and one of the most exciting and desired of these specializations is marketing. Students who earn an MBA in marketing play a key role in ensuring a product or service is clearly and effectively advertised to a customer base, turning graduates into key players in the corporate world. This page is designed to explain the ins and outs of an online MBA in marketing to students that may still be on the fence with which graduate program they’re looking to pursue. Continue reading below to begin your journey towards earning an MBA Marketing Online today.
Featured Online Programs
Best Online MBA in Marketing Programs
One of the biggest hurdles students face when researching online MBA programs in marketing is how to tell which schools and programs are of the highest quality. Fortunately, we’ve gone through and pulled out some of the best programs around the country based on cost, graduation rates, and financial aid opportunities.
Link to this Page| College Name & Address | Tuition | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| #1 University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 103 South Bldg Cb 9100, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 | $10,552 | 91% |
| #2 Villanova University 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085 | $20,506 | 90% |
| #3 University Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 601 E John Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820 | $14,997 | 85% |
| #4 Marist College 3399 North Rd, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601 | $15,300 | 84% |
| #5 Lehigh University 27 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015 | $27,000 | 90% |
| #6 Texas A&M University JKW Administration Building, Suite 200, College Station, Texas 77843 | $6,677 | 82% |
| #7 Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 | $45,037 | 90% |
| #8 Temple University 1801 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 | $16,956 | 74% |
| #9 American University 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20016 | $30,351 | 79% |
| #10 The University of Texas, Dallas 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080 | $13,874 | 70% |
| #11 University Of Saint Mary 650 Maryville University Drive, Saint Louis, Missouri 63141 | $14,346 | 71% |
| #12 Regis University 3333 Regis Blvd, Denver, Colorado 80221 | $14,441 | 64% |
| #13 Central Michigan University 106 Warriner Hall, Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859 | $16,700 | 61% |
| #14 Florida International University 11200 S. W. 8 Street, Miami, Florida 33199 | $8,912 | 63% |
| #15 Rutgers University 406 Penn, Camden, New Jersey 08102 | $17,736 | 65% |
| #16 Washington State University French Administration Building, Pullman, Washington 99164 | $11,493 | 60% |
| #17 Arizona State University 411 N Central Ave, Phoenix, Arizona 85004 | $11,720 | 58% |
| #18 Dallas Baptist University 3000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211 | $18,072 | 58% |
| #19 North Carolina State University 1601 E Market St, Greensboro, North Carolina 27411 | $4,745 | 51% |
| #20 Florida Institute Of Technology 150 West University Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida 32901 | $22,338 | 59% |
| #21 Rivier University 420 South Main St, Nashua, New Hampshire 03060 | $11,340 | 46% |
| #22 Walden University 100 Washington Avenue South, Suite 900, Minneapolis, Minnesota 5540 | $12,039 | 33% |
| #23 Columbia Southern University 21982 University Lane, Orange Beach, Alabama 36561 | $3,780 | 22% |
| #24 Northeastern University 5500 N Saint Louis Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60625 | $7,419 | 21% |
| #25 University Of Maryland Global Campus 3501 University Blvd East, Adelphi, Maryland 20783 | $8,640 | 15% |
Source – Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System & University Data
*Tuition rates are for in-state and per year. Program specific rates may apply.
**NA – data not available
Most Affordable MBA in Marketing Programs Online
Picking the right school often doesn’t just mean finding the best program, but also the program that won’t give your bank account too much of a hit. Check below for some of the most affordable online MBA in marketing programs.
