MA Marketing, 2014-15

Admission requirements

Applicants can be admitted to the course as long as they possess:

• a second class honours degree from a UK University, or
• a Ptychion of 6.5 and above from  an AEI University or
• a Ptychion of 7 and above from a TEI University, or
• a Bachelor from an American University with GPA 2.75 and above or
• equivalent business qualification.

Participants have to attend and pass a non-credited module “Personal Development”.

Those who wish to attend the course in English should also submit one of the following certifications:

• IELTS: a minimum score of 6.0 (with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component of the test)
• Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): Grade C and above
• Michigan Proficiency (ECPE): P (Pass) and above
• Pearson Academic: 56 (with a minimum score of 56 in each component of the test)

BCA IELTS Placement Test : a minimum score of 6.0 (with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component of the test)

Philosophy and Aims

The MA Marketing course aims to provide insight into the marketing of any organisation as well as an in-depth understanding of marketing functions. The course is designed to help participants to have a critical understanding of the competitive global business environment, as also the market demands on products or services and on marketing operations and resource utilisation.

More specifically this programme aims to:

1. provide both pre-experience career preparation and post-experience career development opportunities for participants from any business discipline background
2. develop lifelong learning skills and personal development so as to be able to work with self-direction and originality
3. enable participants to design and conduct applied research and analyse results to inform strategic marketing decision making
4. improve participants’ capabilities on marketing related activities in particular to make a significant, sustained contribution to the achievement of their employers’ goals

The MA Marketing degree seeks to address the needs of a growing number of people who wish to develop their understanding of marketing, or formalise, through acquiring a postgraduate qualification, their past marketing work experience. Developments in both marketing practice and marketing as a discipline have reflected these changes, such that more attention is now given to the marketing of services and specialist attention is devoted to marketing within particular sectors.

Pressures for global responsiveness in many markets have increased.  This has led to a range of ‘global marketing’ strategies and the proliferation of global brands. The dynamic tension between globalisation and pressures for local responsiveness is becoming increasingly important, and provides further stimulus for changes in marketing practice and analysis. Other stimuli for change include the direct and indirect implications of developments in information technology, which has produced increased interest in customer profiling, direct marketing and new forms of marketing research.

Increased recognition of the strategic role and position of marketing within organisations, and new approaches to marketing which have emerged from a review of some of the basic concepts underpinning the subject of marketing (e.g. value, customer satisfaction, buying patterns, etc.) have contributed additional items to the marketing agenda. Whilst the dynamism of marketing, both in practice and as a subject discipline, is attested to by the changes referred to above, marketing has not gone unchallenged. Concerns regarding the difficulties in sustaining brand values and producing new product innovations are two examples of such challenges.

A central philosophy underpinning the programme is the study of marketing within an applied decision-making context. The MA Marketing will seek to take advantage of student’s work experience knowledge of marketing and undergraduate level intellectual skills to provide a rigorous marketing programme of study at a master’s level.

Award Titles

While most students will aim to achieve the full Masters qualification, all Masters courses offer the subsidiary awards of Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma (both available with Merit or with Distinction) for students unable to complete their full programme of study.

The full list of awards and their requirements is as follows: