Marketing Department

Marketing

The Marketing major helps students acquire the grounding in the basic disciplines (e.g., psychology, economics, statistics) essential to understand consumer and organizational buying patterns and develop successful marketing strategies.

For strategic decision-makers in the private and public sectors, “marketing” describes a fundamental approach to general management decision-making and a necessary set of business functions. Businesspeople trained in marketing can provide critical input in such areas as markets, competitors, and portfolios of operating technologies. As such, the field of marketing is a valuable preparation for many types of management careers, including consulting, entrepreneurial management, line management, and for those who have future interests in starting their own business.

Because of its broad relevance, marketing is often chosen by students as part of a dual major, as well as a major in itself. The variety of courses offered by the marketing faculty has been designed to meet the needs of both management generalists and students who choose the marketing management or marketing research major areas.

Students begin by taking Marketing Management (MKTG 621/622), an overview of the role of marketing in the development of business strategies. Using a combination of lectures, readings, case studies, and computer simulations, the course reviews fundamental approaches in product/market selection, product line management, sales force operations, communications management, pricing and profit planning, management of channels of distribution, and marketing research. Students’ choices of further marketing courses depend on their preferences among the variety of management career paths. Students who decide to major in Marketing Management may apply MKTG 621/622 toward the major’s requirements.

Two majors are available: the marketing management major and a cross-functional major in marketing and operations management.

Marketing Management

Marketing management majors choose courses to prepare themselves for careers in corporate or not-for-profit management, or in marketing fields that range from product management, advertising, and sales and account management to retailing, e-business, distribution management, and strategic marketing planning. Students can look forward to career opportunities in large and small organizations representing a spectrum of industrial, consumer goods, service, electronic commerce, and consulting firms in public- and private-sector institutions. The requirements of the major permit flexibility in the selection of electives according to individual preferences, building on a base of concept and methodology courses. The range of courses available permits tailoring the major to the student's interests. In particular, students select from full-semester classes and from a set of "mini-courses," which are half-semester classes, approximating one course in a quarter system,  that focus on a specific facet of marketing.

Requirements for the major

Five credit units including:

a) Two required core courses

• MKTG 621 Marketing Management: Program Design (.5 cu)

• MKTG 622 Marketing Management: Strategy (.5 cu)

b) One course in marketing research

• MKTG 756 Marketing Research

c) At least three credit units chosen from the following:

Full credit courses (1 cu each):

• MKTG 760 Law of Marketing and Antitrust

• MKTG 771 Models for Marketing Strategy

• MKTG 773 Customer Behavior

• MKTG 776 Applied Probability Models in Marketing

• MKTG 777 Marketing Strategy (2nd year students)

• MKTG 890 Advanced Study Project (1 course unit) – group project

• MKTG 891 Thesis (2 cu) (see note below)

• MKTG 892 Creativity

• MKTG 894 Entertainment and Sports Marketing

• MKTG 895 Media and Entertainment Field Projects

• MKTG 898 Forecasting Methods for Marketing (formerly MKTG 774x)

• MKTG 899 Independent Study Project (see note below)

One-half credit courses (.5 cu each):

• MKTG 655/ OPIM 655 Integrating Marketing and Operations

• MKTG 751 Sales Force Management

• MKTG 753 New Product Management

• MKTG 754 Pricing Policy

• MKTG 755 Advertising Management

• MKTG 759 Channel Management

• MKTG 781 Entrepreneurial Marketing

• MKTG 782 Multinational Marketing

• MKTG 793x Retailing

• MKTG 893 Marketing Metrics

NOTE: A student contemplating MKTG 891 Thesis or MKTG 899 Independent Study must first find a faculty member who agrees to supervise and approve the student’s written proposal for an independent study project. Final approval is granted by the Marketing Department MBA Advisor.

Non-Marketing Majors

Students not majoring in Marketing often find that there are several combinations of marketing electives that fit their interests well. Popular combinations of electives include: the New Product Development one-half credit course combined with the Advertising Management or the Pricing Policy one-half credit courses (to complete one credit unit), the Marketing Research course, and the Marketing Strategy course.

Cross-Functional Major in Marketing and Operations Management

Please note: Before scheduling classes, check with the department to determine the availability of courses for the upcoming semester or visit:
the Marketing website at http://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/ or
the Operations and Information Management website at http://opimweb.wharton.upenn.edu/.

Marketing and Operations Management are two closely interrelated key functional areas in all manufacturing and service firms. This cross-functional major is designed to satisfy the strong need in industry for MBAs with in-depth training in both areas. Graduates in this area are better prepared to take challenges in their future career paths. Examples of their first job assignment include brand managers who have to coordinate marketing and manufacturing for a particular product, project managers of consulting firms, participation in new product develop teams, members of quality management programs, or managers in the service sector with responsibility for creating and marketing new services.

The major requires 7.5 credit units and emphasizes the integration of the two functional areas. Students are required to take the core courses in marketing and operations management (MKTG 621-622 and OPIM 631-632), Marketing Research (MKTG 756), and the mini-course OPIM 655/MKTG 655 Integrating Marketing and Operations. Remaining work for the major is satisfied by taking 4 credit units of electives from the following marketing and operations management lists. At least 1 credit unit must be from the Marketing list and at least 2 credit units must be from the Operations list.

Requirements for the Marketing and Operations Management major - Total of 7.5 course units (CUs):

1. MKTG 621/622 - Marketing core courses, 1CU
2. OPIM 631/632 - OPIM core courses, 1CU
3. MKTG 756 - Marketing Research, 1CU
4. MKTG/OPIM 655 - Integrating Marketing and Operations, .5 CU
plus 4 CUs from the following electives, with at least 1 CU from Marketing and 2 CUs from OPIM

   In Marketing:

MKTG 751 - Sales Force Management, .5 CU
MKTG 753 - New Product Development, .5CU
MKTG 754 - Pricing Policy, .5 CU
MKTG 755 - Advertising Management, .5 CU
MKTG 759 - Channel Management, .5CU
MKTG 771 - Models for Marketing Strategy, 1 CU
MKTG 773 - Customer Behavior, 1 CU
MKTG 776 - Applied Probability Models in Marketing
MKTG 777 - Marketing Strategy, 1 CU
MKTG 781 - Entrepreneurial Marketing, .5 CU
MKTG 782 - Multinational Marketing, .5 CU
MKTG 789 - Marketing Methods and Applications for Business Consulting, .5 CU
MKTG 793x - Retailing, .5 CU
MKTG 890 - Advanced Study Project, 1 CU*
MKTG 894 - Special Topics: Entertainment and Sports Marketing, 1 CU
MKTG 895 - Special Topics: Media and Entertainment Field Projects 1 CU

MKTG 898 - Forecasting Method for Marketing, 1 CU

*  The ASP should deal with a topic that integrates across production and marketing. Possible topics include new product development, managing the marketing/manufacturing/product engineering interface, integrating front/back office operations in services, after-sales service, and distribution channel management.

Note: Current syllabi (PDF format) for courses are available only to Wharton users through SPIKE.

MKTG 621 Substitution Form: If you have received permission to substitute a marketing elective for Marketing 621, please use this Acrobat PDF form. Complete the form fields, save the file on your computer, and then e-mail it to the Marketing Department MBA Advisor.