Link to this Page| College Name & Address | Tuition | Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|
| #1 Southeastern Oklahoma State University 425 W University Blvd, Durant, Oklahoma 74701 | $4,716 | 35% |
| #2 New Mexico Highlands University 803 University Ave, Las Vegas, New Mexico 87701 | $5,112 | 22% |
| #3 Wichita State University 1845 N. Fairmount, Wichita, Kansas 67260 | $5,435 | 50% |
| #4 Florida Atlantic University 777 Glades Rd, Administration Bldg., Room 339, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 | $5,467 | 50% |
| #5 University of Texas, Tyler 3900 University Blvd, Tyler, Texas 75799 | $5,850 | 42% |
| #6 University of North Texas 1501 W.Chestnut Ave., Denton, Texas 76203 | $5,900 | 43% |
| #7 Northwest Missouri State University 800 University Drive, Maryville, Missouri 64468 | $6,004 | 52% |
| #8 University of Nebraska, Kearney 2504 9th Avenue, Kearney, Nebraska 68849 | $6,048 | 56% |
| #9 University of South Dakota 414 E Clark St, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069 | $6,062 | 59% |
| #10 Lamar University 4400 MLK Blvd, Beaumont, Texas 77705 | $6,324 | 34% |
| #11 West Texas A &M University JKW Administration Building, Suite 200, College Station, Texas 77843 | $6,677 | 82% |
| #12 Saint Leo University 33701 State Road 52, Saint Leo, Florida 33574 | $7,296 | 49% |
| #13 Liberty University 1971 University Blvd, Lynchburg, Virginia 24515 | $7,980 | 47% |
| #14 Touro University Worldwide 10601 Calle Lee #179, Los Alamitos, California 90720 | $9,000 | 100% |
| #15 University of Kansas 1450 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS 66045 | $9,989 | 67% |
| #16 Colorado State University 102 Administration Building, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 | $10,520 | 70% |
| #17 University of Alabama 739 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 | $10,780 | 71% |
| #18 University of Saint Mary 4100 S 4th St, Leavenworth, Kansas 66048 | $11,124 | 52% |
| #19 Rivier University 420 South Main St, Nashua, New Hampshire 03060 | $11,340 | 46% |
| #20 Campbellsville University 1 University Dr, Campbellsville, Kentucky 42718 | $12,240 | 36% |
| #21 Montclair State University 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey 07043 | $12,600 | 67% |
| #22 Brenau University 500 Washington St SE, Gainesville, GA 30501 | $12,834 | 46% |
| #23 Walsh University 2020 East Maple St, North Canton, Ohio 44720 | $12,870 | 65% |
| #24 St Bonaventure University 3261 W. State Road, Saint Bonaventure, New York 14778 | $13,860 | 74% |
| #25 University of Colorado, Colorado Springs 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918 | $13,912 | 45% |
Source – Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System & University Data
*Tuition rates are for in-state and per year. Program specific rates may apply.
**NA – data not available
Understanding an Online MBA in Marketing Program
One of the reasons MBA programs are so popular is that they provide students from nearly any academic background with the opportunity to receive a business-centric education. Whether students earned their undergrad in business, English, psychology, or even a STEM-focused field, an online MBA in marketing will send them into the corporate arena with the leadership, advertising, management, business ethics, and finance knowhow to be a valuable addition to any company’s team.
Common Specializations for an Online MBA in Marketing
Many online MBA in marketing programs give students the opportunity to customize their education by choosing a specialization within the marketing branch. Below are some of the most popular MBA marketing emphases that students most commonly gravitate towards.
| Area of Focus | Description | Careers This Concentration Prepares For |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Interested in ensuring a product or service reaches its potential in regards to customer awareness and engagement? A specialization in advertising trains students to understand how customers think and the best ways a company can make contact with consumer populations. | Advertising Specialist, Marketing Coordinator, Client Strategist, Media Specialist, Digital Media Planner |
| Brand Management and Strategy | Brand Management is a branch of marketing that deals with a corporation’s overall image and public perception. Students pursuing an emphasis in this area will learn the importance of upholding a company’s core values and ensuring a company’s products and services are viewed as valuable and useful. | Brand Manager, Brand Strategist, Director of Brand Marketing, Brand Ambassador |
| Digital and Internet Marketing | A customer’s interaction with nearly any product or service almost certainly exists in a digital or web-based format, at least to a certain extent. In a world so heavily reliant on having access to these services at any hour of the day, digital and internet marketing professionals ensure any web marketing is effectively communicated to an internet-based consumer population. | Digital Marketing Manager, Internet Marketing Specialist, Director of SEO Operations, Digital Strategist, Web Marketing Manager |
| Marketing Analytics | The branch of Marketing Analytics trains students to monitor the effectiveness of marketing campaigns based on metrics data. Students will also be trained to maximize return on investment (ROI) and ensure a company’s finances are allocated in a manner that will result in a profit being turned. | Marketing Specialist, Marketing Analyst, Director of Growth Marketing, Social Media Analyst, Sales Planning Optimization Specialist |
| Sales and Marketing | There’s plenty of aspects to successful marketing outside of advertisement. A specialization in Sales and Marketing teaches students everything they need to know to be able to effectively roll out a full marketing campaign, highlighting important skills such as product management, market research, budget analysis, team recruitment, and maintaining strong client relationships. | Marketing Manager, Marketing Specialist, Chief Marketing Officer, Media Director, SEO Manager, Campaign Manager |
| Social Media Marketing | Social media acts as a virtual bridge between people all over the world, making it one of the most crucial marketing platforms a company or brand can capitalize on. A Social Media Marketing specialization will train students how to utilize social media platforms to their fullest extent, maximizing brand engagement with their target audience. | Analytics Manager, Director of Marketing and Social Media, Director of Communications, Social Media Specialist, Content Strategist |
Online MBA in Marketing Admission Requirements
Once students have selected the school they’d like to attend, the next step will be to verify what programs will require of their applicants. Below are a few of the most common admissions requirements students must meet in order to be accepted into an online MBA in marketing.
- Hold a Bachelor’s Degree: Nearly every graduate-level program will require students to hold a 4-year bachelor’s degree from a properly accredited university. Fortunately, many MBA programs do not require a student’s undergrad degree to be in a business-related field, allowing potential applicants from a wide range of academic backgrounds to consider applying for an MBA.
- Professional Work Experience: Some MBA programs may require students to have a certain amount of work experience completed before they can apply. The number of years required will depend on the program students are considering, but it is common for schools to ask for 2-3 years of work experience in any professional field.
- Pre-Admissions Testing: Many grad programs require students to complete some level of testing before they’re allowed to apply. MBA programs often require students to submit valid GRE or GMAT scores to be considered for entry into the program.
Curriculum for an Online Master of MBA in Marketing Program
Depending on your marketing emphasis, these courses will vary from program to program. Students might also consider pursuing a dual degree, which allows students to pursue multiple degree programs with different focuses, so students can combine their education and cut the time of their overall degree. However, these are some common courses offered to online MBA in marketing students.
- Advertising, Audience Engagement and Promotion: This course helps students gain a full understanding of how to strategically implement advertising and sales campaigns that will best drive audience engagement with a product or service. Skills also include budgeting, project management, and researching target audiences and markets.
- Consumer Behavior: This class dives into the consumer’s mind to help students understand how demographics and experience can impact conversion, interest, and how marketing professionals can influence consumers and their behavior.
- Digital Marketing and Advertising: Digital marketing is becoming more and more relevant as more brands turn to the internet, apps, social networks, and other digital platforms to strategically market their product or service. These courses are typically more hands-on, requiring students to get real-life, relevant experience with actual brands.
- Marketing Management: This course has a strong focus on project management and how to strategically manage marketing campaigns, teams, or other initiatives within a company or organization. Topics covered may include how to strategically and effectively promote, budget, and distribute resources.
- Market Research: This course helps students understand how to take consumer behavior analysis and use that information to make strategic, data-backed decisions. Students may learn how to conduct questionnaires and focus groups to better understand the market and consumer insights, and learn how to best analyze research results and data while also looking into secondary source data to back their findings.
Choosing a Quality (and Accredited) Online MBA in Marketing
When researching what program is best for you, it’s important to ensure each program you apply to has proper accreditation that proves their offering relevant, recent, and quality education.
Programmatic accreditation for MBA in marketing programs usually needs eligibility through one of the three main accrediting bodies, which also approve most business programs: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, or the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education.
Check out our Accreditation Guide to learn more about accreditation.
Skills Gained in an Online MBA in Marketing Program
MBA in marketing graduates are encouraged to become strategic leaders in the workplace, operating with high-level skills that come with completing an online MBA program. Students can obtain these competitive skills through courses, lectures, collaboration, coursework, and professional, hands-on experience in the workplace. Some common skills student can expect to learn and refine include:
- Knowledge of Key Marketing Principles: Marketing is a multifaceted field, and this quality is reflected in the principles students grow to understand throughout an MBA in Marketing program. Students will be trained in understanding consumer behavior, project budgeting, time management, advertising practices, and market research.
- Interpersonal Skills: Effective communication is a cornerstone of the marketing field. If a product or service cannot be communicated properly, it will not be successful and will not turn a profit for the company. Students in an online MBA in marketing program will not only learn to effectively communicate with their team members, but also with customers and shareholders.
- Leadership: Graduates from an online MBA in marketing program often find themselves in leadership positions in which other employees are looking to them for guidance. Students will learn how to inspire and motivate the employees they oversee, as well as how to ensure company goals are being met in an effective manner.
- Creativity: Successful marketing often requires marketing professionals to be able to think their way through problems to make a product or service successful. MBA programs in marketing will train students to find creative solutions to common marketing problems, as well as how to take a fresh look at products that might not be suffering, but could still improve in certain areas.
- Long-Term Strategy: Marketing is not an immediate thing; it takes time for a successful marketing campaign to build trust with its audience. Students will develop the skills necessary to know what needs to happen at each individual stage of the marketing process, and how to ensure any potential roadblocks a campaign comes across are dealt with quickly and effectively.
