Marketing Major

Every product you love reached you because someone marketed it. But modern marketing is far more than advertising. It’s the function that connects a company to its customers through brand, data, technology, and experience — carrying the brand and its value out to the market, and bringing customer insight back into the business. That’s why marketing touches nearly every decision a company makes, and why it’s such a strong launchpad toward senior leadership.

Marketing offers career opportunities for people with varying educational backgrounds. A bachelor’s degree is generally required for most management training positions in marketing, sales, public relations and advertising. A master of business administration degree is increasingly necessary for marketing research, marketing consulting, brand management, senior management and industrial sales positions. Frequently, marketing consultants, marketing research directors, and marketing professors have earned Ph.D. degrees in marketing or related subjects.

The Marketing major provides students the opportunity to develop skills that enable them to function in different marketing roles while working closely and effectively with other business functions. With courses ranging from traditional marketing analytics and research to the new rules of artificial intelligence, digital marketing, consumer behavior, and personal selling, students leave the program with a solid foundation in marketing.

Key Facts

• Rutgers Business School offers marketing case competitions
• Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers work in offices close to those of top managers
• 80% of advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers work 40 hours or more a week
• Industry-connected professors help RBS students access exciting jobs at global marketing agencies on Madison Avenue, startup companies, and across industries in New York, Philadelphia, and the tri-state area

Marketing Pathways Experience

Today’s marketing students have more opportunities than ever before—and those who graduate with a clear point of view on the rapidly evolving role of marketing will be in the driver’s seat. As organizations navigate ongoing digital transformation and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging marketing technologies (MarTech), the role of the modern marketer has expanded across nearly every part of the enterprise. That breadth creates exciting possibilities, but it also means that graduating as a generalist is no longer enough to stand out.

The Marketing Pathways initiative empowers Rutgers Business School (RBS) students to take ownership of their professional development by building focused expertise in one of three high-impact areas: Brand Management (i.e., brand manager, product marketer, strategist), AI and Analytics (i.e., marketing analyst, CRM, growth), and Digital Marketing (i.e., performance marketing, content, social).  More than a recommended course sequence, each pathway helps students develop a distinct professional identity—one they can confidently articulate to employers as they enter internships, networking conversations, and the job market.

Designed by RBS Marketing faculty, each pathway reflects deep academic expertise and industry insight into the courses that provide the greatest relevance and impact in today’s marketplace. Students may choose to follow one of these curated pathways or chart their own course by selecting from the broad portfolio of marketing offerings available at RBS.

With Marketing Pathways, students are not simply choosing classes—they are defining how they want to make their impact in the future of marketing.

Explore the Marketing Pathways

Professional Selling Concentration

The Professional Selling Concentration provides an opportunity for all RBS students to obtain the essential knowledge required to pursue a professional career in sales. In addition, it provides those pursuing other career paths to learn valuable skills to complement their area(s) of focus. The role of selling is a critical function in all industries and is responsible for driving revenue, share and profit for an organization. Salespeople also serve as an important link between an organization and its customers. Professional Selling requires a specific set of skills for an individual to execute the sales process successfully. Even if you are not planning a career in sales, you will need to sell ideas and influence others throughout your career, no matter what your role, and this concentration will help you do just that!

Explore the Professional Selling Concentration

How to Apply

• Learn more about the admissions process
• (PDF) Marketing Major factsheet

• Marketing Curriculum Guidesheet
• Course Descriptions/Syllabus Directory
• Marketing Department