Marketing is an exciting, dynamic, and diverse discipline that serves a wide variety of functions within an organization. Marketing's core function involves strategic analyses of consumers, the competition and the environment in order to provide product offerings that are relevant, appealing and profitable. A concentration in marketing affords students opportunities to pursue careers in the three broad areas described below. For additional information on marketing and marketing careers, access the American Marketing Association website.
- Marketing faculty profiles are available here.
- For information about Marshall graduate priority registration and future schedules of Marshall graduate electives, visit the Marshall Graduate Student Resources website to find the Graduate Electives Planning Matrix and other useful graduate resources.
- For information about tuition and fees and University-wide registration schedules and class offerings visit the USC Schedule of Classes.
Product Innovation and Brand Management Concentration
Business Development & B-to-B Marketing Concentration
Marketing Strategy and Analytics Concentration
Graduate Certificate in Marketing
Master of Science in Marketing
Product Innovation and Brand Management
This concentration provides the tools that managers need to develop, introduce and manage both new and existing product lines and individual brands so in order to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers and develop, maintain and enhance a brand's equity, and build sales and market share.
Common job titles relevant to this concentration include: product manager, new product manager, brand manager, project manager, program manager, and product line manager. These jobs are historically most common in consumer packaged goods companies, but have robustly emerged in other industries such as financial services, automotive, health care, high tech, biotech, fast food, retail, entertainment, hospitality, sporting manufacturers and organizations, and the legal profession. A useful description of jobs relevant to this sub-concentration can be found at Careers in Marketing.
Relevant courses (select 4):
MKT-512 Consumer Insights and Analysis
MKT-525 Consumer Behavior
MKT-526 Advertising and Social Media Strategy
MKT-530 New Product Development
MKT-533 Branding Strategy
MKT-534 Retail Strategy
MKT-536 Pricing Strategies
MKT-543 Market Demand and Sales Forecasting
MKT-556 Internet Marketing
MKT-560 Marketing Strategy
MKT-565 Global Marketing
MKT-580 Strategies for Fostering Creativity in Business
Faculty Advisors
Diane Badame badame@marshall.usc.edu
Lawrence Vincent laurencv@marshall.usc.edu
Business Development & B-to-B Marketing
The differentiating feature of this concentration is the managerial focus on relationships with and sales to institutions rather than individual consumers. Even a classic CPG company such as Nabisco has billions in sales that derive from governmental, health care, educational, military, law enforcement and other institutional customers.
Common job titles relevant to this sub-concentration are sales manager, account manager, fleet sales manager, marketing channel manager, retail manager, marketing relationship manager, business development manager.
Relevant Courses (select 4):
MKT-512 Consumer Insights and Analysis
MKT-525 Consumer Behavior
MKT-528 Sales Management: The Art and Science of Sales
MKT-534 Retail Strategy
MKT-543 Market Demand and Sales Forecasting
MKT-555 Marketing Channels
MKT-556 Internet Marketing
MKT-560 Marketing Strategy
MKT-565 Global Marketing
Faculty Advisors
Shantanu Dutta shantanu@marshall.usc.edu
Rex Kovacevich kovacevi@marshall.usc.edu
Marketing Strategy and Analytics
This concentration enables managers to conduct analyses that inform the development of marketing strategies for the firm and its product lines. Careers in this space can be pursued both within an individual company, a business consultancy, or a specialized marketing services firm. Analytic tools useful for making strategic decisions in marketing are emphasized, and some of these can also be pursued in elective course offerings from other departments, particularly Data Sciences and Operations.
This concentration is designed for students interested in strategic marketing and marketing consulting positions. Common job titles include marketing consultant, strategic marketing manager, marketing intelligence manager, marketing analyst, and associate consultant.
Relevant Courses (select 4):
MKT-512 Consumer Insights and Analysis
MKT-525 Consumer Behavior
MKT-530 New Product Development
MKT-536 Pricing Strategies
MKT-543 Market Demand and Sales Forecasting
MKT-555 Marketing Channels
MKT-556 Internet Marketing
MKT-560 Marketing Strategy
MKT-561 Strategic Marketing in the Creative Industries
MKT-565 Global Marketing
MKT-566 Decision Making Using Marketing Analytics
MKT-567 Marketing Metrics for Business Decisions
MKT-568 Geographic Information Systems Applications in Marketing
MKT-580 Strategies for Fostering Creativity in Business
Faculty Advisors
S. Siddarth siddarth@marshall.usc.edu
Joe Nunes jnunes@marshall.usc.edu
Graduate Certificate in Marketing
Students who wish to receive formal recognition of their dedication to a career in marketing and expertise in the field should consider applying for admission to the Graduate Certificate in Marketing.
Units earned in the process of completing the certificate can be applied to the MBA, MMS, MSBA and some other master's degree programs at USC as long as the certificate is completed before or in the same semester as the master's degree. Successful completion of the Graduate Certificate program is documented on the graduate's USC transcript and acknowledged with a diploma issued by USC.
NOTE: Completion of this program requires a formal application and admission. For more information click here.
Master of Science in Marketing
For individuals interested in even more in-depth study of marketing, Marshall offers a Master of Science in Marketing. For more information visit www.marshall.usc.edu/MSMkt or contact MS.Marketing@marshall.usc.edu.