Newcastle University

Marketing, BSc Honours

• Ucas Code: N500
• Course Duration: 3 plus optional placement year

What is 'Marketing'?

Marketing is the social science that is central to our lives in the twenty-first century. Marketing embraces psychology and consumer behaviour, economics and accountancy, management and innovation, sociology and culture. Marketing is effectively 'combined honours' in the social sciences.

We can't avoid marketing because it surrounds us. We interact with the state of the economy, nationally and internationally. It reflects our spending choices: where we live, what we drive, how we dress, what we eat, how we spend our leisure time.

Marketing has become a global phenomenon: effective marketers need to have wide cultural horizons. Marketing is a hot topic in international organisations meaning that job prospects are excellent.

Newcastle is at the forefront of marketing in the digital era. It is dynamic, fast-paced and constantly evolving - for example the current social media revolution is fundamentally changing traditional approaches to marketing communications.

Why study Marketing at Newcastle University?

• All Newcastle marketing students are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing and eligible to sit the examination for the Certificate in Direct and Digital Marketing Principles. This is evidence of competence in professional marketing practice and a significant enhancement to our graduates CVs.
• Our syllabus is at the forefront of marketing curricular development and has been kept up to date with professional practice by researching the working environment of our graduates and interns. This has revealed an emphasis on effective marketing communications in the digital era which has been built into the programme at all stages.
• Our approach is very vocationally orientated: we cover the theory in depth and then apply it to the real world either by case studies that we research ourselves or, best of all, through applied student projects.
• The programme is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing which allows direct entry for graduates onto the CIM's Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.
• We had the first Chair in Marketing outside the USA over 40 years ago and have retained our position as a leading Russell Group provider of undergraduate marketing.
• We place emphasis on the Graduate Skills Framework (personal key skills which are valued by employers), creativity and innovation.
• We take individual pastoral care seriously. In addition to the services of the Programme Director and Senior Tutor, all students are assigned to a Personal Tutor who oversees their progress to graduation.

Why a BSc?

We adopt an analytical approach to marketing with an emphasis on:

• Logical reasoning (viewing issues from a wide perspective)
• Applying conceptual theoretical frameworks to the 'real world'
• Understanding society and culture
• Numeracy (appropriate to an entry level in mathematics of GCSE grade B)
• Literacy (appropriate to an entry level in English of GCSE grade B)
• A global outlook

This degree programme is equally appropriate for applicants with a background in humanities or sciences. All 'A-Levels' will be considered for entry, with the exception of General Studies.

Stage 1: This stage delivers an introduction to core marketing knowledge and skills that are essential for today's marketing professional. You will cover key topics such as:

• An Introduction to Marketing
• Social Influence Marketing (which provides a introduction into Social Networking, Media Sharing, Social News and Bookmarking, Ratings and Reviews, Forums, Virtual Worlds and Media Metrics & Measurement)

Like all students in the Business School, you will also receive a solid basis in management, economics, accounting and quantitative methods.

Stage 2: As you progress through the course the emphasis on marketing intensifies. Core modules include:

• Global Marketing
• Market Research Methods
• Buyer Behaviour and Communications
• Managerial Economics

You also have the opportunity to study a range of optional modules such as:

• Advanced Social Influence Marketing (which takes you into the world of social media: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and LinkedIn)
• Statistics for Marketing
• Innovation and Technology Management
• Career Development
• Business Spanish or other Modern Language

Internships/Study Abroad (optional)

Between Stages 2 and 3 you may choose to undertake a 9 or 15 month work placement in a UK or European business or spend the year studying at a partner university in Europe. These experiences transform our students and greatly enhance their employability.

Current interns are mainly acting as marketing assistants or assistant brand managers, many within large multinational corporations, undertaking projects which include: organising product launches involving celebrities for L'Oreal; devising glossy magazine adverts featuring celebrities such as Beyonce, and David & Victoria Beckham for Coty Inc; monitoring the launch of the new Juke sports utility vehicle for Nissan; managing support for distributors at BMW; event managment associated with the launch of the Windows Phone at Microsoft UK.

The Business School has a dedicated Placement Officer who can help you find a suitable work placement; you can also choose to receive e-mail alerts from the University's Careers Service Vacancies Online service.

Companies that have previously hosted our students are wide ranging and include Heinz, Panasonic, IBM, Fujitsu, Danone, 3M, Nestle, Hewlett-Packard, Reuters, Xerox, PwC (Kuala Lumpur), Adidas (Germany) and Hola {Hello} (Madrid).

 

Stage 3: At this Stage, we aim to enhance your knowledge and employability even further. This is achieved through core modules such as:

• Strategic and Direct Marketing
• Marketing Communications Management
• Analytical Techniques for Marketing (a Newcastle specialism in advanced market research)

Optional modules in Stage 3 include:

• Managing Marketing Events
• Cultural and Creative Industry Marketing
• Career Development
• Business Spanish

You then choose to undertake either a marketing dissertation or the team-based Marketing Consultancy Project.This represents your pinnacle of academic achievement and accounts for a third of your marks at Stage 3.

The 12,000 word dissertation provides the opportunity to conduct an in-depth investigation into a topic that interests you, developing research and presentation skills relevant to the world of work.

Alternatively, the Marketing Consultancy Project challenges you to work in a team as a consultant for a 'real-life' company working on a real problem they are currently experiencing.

Graduation

You will graduate with a 'BSc Honours in Marketing'.

Students who spend a year of their degree in a work placement with an approved organisation will be eligible for the award of 'BSc Honours in Marketing with Commerical Plaement'.

Students who have spent a year of their degree studying and/or in a work placement in a European country under the Erasmus scheme will be eligible for the award of 'BSc Honours in Marketing with European Placement'.