FAQs about Online MBA in Marketing Program
| Q: Why Digital Marketing course for MBA graduates? |
| A: Digital Marketing is a field within marketing where graduates learn about marketing using the internet, emails, text messaging, etc. With the advent of computers and smart devices, the face of marketing has changed, and marketing using this digital technology is more popular. That is why digital marketing courses or specialization in the MBA has important. |
| Q: What is MBA in marketing management? |
| A: MBA Marketing Management is an MBA program with an emphasis on all aspects of marketing, such as branding, advertising, research, and communication. Graduates from this degree can manage all channels of marketing of products or services. |
| Q: What is MBA in marketing all about? |
| A: MBA Marketing is all about learning about how to sell, advertise, brand, or spread awareness of products or services. |
| Q: What to do with an MBA in marketing? |
| A: With an MBA in Marketing, graduates can start (or enhance) careers as Marketing Managers, Marketing Research Analysts, Sales Managers, etc. |
How to Pay for an MBA in Marketing Degree
The cost of an online MBA in marketing can seem overwhelming at first, but it’s important to remember that there are many options to help fund your degree. Many students take part in academic and professional programs, scholarships and awards, or other methods to help cover the cost of their graduate program. Learn more about these opportunities below.
Techniques for Paying for Your Online MBA
Tuition Reimbursement Programs
Those who are already working in the field might have access to tuition reimbursement programs through their employers. Many companies and organizations offer this benefit to help their team grow in expertise and support their employee’s academic goals.
Paid Internships
Internships are a great way to earn some money while receiving field-specific work experience that can help them land a job down the road. Some internships may also qualify for class credit, so it’s important to talk to your MBA program to see if you qualify.
Student Loans
Once students have exhausted their tuition reduction techniques, student loans can help students avoid paying the full, out-of-pocket amount for their degree. While many types of student loans exist, we recommend looking into federal loans since they are more likely to have lower terms of repayment.
Scholarships for Online MBA in Marketing Students
Scholarships are a great way to help students finance their online MBA in marketing degree. Below are a few scholarships that are available to current and prospective graduate students that plan to focus on marketing.
Who Can Apply: This scholarship is open to students who have completed at least one year of college and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. The scholarship is awarded to the strongest applicant who can also demonstrate their passion for internet marketing.
Amount: $1,000
Who Can Apply: Offered twice each year, this scholarship gives prospective MBA students to win the $25,000 award by registering with the contest website and taking their free online GMAT practice test. Whoever scores the highest on the practice test is awarded the scholarship.
Amount: $25,000
Who Can Apply: Made possible by the PRSA, this scholarship is open to students pursuing a graduate program in public relations, journalism, marketing, or related fields. Candidates must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, do not have to be members of the PRSSA, and complete an essay on the posted topic.
Amount: $1,000
Career and Salary Outlook for Online Marketing MBA Graduates
Students who earn their online MBA in marketing will have a more competitive edge when seeking our career opportunities, although each student’s eligibility depends on factors such as area-specific job markets, company structures, and personal knowledge and branding. To help understand job opportunities for online MBA graduates, we’ve listed some common job prospects below, along with their annual median salaries, job growth percentages, and a description of the career-specific duties.
| Occupation | Median Annual Salary | Job Growth (2016-2028) | Job Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Managers | $135,900 | 8% | Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers research the latest trends and create highly relevant programs to build audience interest, engagement, and conversion for various products or services. |
| Market Research Analysts | $63,790 | 20% | Marketing research analysts follow current market conditions, report their findings, and look into potential sales strategies for a product or service. |
| Sales Managers | $126,640 | 5% | Sales managers lead and direct an organization’s sales team. They set team goals, study relevant data, and create training programs for sales staff. |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Resources for Online MBA in Marketing Students
Those interested in pursuing an online MBA in marketing may benefit from various professional organizations and networking platforms in this field. These resources can help students gain a better understanding of marketing, current events, network with other professionals in the field, and find careers.
- American Marketing Association: The AMA works to offer the most relevant, up-to-date information for the marketing community. Their website hosts extensive resources for students and professionals, and users can also learn about branding, consumer metrics, audience engagement, and more.
- Association of National Advertisers: The ANA can help students and professionals connect with peers in the field, hear from global thought leaders, access training and educational material, and participate in webinars and various workshops.
- Internet Marketing Association: The IMA is an internet marketing group that offers resources for current and aspiring marketing professionals, with members in different fields including sales, entrepreneurship, marketing, programming, and creative development.
- Public Relations Society of America: The PRSA is a leading national organization for communications professionals for professional development, advocacy, ethics, and more. They host various student chapters on college and university campuses (PRSSA) with opportunities for student involvement and membership.
- Society for Marketing Professionals: SMPS comprises more than 6,000 marketing professionals, with support from around 3,500 marketing organizations and firms throughout the U.S. Active members have access to networking events, job alerts, and full access to the SMPS online marketing center.
