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Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

The course is composed of 8 taught modules and the Research Project module. Each module is 15 credits and the research project one is 60 credits. The taught modules consist of six mandatory and two selected from a menu of optional modules. This will allow students to customise their degree to match their own interests. It will also appeal to a wider range of students who are maybe interested in particular subjects due to career aspirations or further studies. 

What will you study and when?

The placement

You will have the opportunity to go on a work placement for 6 or 12 months. You are supported in finding placements and can apply for a vacancy as you would a job. There are dedicated sessions to support you in CV writing, interview skills and job applications as well as access to 1:1 tutorials. Most placements start on completion of the taught modules.

The placement will allow you to gain first-hand experience within a real business environment to enhance your future employability and are usually paid. Some students choose to base their research project on a business-related issue arising during the placement. This would give you access to research participants and primary data, and allow you to apply the theories and principles discussed on the programme to a real organisation.

While on placement, you will be supported by a dedicated placements team able to respond to any problems you may be having, an individual tutor who visits you twice while you are on placement and you will retain access to all the University facilities including e-resources. At the end of the placement, you are required to submit a placement portfolio containing your learning contract, a satisfactory employer appraisal, a case study and an end of placement presentation.

You can get in touch with the Placements Office on placements@worc.ac.uk.

Part time option

The course will normally take one academic year to complete. Part time students will complete the course over 2 years at least. The maximum registration periods allowed for the completion of these awards in part time mode (without credit on entry) is 6 years.

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement.

A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support from Student Services and Library Services, and also the personal academic tutoring system, will enable you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences to help you to flourish and be successful.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

Specialist marketing, advertising and PR agencies are not the only major employers of marketing graduates. Marketing is a core element of all organisations and, therefore, opportunities exist across all industry sectors - private, public and voluntary. These can range from the financial, consumer and information technology industries to not-for-profit organisations, such as charities, local government and higher education institutions.  However, typical roles for new graduates include:

• Advertising account executive
• Advertising account planner
• Advertising copywriter
• Market researcher
• Media buyer
• Media planner
• Event organiser
• Public relations account executive 

Student employability

Employability is at the heart of the course design for MSc Marketing. The course is structured around producing competitive graduates ready for the current challenges of the job market. They are taught a wide range of current and relevant topics and trained to exhibit the best attributes and qualities of critical, open-minded, inclusive and skilful individuals. The international nature of both students and faculty, and the diversity of expertise and backgrounds are central to shaping the learning experience and contribute to student employability upon graduation.

Links with employers

The Business School works closely with a number of professional organisations including the Chartered Institute of Management, Institute of Commercial Management, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Institute of Financial Accountants, Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, and British Computer Society.

The School has worked with a number of business clients in developing and delivering its programmes.  These include – The NHS (a range of Primary Care and Acute Trusts); Local Government (a range of County, District and Unitary Authorities); West Mercia, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Staffordshire Constabularies; Ministry of Defence and The Royal Air Force; Her Majesty’s Prison Service; Royal Mail; Financial Services Organisations (e.g. Lloyds TSB, HBOS Plc, Clerical Medical, NFU Mutual and Virgin Money); Housing Associations, Southco, Malvern Instruments, Allpay Limited, G4S Secure Solutions, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and Hitachi Capital.

The School has well-developed working relations with the local business community many of whom contribute to postgraduate programmes through the internship option to give students a real-world insight into the future world of work and/or to provide live client briefs to students. Senior managers from this business community have been involved in the design of this programme. They were consulted on the skills and attributes they expect to see in our graduates as we well as the knowledge and academic competencies they want our graduated to exhibit.