From clothes and technology, to food and entertainment, the products and services we buy help define our lives.

As a marketing professional, you’ll help to shape the decisions behind those all-important purchases – backed by the specialist knowledge gained from our BA (Hons) Marketing degree.

Your Learning Experience

During our Marketing BA (Hons) course, your studies will comprise two-thirds specialist studies in marketing and one-third broad-based business modules, spanning key topics including marketing planning and research, buyer behaviour, integrated marketing communications and data-driven marketing. You’ll also be in full control of your learning journey, with opportunities in your second and final year to select from a range of optional modules such as digital marketing, business-to-business marketing and retail marketing, as well sport, fashion or music marketing. This allows you to hone your skills and knowledge in a specific area within the wider world of marketing, giving you a further edge when pursuing graduate roles.  

How does this course enhance my employability?

You will be encouraged to undertake a work placement, study abroad or combine both. In the final year, you’ll have the option to carry out a group consultancy project in the Faculty Business Clinic, a management enquiry project or a dissertation depending on whether you completed a placement. The management enquiry project will allow for working individually to investigate a real business issue, and gaining critical practical experience.

How will I learn during the Marketing BA (Hons) degree course?

In your first year, you’ll be introduced to key global marketing principles as well as the core analytical skills required for building effective marketing strategies. Studies in subsequent years include modules covering a wide range of marketing disciplines – from content marketing, consumer experience and market research and planning, to digital and data driven marketing and branding.

You’ll learn through a variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, problem-based workshops, webinars, case discussions, practical activities, group work and tutorials. To help you develop your independent learning skills, you’ll also complete directed tasks – assignments you undertake in your own time.  

We back up all our teaching with well-designed support systems to help you get the most from your opportunities. And we make sure that we build extensive feedback, from both tutors and peers, into the course. Throughout your studies, you’ll be able to discuss any academic or personal issues with your Personal Tutor.  

Assessments involve applying business principles to solve problems and then demonstrating your thinking through business reports, presentations, portfolios and more. In the final year, you’ll complete an assessed dissertation, management enquiry or consultancy project.

Chartered Institute of Marketing Qualification

Northumbria University has joined forces with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) to give students the opportunity to gain professional qualifications through CIM Graduate Gateway. The (CIM) is the leading professional body for marketers worldwide and exists to develop the marketing profession, maintain professional standards and improve the skills of marketing practitioners. CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers, and map alongside our own degrees which ensures we are equipping students with the best opportunities for a successful marketing career.

How is research applied to teaching throughout my degree?

There’s a strong research ethos at Northumbria and it plays an important role in how you’ll develop as a critical, reflective and independent thinker. We take an enquiry-based, problem-solving approach. This introduces you to key research skills including information literacy, sampling, statistical reporting and surveying through the first year Marketing Consultancy and Study Skills modules, before developing your knowledge more deeply in the second year Business Research and Analysis module. In the final year you’ll undertake a significant investigatory task that can be either a dissertation, management enquiry or consultancy project.  

Throughout the course your learning will be shaped directly by the teaching team’s active research into their specialist subjects, as well as signature research themes that include digital business, strategic innovation and entrepreneurial leadership, and responsible business. Specific research areas include consumer behaviour, digital marketing and brand management.

How will my BA (Hons) Marketing degree provide me with the skills needed for my future?

Making your career happen is at the heart of all our Business courses – with every module designed to reinforce the transferable skills you’ll need in the workplace. We’ve also introduced two dedicated modules focusing on career-development skills: Marketing Study and Consultancy Skills, and Preparing for Professional Practice.

Beyond the classroom, you’ll have opportunities to develop your career through practical experience and wider learning. In your second year, you can spend a semester studying abroad, or take an extra year before your final year studying elsewhere in the EU, or further afield such as the USA, Australia or China.

Once you complete your studies, you’ll be in an excellent position to apply for graduate training schemes and graduate roles across the business world – from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises. Previous graduates have gone on to a variety of marketing roles covering everything from digital marketing and customer experience to market research. Should you wish to push your knowledge even further, the course also prepares you for postgraduate study – for example, on our MSc in Digital Marketing.

Or, if your inner entrepreneur comes calling, you can take inspiration from our previous students’ outstanding track record, with the combined turnover of Northumbria graduate startups higher than any other UK university.

Whatever you decide to do, you’ll have strong employability as a Northumbria graduate as every module of Northumbria Business School courses reinforces what you need to succeed. This includes the transferable skills that really matter to employers such as critical reflection and self-learning, collaboration and curiosity, and the ability to solve problems in sustainable and ethical ways.