Marketing Major

Business decisions begin with a fundamental understanding of the marketplace. From target market to competition,globalization to industry analysis, businesses must evaluate the marketing, organizational management, and international implications of decision-making. Students explore the behavioral and business decision-making process for marketing and management as they are introduced to these strategic processes critical to business success. Students will learn how to build and function within successful teams as they engage with Vermont-based businesses to analyze and recommend solutions to real-world business challenges and opportunities.

This course provides insight into consumer behavior, and how consumers engage in the decision making process. This includes an in-depth study of the internal, external, and situational influences on consumer behavior such as culture, learning, personality and lifestyle, values and motivations. Students will learn to assess current brands’ marketing strategies with respect to consumer behavior and develop an understanding of the impact consumerism has on various global populations.

Students will learn how to utilize digital platforms as part of a comprehensive and integrated marketing strategy. Through a mix of strategy, professional certification(s), and hands-on application, students will navigate the digital marketing ecosystem and apply best practices in the field.

Marketing students gain practical experience in the workplace as interns in some aspect of marketing to gain in-depth exposure to the marketing field. Through coursework they will reflect on their experience as they explore what it is to be a marketing professional.

To understand today’s global economy students will analyze country-specific socio-cultural, economic, political, and legal forces, as well as currency exchange rate mechanisms, tax systems, and other broad financial controls. Students will apply theories and strategies of international business and related macroeconomic principles to real-world issues and cases by conducting country risk assessments and developing foreign market entry strategies. Students will be challenged to identify their own sense of cultural identity through comparisons with differing country-level and individual cultural perspectives and recognize the implications for conducting business in varied cultural contexts.

In this upper level marketing course, students will explore in depth a current topic in marketing that is impacting society and business. Given the ever changing nature of marketing there are always new areas to explore, and this course will allow students of all disciplines to engage with an important emerging topic selected by the instructor. This is a required course for marketing students and an elective option for all other majors.

The marketing capstone is a senior-level opportunity for marketing majors to pursue a self-directed independent project in their chosen area of professional interest. It is the culmination of their full body of course work including liberal arts, professional program and minor area of study. A heavy emphasis will be placed on being an ethically-minded marketing professional as well as the transition from student to professional.