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Marketing
Marketing
has been defined as "the process of planning and executing the conception,
pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, good and services, to create
exchanges that satisfy individual and organization objectives." The marketing
major studies how products and services are developed, priced, promoted,
distributed and sold. The process requires an understanding of buyer and
seller behavior within the context of the overall market environment.
Added emphasis is given to the important area of global markets with their
own special challenges and opportunities.
Marketing is an essential part of every business. Not-for-profit organizations also have to market their products/services, and the marketing discipline addresses the special needs of such organizations.
Program Overview
The marketing major at SDSU includes preparatory courses in accounting, finance, information systems, economics and mathematics. At the upper division level, students take classes in marketing as well as finance, management, operations management, and statistics. The curriculum provides training in developing decision models to aid in solving marketing problems. Planning and analysis of strategies for products and/or services are also emphasized, as is the use of computers for data analysis.
All programs offered by the College of Business Administration are impacted programs. Find out more information regarding the impaction.
Special Features
- New specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications, which includes courses from the School of Communications at SDSU
- American Marketing Association (AMA)
- The Entrepreneurial Society at SDSU provides a forum for students, faculty, industry, and government to exchange ideas and form relationships that will foster entrepreneurship in the local community.
- Student Organizations - Delta Sigma Pi and Alpha Kappa Psi are two of the Professional Business Fraternities offered to College of Business students.
- Business Honors Program - The program challenges students to integrate their Business education with material across the university and within the broader community. Students in the program build strong critical thinking skills and are challenged to apply those skills in a broad context.
- Business Advising Center - The mission of the Business Advising Center is to enhance the quality of the College's undergraduate program by providing information, counseling, and advising to current and prospective undergraduate students.
- A Board of Directors composed of stellar local and national business leaders provides direction to the College of Business Administration on a regular basis.
Faculty Highlights
The Marketing Department at SDSU is composed of approximately 11 full-time faculty members who hold doctorates from many of the leading business schools across the country. They are extremely active in research and publication, authoring textbooks and many research articles. Faculty serve as reviewers and editors of leading journals in marketing, and have memberships in various professional organizations such as the American Marketing Association, the Association for Consumer Research, Academy of Marketing Science and the American Academy of Advertising. Research areas include advertising, consumer behavior, marketing, managerial issues, international marketing, sales management, and industrial marketing.
Career Opportunities
The employment outlook for marketing graduates with a B.S. degree continues to be very favorable in all areas. Some of the more common career opportunities for marketing graduates include:
- Sales and sales management are common sources of employment for marketing graduates. Sales positions can be found in nearly all organizations including manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and service businesses. Sales representatives must fully understand the products and services offered by their company. These positions vary by company, but generally require the ability to identify and learn about the needs of prospective customers, develop and make sales presentations, provide follow-up services and manage existing accounts. Sales positions often lead to advancement opportunities in sales management that involve the supervision and management of an organization's sales force.
- Advertising, promotion and marketing communication jobs are available to marketing graduates. These include: advertising managers, who supervise the planning and execution of the advertising and promotional programs of an organization; account executives, who work for advertising agencies as a liaison between the agency and their clients and assist in the planning and execution of advertising programs and campaigns; promotional specialists, who plan and implement sales promotion programs and activities for their clients; media planners and buyers, who coordinate the scheduling and purchasing of advertising time and space from various sources such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines; and media representatives, who sell advertising time and space for radio and television stations, magazines, newspapers and other media.
- Marketing research specialists, who conduct various types of research studies in areas such as advertising, pricing, packaging, new product testing, and test marketing to help determine sales potential and effective ways to market products and services. Marketing research specialists plan and execute quantitative studies, such as marketing surveys, which involve the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, as well as qualitative studies, such as focus group interviews. They prepare marketing reports with recommendations for management.
- Product and brand managers, who coordinate all of the marketing activities required to market a specific product or service line or an individual brand. Product managers' responsibilities include the development of marketing plans for a brand and coordination of the various sales and marketing activities involved in the marketing process.
To further explore career options in this field, visit the Career Services Web site for more information.
General Catalog
You can view more complete information regarding the Marketing program in the General Catalog. All students are responsible for reading and knowing the information pertinent to their areas of study available in the General Catalog. It contains requirements for all academic majors, course descriptions, policies, and regulations governing progress at the University. Catalogs are distributed at all Academic Orientation programs. To order a catalog, call (619) 594-7535.
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Marketing
Department
College of Business Administration
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-8239
Email: business@sdsu.edu
Telephone: (619) 594-5317
Fax: (619) 594-3272
Office location: Student Services Building, Room 3356
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm