Marketing Management MSc
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Course Summary
Our Marketing Management course offers aspiring and developing managers the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge, skills and understanding of marketing management that can help you make a positive difference for future employers.
The effective marketing of an organisation’s products and services is critical to its success. Our Marketing Management course aims to help you develop your skills, knowledge and competencies in international marketing management and planning digital marketing communications, thereby enabling you to effectively contribute to the success of the business.
Our course will help you to achieve your management aspirations by being relevant to the modern business. The combination of academic study with workplace application provides many opportunities to better understand how to manage and make management decisions that impact on the organisation’s success.
Our tutors encourage class discussions, helping you to learn to build, express and defend your own informed thoughts. Our modules have been carefully designed to provide you with relevant skills, knowledge and understanding that will enable you to perform successfully, and this course has the potential to offer you a springboard to a new career.
There is an option to choose a Project/Placement year for this course, at an additional cost.
Optional 2-year master's to suit your needs
Choosing a Professional Placement MSc is a win-win for your career, giving you the chance to get real experience, apply your cutting-edge skills in the workplace and stand out to future employers.
In the first year you will have help from the University to find a placement, whilst developing your expertise. You will then spend your second year out in industry on placement, getting the chance to work with industry professionals and grow your network of industry contacts. Bringing the latest business school insights to industry, you will get to make a difference to the workplace and make lasting links with your employer.
Students need to find and secure their own placement, supported by the University. A preparation module will also help you to get ready for your placement.
What you’llStudy
Our modules provide insights into industry thinking, marketing products and services in both a domestic and international environment. Modules focus on concepts such as digital marketing planning, international marketing, marketing communications, and brand management. You will learn to create marketing strategies and digital communication plans that will contribute to the effectiveness of the organisation. This will be set in the context of having a good understanding of the contemporary management techniques to ensure the optimum use of resources.
If you choose a placement or project year, the Research Dissertation module will be replaced by a placement or project module.
Module content:
Strategic financial accounting:
- Understanding the format of financial reports and financial accounts.
- Analysis of financial reporting.
Strategic management accounting:
- Identify and assess the impact of current developments in management accounting and performance management on measuring, evaluating and improving organisational performance.
- Apply appropriate strategic performance measurement techniques in evaluating and improving organisational performance.
Module aims:
- To enable students to explore and develop an understanding of the theoretical techniques, concepts and methods employed in strategic financial management.
- To develop the ability to apply the theoretical to the practical, through the analysis of data and application of relevant techniques in the context of varied situations.
- To evaluate and develop a critical and reflective awareness of the importance of the application of relevant, available techniques to the enhancement of strategic financial decision making and business performance.
Module content:
• The nature, extent and purposes of research in marketing and marketing management.
• Research paradigms in researching areas of marketing.
• Research strategies for marketing and marketing management.
• Research designs, methods and approaches
• Research quality standards: establishing validity, reliability and generalisability
• Research instrument design and sampling.
• Research ethics.
• Research Data Management and Interpretation: collection, organisation, analysis, conclusions.
• Managing a dissertation research project.
Module aims:
The aim of this module is to enable learners to:
- Design and implement a research project proposal using methodologies and methods appropriate to research questions and objectives within the field of marketing and/or marketing management.
- Critically analyse and report research findings meeting academic and/or practitioner requirements of a marketing management research project.
- Develop appropriate skills in preparing, implementing and managing marketing projects.
Module content:
The following is illustrative of what the module will cover:
- International marketing and understanding the global environment
- Understanding market trends and opportunities for innovation and development
- Cultural diversity and the implications for international marketing and communication skills
- Development and complexities of the international marketing strategies including the global supply chain
- Intercultural marketing communications
- Implementing and coordinating international marketing operations including market entry and exit strategies
Module aims:
This module is designed to provide students with a comprehensive conceptual and contextual appreciation of all aspects of international marketing – which are hopefully addressed but, in particular, we do consider heavily the all-important cultural issues and frameworks that impact on the entire process.
The module complements the comprehensive conceptual and contextual appreciation of both buyer behaviour and marketing communications – but here in an international context.
This unique module further underpins the study of marketing management and as such is another critical and fundamental element to this pathway. It links strategic marketing to corporate strategy, and the necessary strategic decisions required in a contemporary global marketing context.
This module aims to:
- Enable students to critically evaluate theoretical underpinnings that could be employed within the field of international marketing. To enable students to apply knowledge of contemporary international marketing strategies and techniques
- Encourage students to reflect on their own experience and practice as consumers and stakeholders in a global context
- Critically reflect on the changing nature of marketing in a global/international context
- Provide a strategic appreciation of contemporary international marketing
Module content:
A programme of individual study and research project in accordance with established research principles involving the completion of the following elements:
Marketing Management Project
- Introduction and planning Marketing Management Projects
- Approaches to critically review literature and other sources of data for a marketing management project
- Justifying appropriate data collection methods
- Research ethics
- Undertaking a marketing management project
- Selecting data analysis techniques for a specified research strategy
- Techniques in forming conclusions and preparing implications and recommendations.
