Return to main Academic Units page
This site is best viewed in Internet Explorer Version 4 or above.
Program of Marketing
Learn more about the College of Business.
Dr. Claire P. Bolfing, Director
Phone: (540) 568-3036
E-mail: bolfincp@jmu.edu
Web site: www.jmu.edu/marketing/
Professors
K. Bahn, T. Bertsch, C. Bolfing, R. Reid, K. Williamson
Associate Professors
I. Clarke, W. Faranda, T. Flaherty, V. Larsen, R. Shelton, N. Wright,
G. Wynn
Assistant Professors
D.E. Boyd, J. Guthrie, S. Thota
Instructors
R. McMillen, C. Snyder, M. Yankey
Mission Statement
The Program of Marketing prepares students to assume professional and leadership roles in the rapidly changing, technically-oriented and competitive world of marketing. Students majoring in marketing are introduced to the marketing management process, which is a systematic review of the principal activities required to understand (1) the context in which products and services must be marketed, (2) customer needs, (3) strategic options, (4) marketing program development and (5) evaluation of marketing effectiveness. The marketing curriculum focuses on traditional and online marketing skills needed in various business settings and industries. All courses and educational experiences focus on developing competence in five areas: factual and conceptual knowledge, problem solving skills, communications skills, experiential learning and use of information technology. Students will be prepared to enter corporate, small business or not for profit environments with highly valued skills and an understanding of the need for continuous learning.
Goals
- To deliver a solid foundation of the concepts and theories of the marketing discipline, including market environmental issues; strategic market planning, implementation and evaluation; marketing research; buyer behavior and market segmentation; and development of marketing programs.
- To engage students in critical thinking processes, requiring in-depth analysis of qualitative and quantitative market data and development of subsequent marketing strategies based on this analysis.
- To enable students to evaluate marketing program alternatives and commit to a course of action, using financial, organizational, environmental and ethical criteria as bases for decision-making.
- To teach students a variety of information technology tools and techniques to improve marketing and overall business performance and deliver greater value to customers.
- To facilitate students' continuing development of verbal, written and listening communication skills.
- To develop students' marketing-based interpersonal skills, such as group-based negotiation, consensus building, delegation and performance evaluation.
- To integrate classroom study with exposure to industry practices throughout the marketing curriculum and ensure marketing students access to experiential learning opportunities in all marketing career tracks.
Career Opportunities
- Retailing – store management, merchandise buying and analysis, graphics design and visual merchandising.
- Consumer marketing and business-to-business marketing – sales, brand management, consumer relations and market analysis, web-based marketing, event marketing.
- Communications – advertising account management, direct marketing account management, technical writing, copywriting, media planning, sales, and public relations
- Consulting – data analysis and sales.
- Marketing research – database modeling, database management and account analysis, and project management.
- Branch management – business to business sales, direct marketing, marketing research, promotional marketing.
- Not for profit marketing – fundraising, public relations,
direct marketing, customer service
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
- Madison Marketing Association. This student club is affiliated with the American Marketing Association, a national marketing association for marketing professionals, faculty and students. MMA is open to all JMU students. MMA is comprehensive with its marketing programming and offers students information and activities in direct marketing, retailing and marketing management.
- Pi Sigma Epsilon. PSE is a professional fraternity, which focuses on programming and extracurricular experiences in sales and sales management.
- Mu Kappa Tau. This is an honorary marketing fraternity for students with high scholastic records. Admission is by invitation only. The club invites speakers and engages in joint programming with other JMU student organizations.
Special Admission Requirements
Admission to the Marketing major may be limited and competitive if student enrollment exceeds available facilities resources. Only those students who have been formally admitted to the College of Business will be considered for admission into the Marketing Program.
Degree and Major Requirements
Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing
Marketing majors conform to the general structure of the B.B.A. degree program. The B.B.A. degree in marketing requires a minimum of 120 credit hours of undergraduate course work.
Degree Requirements
Credit Hours |
|
General Education requirements1 |
41 |
B.B.A. lower-level core courses |
23-30 |
B.B.A. upper-level core courses |
15 |
Marketing major requirements |
24 |
Non-business electives |
10-12 |
120 |
|
1 The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.
Fifty percent of this work, or 60 credit hours, must be taken outside of the College of Business. In counting the 60 credit hours of non-business courses, B.B.A. students may include all hours taken in general education (usually 41), up to a total of nine hours in economics (GECON courses must be counted as economics), and three hours of COB 191, Business and Economics Statistics. The remaining hours, to bring the total to 60 must be taken from any department outside the College of Business. Students should carefully select these non-business electives to help them gain additional knowledge and expertise for their careers and personal lives.
