Online MS in Marketing

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by SailorJerry, Dec 8, 2015.

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  1. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    Hey guys and gals, wanted to start by thanking everyone for their contributions to this awesome forum. There is a wealth of information here!

    Little backstory about myself: I served 4 years in the US Navy, got out, had a baby, started working full-time, and started college full-time (rough 4 years). My GI Bill put me through college with no debt. Graduated with honors from Appalachian State University with a BS in Communication/Marketing in 2014.

    I'm wanting to go back now for my MS in Marketing now but have no idea where I should go. I've looked up info on Florida Tech Univ, WVU online, and all the other common online universities.

    I guess what I'm asking is what's the best place to go for an online masters? Taking into consideration cost, time to complete, and location (I'm located in NC and read you should TRY to go somewhere within 500 miles of your home town). Does anyone have any experience with Florida Tech? I've read good and bad things about them.

    Thanks in advance for any advice! I know I was kinda vague :blindfold:
     
  2. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    First of all, thank you for your service, and congratulations on earning your undergrad degree!

    Are you looking specifically for a M.S. degree, or would an M.B.A. with a Marketing concentration work? Are you looking for state schools only, or are private schools in play? Non-profit only, or are you open to proprietary schools?
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  4. major56

    major56 Active Member

  5. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    Thank you for the kind words, and it was my pleasure to serve...best decision I ever made. I would prefer an M.S. degree if possible, but of course I would love to earn an MBA as well. The only thing that worries me about that is all of the accounting and statistics. Not exactly my strong suit. State schools or private schools would work. I'd probably want to steer clear of proprietary schools, seems sketchy (although I have no experience with these). Also is there any way around the GMAT or GRE test to be admitted for these programs? I've read that in certain cases a high GPA or work experience would suffice. My GPA was around 3.65 and I have a few years experience as a Marketing Coordinator and a Product Manager. Not sure if this would help anything.

    I would love to attend UNC, I've been a Tarheel fan my whole life. I guess the cost is the only thing that scares me there (and admittance rate, GMAT). I'll still have to work full-time and take care of my son while attending. Hopefully I can get a Pell Grant or some kind of financial aid. School ranking is kind of important but if I can find a reputable school for less money or time commitment that would definitely be an option too.
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    There are good and bad in the mix. I've never heard a bad word about Laureate schools, for example. And Capella has been pretty controversy free.

    Obviously, Corinthian (now Zenith) schools and anything under the Keiser umbrella have reputations that are a bit less sterling.

    The biggest reason not to go with a for-profit school is cost and to sidestep the current controversy with said schools.

    Beyond that, I'm not really a believer in the 500 mile rule for most people. Online learning is rapidly advancing and there are some pretty good schools out there jumping into the mix. If I were earning, say, an MS in CS I could go to Syracuse Unviersity just down the street or I can go with Stanford online (if I wanted to pay). Cost aside, that Stanford MS is going to look pretty nice on my wall and resume compared to Syracuse geographic limitations be damned.

    UMass is a solid choice. Boston University also has an MS in International Marketing Management (not sure if this focus is of interest to you).

    If you want prestige a little closer to home, there's also the Georgetown Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications.

    But, your original question is actually how to find these programs not so much to have us give you a list of our favorite picks.

    Personally, I stay away from websites that list programs. Most of them are incomplete because schools are paying for inclusion or they have some sort of affiliate marketing deal worked out (or they just plain suck).

    I google a program name and as many variations as I can imagine for that program and I just go a few pages in looking for things I hadn't seen before. There are tons of options out there beyond the popular schools.

    Look at the prices and see what makes sense for your budget. My advice would then be to buy as much prestige as you can afford. If $20k can buy you either Florida State or UMass Amherst, I'd go with UMass. If you set your price low ($12k) then you're going to limit your choices but you should still pick the best of the bunch.

    The other thing you can do is pick a school with a virtually unknown name and supplement it with grad certificates or PG Diplomas (from the UK). An Excelsior Masters isn't terribly impressive. Pair it with a PG Diploma from the London School of Economics and I'd say you're painting a more interesting picture.
     
  8. major56

    major56 Active Member

    Here's some additional marketing program options:

    MS in Marketing | Business School | University of Colorado Denver

    MS in Marketing With a Specialization in Marketing Analytics - Bama By Distance

    Texas A&M University-Commerce: MS in Marketing

    Golden Gate Univ.: https://www.ggu.edu/programs/marketing-and-public-relations/master-of-science-in-integrated-marketing-communications

    Concordia: Master's in Digital Marketing | Online Marketing M.S.

    Univ. of Denver: Master

    Harvard Extension (Graduate Cert.): https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/professional-graduate-certificates/marketing-management-certificate
     
  9. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    Since you're offering, what would your top choices be?

    I like the Texas A&M program so far. For the one in International Marketing how relevant would that be for someone in the US who plans on staying in the US? I know most large corporations have factories and markets and customers in other countries but that just sounds so specific.
     
  10. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Boston University
    Georgetown
    University of Denver
    Marist

    And for MBAs I would say UNC.

    I also like Texas A&M and think it would be a solid choice.

    From their own marketing material, I would recommend reading this guy's interview.

    For the Boston University program, these are the courses:

    Core Courses
    MET AD 632 Financial Concepts
    MET AD 642 Project Management
    MET AD 648 Ecommerce
    MET AD 655 International Business, Economics, and Cultures
    MET AD 715 Quantitative and Qualitative Decision-Making
    MET AD 741 The Innovation Process: Developing New Products and Services
    Specialization Courses
    MET AD 737 Innovative Marketing Techniques
    MET AD 856 Market and Economic Research and Analysis

    Plus two selected from the following:
    MET AD 755 Doing Business in North America
    MET AD 773 International Business Simulation
    MET AD 777 Doing Business in and with India (online from Boston and on-site in India)
    MET AD 857 Marketing Strategies
    ITESM Integral Marketing Communications (online from Mexico)
    ITESM Doing Business in Mexico and Latin America (online from Mexico)

    So, you're talking about three classes that have an international business slant to them. Hardly enough to make the degree irrelevant. If anything, I think it gives you more versatility as your career unfolds.

    What I like about the BU program is: 1) International focus is a good thing. I work in the U.S. My chain of command all the way up to the CEO consists of Americans. But we all work for a Japanese parent company. And we get lots of visitors from Japan and there are numerous opportunities for us to go to Japan (long or short term) for career development purposes. And they strongly favor applicants who have international business degrees (grad or undergrad). 2) BU is a very good and respectable school and 3) You can earn the graduate diploma and have a credential in hand and then transfer the credits into the Masters program.
     
  11. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    That's actually a good point. The company I work for is in the US but owned by a parent company in Taiwan. I'm actually going to China at the end of December to one of the factories.
     
  12. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    For the colleges you listed, including Texas A&M, what do you think would be the most cost effective (cheap) and is there any info on how easily grants would be obtained? I would like to graduate with as little debt as possible. The University of Denver seems pretty expensive in comparison to the others, and I'm sure Georgetown isn't too cheap either.
     
  13. major56

    major56 Active Member

    If the choices were among the programs I'd mentioned (less UNC); I would likely select University of Alabama (marketing analytics) in lieu of TAMUC.
    MS in Marketing With a Specialization in Marketing Analytics - Bama By Distance. I'd give UA a big advantage in name /brand recognition too over TAMUC. Just my opinion though ...
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 10, 2015
  14. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    The only thing that concerns me about the Bama program is the GMAT requirement and the fairly math intensive classes required. Math is definitely not my strong suit. Well I wouldn't say that, it's just that I haven't had to do math in years and I'm pretty sure a) I would suck at the GMAT and b) all those calculus/statistics classes would kill me.
     
  15. major56

    major56 Active Member

    The M.S. Marketing in marketing analytics and data mining could be a standout differentiation in comparison to general marketing programs. Suggestions... don't let a prerequisite to take the GMAT or GRE (University of Alabama or others) hinder you from pursuing a graduate degree that is in your discipline interest, plus, being potentially advantageous to you career wise.
    Analytics = Most Desirable Skill (And Largest Talent Gap) For 2014
     
  16. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Here's the thing, as major has noted, Data is pretty trendy right now.

    But beyond being trendy and setting you apart from other applicants (who might not have a formal education in data science) the likelihood of you being called upon to do data analysis with a future employer is greater than ever.

    If there's a job that has a significant data component then the employer is going to be looking for a person who can handle that role. If you have an MS in Marketing, that's great. But if you haven't touched the subject of data analysis you are not going to be useful in that role. So, a person with a bachelors degree and analysis experience is going to walk right past you into the job.

    I'm not saying you should go to a specific program. But I am saying that if you have a reluctance to go near math and quantitative analysis that is something you should probably get over pronto. Being afraid of math is going to hurt your career prospects much more than not having a Masters (or having a Masters from a school greater than 500 miles away from where you live).

    All of these programs are solid choices. But there is such a thing as being over-educated and under-skilled. Depending upon what you do, or intend to do, in marketing you may do well to put the masters on hold and build a portfolio or spend that time really busting your analytical chops to get yourself up to speed.

    My brother has a bachelors in C.S. and he answers phones for a living (he hasn't actually coded since around 2002). Meanwhile, people who graduated from Free Code Camp are out there working as engineers. Education is great. But skill typically pays the bills.

    Get an education. But don't neglect skill building.
     
  17. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    Thanks for all of your replies. This is a great community with very supportive and uplifting individuals!

    After reviewing the Bama distance ed program their tuition seems to be fairly inexpensive compared to everyone else. $360 per credit hour X 33 hours = $11,880 for a distance graduate degree (give or take)...or am I missing something??

    So I guess the recommendation for next steps would be to dive into the wonderful world of calculus and algebra in preparation of taking the GMAT test? Any suggestions on where to begin for someone who hasn't been involved in that sort of thing for 5 or more years?
     
  18. SailorJerry

    SailorJerry New Member

    Well I guess not so much calculus but algebra, arithmetic, geometry, etc. I found some great resources at Sparknotes and Magoosh.
     
  19. major56

    major56 Active Member

    The GMAT or GRE, via the applicant meeting certain prerequisites, can be waived (even at Alabama) http://manderson.cba.ua.edu/assets/emba/UA-EMBA_GMAT-GRE_WAIVER_REQUEST.pdf. Even so, if taken, obviously you want to do your best on the exam. The listed cutting score for the Bama online M.S. Marketing program admissions are: Score of 580 on GMAT ("Total GMAT scores range from 200 to 800; two-thirds of test takers score between 400 and 600") Understand Your GMAT Score Report [or] 308 (old scoring scale) on the GRE GRE score Conversion : Compare new score to old score. Consider that the GMAT requirement is typically incorporated into the B-school's (e.g., Manderson Graduate School) admissions process, e.g., as an AACSB accreditation requirement, but allowing B-schools' a waiver policy /admissions latitude.

    There are an abundance of GMAT and GRE prep resources available too.

    Note 1: To do well on either exam (GMAT / GRE) should involve preparation beforehand—and UA will accept either exam score, e.g., MS in Marketing - Admission - Bama By Distance.

    Note 2: Definitely apply for the waiver policy option. As an online degree applicant ... your chances of being granted the GMAT or GRE waiver may be better. Make and negotiate your case for the waiver!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2015

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