Course information

Course highlights

• The programme focuses on the role of marketing within organisations and the wider global context within which they work. Upon completion of this programme you will have an integrated and critically aware understanding of marketing and organisations and be ready to take an effective role within them.
• This programme has been approved and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing to provide entry onto the CIM's Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. The programme is also accredited by the Chartered Management Institute, leading to Member Status.
• Marketing practitioners from industry and academic are invited as guest speakers on a regular basis to speak to take part in the programme, speak to students and lead master classes.
• Students have the opportunity to go on an annual marketing-related field trip.

Teaching format

The Masters in Marketing is a one-year taught programme run by the School of Management. Teaching is delivered through a mixture of core and optional modules using a range of delivery methods including lectures, small group tutorials, workshops and seminars. The average marketing cohort is 40 students.

Assessment comprises a combination of coursework and examinations. From June to August, students undertake a research project culminating in a written dissertation of 15,000 words.

Marketing students are academically supported by their dedicated programme director as well as the director of postgraduate programmes.

Further particulars regarding curriculum development.

Accreditation 

This programme has been approved and accredited by The Chartered Institute of Marketing to provide entry onto The CIM's Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing.

Modules

Each module typically consists of three to five contact hours per week including lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops. Assessment is either entirely by coursework, or through a combination of coursework (50%) and a two-hour end-of-semester examination (50%).

For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2015-2016 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2016 entry.

Compulsory modules

Semester 1

• Contemporary Global Issues in Management: develops an appreciation of how global trends impact on economies, organisations and the practice of management and marketing.
• Consumer Behaviour and Market Research: teaches you how to think systematically and critically about consumer behaviour, and understand how the principles of consumer behaviour inform methodological design in consumer research.

Semester 2

• Contemporary Conceptual Issues in Management: explores core conceptual challenges in organisations such as the meaning of responsible enterprise and the ways in which personality, power and politics impact on organisations and their communication with key stakeholders.
• Dialogue and Debate in Marketing (Masterclasses): explores key marketing topics such as globalisation, consumer trust, technology, social marketing and behaviour change, PR and branding.

Optional modules

Students choose two optional modules, taking one in each semester. Optional modules are subject to change each year, and attendance may be limited (see the University’s position on curriculum development).

• Alternative Investment
• Creative Marketing Communications
• Entrepreneurship and Business Planning
• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity
• Ethics, Organisations and Management
• Financial Systems
• International Financial Management
• International Marketing
• Leadership in Organisations
• Managerial Decision-making
• Managing Natural Resources
• Managing People in Global Markets
• Marketing and Society
• Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs): Critical Perspective
• Risk Management
• Scenario Thinking and Strategy

If you would like to know more about the content of your modules for this programme, you can view the module guides for the current year of study.

Dissertation

The final element of the MLitt is a 15,000 word dissertation. The dissertation is normally on a specific area of marketing, students have the freedom to develop a topic of their own, which is of interest and will contribute to future career development and further study goals. You will be encouraged to consider a topic for the dissertation during Semester 1 and will submit your dissertation proposal early in Semester 2. The School of Management will review your proposal and assign a relevant dissertation supervisor on the basis of the proposal.

In order to prepare you for the research required for your dissertation, you will attend a programme of weekly lectures as part of your Dissertation module. Dissertation projects may be group-based or completed individually (students are assessed individually regardless). You will undertake your research and write your dissertation over the summer, submitting in late August.

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for their Masters degree (MLitt), there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing the exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MLitt. 

---

The School of Management

The School of Management organises activities and builds relationships around the concept of responsible enterprise.

Responsible enterprise informs teaching and research about:

• managing within organisations
• the impact of human enterprise on the environment
• the interaction between forms of investment and social and organisational impact
• the need to foster creativity and development.

Accountability, governance, sustainability and ethics are key to the understanding of and engagement with a wide variety of organisations – private, public and social.

The School of Management has won major grants to undertake research and develop research centres. The research findings are reported in top international journals, which means the School is influential in shaping policy and practice.

The School’s world-class research makes a significant contribution to teaching at St Andrews.  School staff work as a supportive community to ensure that students think and engage critically with subject matter, both practical and theoretical, developing their abilities and their skills in analysis, synthesis, evaluation and application.

Careers

Alumni from the Masters in Marketing and more generally from other Masters programmes in the School of Management have secured employment in the fields of general management, marketing and brand management, accountancy, investment analysis, fund administration and other aspects of the financial services industry.

Graduates from the Masters in Marketing have taken up roles in a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sector including:

• Accenture
• Amazon
• Forum for the Future
• Google
• Deloitte and Touche
• Microsoft
• PepsiCo
• Procter and Gamble
• Unilever

---

Masters Extra (MX)

The Masters Extra (MX) Programme is designed specifically for taught masters students in the School of Management and focusses on careers, and personal and professional development. This series of talks, workshops, networking opportunities and activities includes guest lectures from leading academics and experienced managers. Participants earn a Certificate in Career Development through regular attendance.

---

Events

The School of Management hosts events and guest lectures beginning in Orientation Week and throughout the year, providing students and staff with opportunities to socialise and to engage with visiting scholars, professionals and practitioners.

The Management Society, a student-led organisation, hosts a broad range of events and activities, both subject-related and social. The University also has a number of other student societies relating to the management discipline.

---

Admission to the University of St Andrews is governed by our Admissions policy.

Curriculum development

As a research intensive institution, the University ensures that its teaching references the research interests of its staff, which may change from time to time. As a result, programmes are regularly reviewed with the aim of enhancing students' learning experience. Our approach to course revision is described online. (PDF, 72 KB).

Tuition fees

The University will clarify compulsory fees and charges it requires any student to pay at the time of offer. The offer will also clarify conditions for any variation of fees. The University’s approach to fee setting is described online. (PDF, 84 KB).