Module aims:
- To provide students with an opportunity to propose justified solutions to a marketing problem.
- To enable students to develop and apply their existing knowledge to a project and to enhance their ability to collect, analyse and interpret a range of sources of data.
- To enhance students’ skills to complete a significant piece of research that embodies the ability to clearly communicate a marketing issue, plan and implement a research design and evaluate data in a comprehensive and cohesive project.
Module content:
- Marketing Manager and leader roles.
- Effective leadership styles.
- Transformational and transactional leadership
- Leading and implementing change.
- Group dynamics and managing marketing teams.
- Politics, power and conflict in marketing groups.
- Emotional intelligence for marketing leaders.
- Personal development: planning the enhancement of personal capabilities for marketing managers.
Module aims:
The aim of the module is to enable students to develop their leadership skills and style in preparation for the role of a marketing manager.
- To provide students with a critical insight into existing and emerging theory and approaches to leadership and to critically evaluate how this supports effective leadership in marketing.
- To explore the role of leaders in managing and leading teams in a marketing context and supporting the cohesive group dynamics.
- To enable students to reflect on the evaluation, planning and application of theory in the personal development of a marketing manager.
Module content:
The module will cover the approaches and influences in developing a marketing related innovation. The content will cover:
• The need and context of developing an innovation.
• Sources of innovation.
• The alternative management approaches and process in creating and developing innovations.
• Creating the culture and team dynamics for successful management of innovations.
• Managing networks and partners in the innovation process.
• Measuring the effectiveness of innovation.
• Planning the launch of an innovation.
Module aims:
The aims of this module are to provide opportunities for students:
- To evaluate the factors that initiate and impact the development of an innovation in a marketing context.
- To critically evaluate alternative approaches and processes in developing an innovation.
- To explore the influences of culture teams and partners in managing new innovations.
- To develop a fully justified set of proposals on the approach one or more organisations might take in initiating and developing an innovation.
Module content:
This module covers some of the key skills needed by a marketing practitioner operating in a digital environment.
Key Themes:
- understanding digital disruption and the impact on digital communications strategy
- Using digital planning frameworks to align business objectives with campaign objectives
- Planning and implementing digital communications tools, which includes: search engine marketing, email marketing, digital PR, content marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing
- Using segmentation techniques for effective campaign implementation and management
- Developing and using website personas for acquisition and conversion (research and web analytics)
- Planning successful campaigns by developing online value propositions and understanding buyer behaviour
- Branding for digital communications
- Understanding campaign timing and integration issues
- Building online customer relationships
Module aims:
This module provides opportunities for students to:
- Explore and develop an understanding of the theories, concepts and techniques employed in strategic digital marketing communications and their integration into traditional marketing campaigns;
- Consider a framework of understanding and critically analyse strategic digital marketing communications in diverse organisational types and in differing contexts and frameworks of operation;
- Develop an advanced critical understanding of the uses and limitations of digital marketing tools in the business environment and to be able to apply creative solutions to business management situations.
MSc Marketing Management
You will learn by attending regular, scheduled sessions, which could be lectures, project work, presentations, discussions or case studies, as well as one-to-one sessions with your tutors. The course includes six taught modules plus the Management Research Project.
Assessment of your learning could be through written assignments, in-class tests, examinations or presentations, as well as completion of an individual management report.
Entry Requirements
2:2 honours degree
Applicants will normally be expected to hold a degree with a minimum second-class honours, or equivalent. Applications are also welcome from those with non-standard entry qualifications.
2:2 honours degree
Applicants will normally be expected to hold a degree with a minimum second class honours, or equivalent. Applications are also welcome from those with non-standard entry qualifications.
Please note, some programmes have special entry requirements.
English Language Requirements
For more information on our English Language requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.
Fees and Funding
£8,775for a full-time course (2025/26)
Guides to the fees for students who wish to commence postgraduate courses are available to view on our Postgraduate Taught Programmes Fees page. Here you will also find information about part-time fees and project/placement year fees.
The professional placement/project year will cost an additional £2,750, due at the start of the second year of the course.
£15,000for a full-time course (2025/26)
The tuition fees for international students studying Postgraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £15,000.
Please note: For MSc programmes where a placement or project year is undertaken there will be an additional charge of £2,650 in 2024/25 and in 2025/26 the additional charge will be £2,750 for the placement/project in the second year.
The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships for postgraduate study, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.
For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.
Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.
The professional placement/project year will cost an additional £2,750 (due at the start of the second year of the course), totaling £17,750 for the full course fee 2025/26.
Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.
The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships.
Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees and Finance section of our website.
Your future Career
Job prospects
The course has helped build students skills knowledge and confidence to pursue a range of careers in marketing across a range of industries such as retailing, manufacturing pharmaceuticals and construction in different parts of the world including Europe, Middle East and the Far East.
Careers service
The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.
Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.
We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs .