The Master’s University is offering a new major to its students this academic year that prepares them for both the creative side and business side of marketing.
Supported by the school’s $25 million Centers of Excellence Campaign, the Bachelor of Arts in Marketing Media equips students with the skills and hands-on experience needed to identify, cultivate, engage and serve customers.
“Companies who hire marketers want graduates who know the theory and can do the marketing,” said Bob Dickson, chair of the Communication Department and co-chair of the new program in a press release. “This new major prepares students for that.”
Dickson and Kevin Hill, dean of the David A. Wismer School of Business & Communication, had talked about creating the Marketing Media major since 2015.
“For years, people have been contacting me looking for graduates who have both the business mind as well as the technical skills of photography, video, graphic design and more,” Hill said in a press release. “The people who have been in marketing for years just don’t have those technical skills that are now necessary.”
Students who pursue the major will take both business classes, like consumer behavior and business law, and communication classes, like digital video editing and graphic design.
“We’re looking for students who are eager to learn, creative, willing to innovate and not afraid to push themselves beyond what they’re used to,” Dickson said.
The program is also being coordinated by John Beck, a business and communication professor, who worked to weave together the two departments.
“We have seen firsthand the demand that exists for these skills in the marketplace,” Beck said. “In my own experience as a general manager, our marketing media team created a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over a million dollars.”
Hill said the major is a good fit for students who are both business-minded and creative.
“We are the pioneers for this major; no other school is doing it. We want to be the place to go for this vocation,” Hill said. “We want them to be leaders in the world of marketing, and we feel this is the quickest path to get there.”