Major Requirements
Students planning to major in marketing must complete the 29 to 30 hour, lower-division B.B.A. core curriculum set forth on Page 160 prior to enrolling in upper-division core courses, normally taken in the first semester of the junior year. It is expected that the lower-division core curriculum will be completed during the first two years of study along with all, or most, of the university general education curriculum. Failing to complete all lower-division core requirements on time will delay enrollment in upper-division core and major courses until at least the second semester of the junior year. Additional required courses are determined by the chosen concentration.
Concentrations
As a result of Marketing being such a broad field there are many areas of specialization. Students majoring in marketing commit to a course of study and obtain career-specific knowledge and skills by selecting a concentration. Presently, concentrations include:
Business to Business Marketing
Business to Consumer Marketing
Marketing Information Systems
Business to Business Marketing Concentration
The Business to Business Marketing concentration is designed for marketing majors who wish a more in-depth review of the issues facing businesses that market products and services to other businesses and organizations. This concentration will focus on the development of knowledge and problem-solving skills relating to business segmentation and buying processes, product and channel development and direct selling, and sales management. Students interested in sales and sales management may be responsible for increasing sales and if successful will advance to assume management responsibilities. Product development deals with marketing related to a specific product. Activities may involve planning and development, production and distribution, direct marketing and other types of promotion. The Business to Business Marketing concentration is the ideal concentration for a job in sales, customer service, account management, and product development, both in direct marketing and industry-specific sectors.
Required Courses |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 382. Database Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 385. Buyer Behavior |
3 |
MKTG 430. Professional Selling |
3 |
MKTG 450. Business Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 480. Product Development and Management |
3 |
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications |
3 |
|
MKTG 485. Marketing Management |
3 |
|
Choose one marketing elective from the following list: |
3 |
|
|
24 |
|
Business to Consumer Marketing Concentration
The Business to Consumer Marketing concentration is designed for marketing
majors who want in-depth study, analysis, development, and marketing
of goods and services for sale to consumers using store, catalog, and
electronic buying methods. Students will develop knowledge, market skills,
and experience relating to: store management, site management, consumer
segmentation, interactive retailing, and development of marketing strategies
for reaching consumer markets.
Graduates in this concentration will be suited to begin careers in business-to-consumer
marketing, relationship marketing, merchandise management, human resource
management, new business creation, customer service operations, catalog
marketing, retailing, Internet marketing, not-for-profit marketing,
and promotional account management positions.
Required Courses |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 382. Database Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 385. Buyer Behavior |
3 |
MKTG 388. Retail Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications |
3 |
MKTG 485. Marketing Management |
3 |
Choose one of the following: |
3 |
|
|
Choose two marketing electives from the following list: |
6 |
|
|
24 |
|
1 Courses cannot be double-counted toward the major.
Marketing Information Systems Concentration
The Marketing Information Systems concentration is designed for marketing majors who wish a more in-depth study of the issues relating to the management and use of information systems in order to support marketing management decision-making. Students learn the importance of: (1) using and managing existing company and external data and databases, (2) conducting marketing research studies, (3) analyzing and interpreting online and offline data, (4) using data mining techniques to conduct market segment analyses and build predictive models, and (5) incorporating technology tools to develop marketing information systems and decision support systems in a global environment.
Students who desire careers in consulting, Internet marketing, database marketing, marketing research, and direct marketing should consider this concentration.
The Marketing Information Systems concentration consists of the eight courses shown below.
Courses |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 382. Database Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 385. Buyer Behavior |
3 |
MKTG 405. Survey Research |
3 |
MKTG 420. Data Mining |
3 |
MKTG 470. Strategic Internet Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 485. Marketing Management |
3 |
Choose two of the following courses: |
6 |
|
|
24 |
|
Recommended Schedule for Majors
Marketing majors will follow the course schedule below to complete the final two years of their program. It is possible to deviate from this program but care must be taken to ensure that all course prerequisites are met.
Third Year
First Semester |
Credit Hours |
COB 300A. Integrated Functional Systems: Management |
3 |
COB 300B. Integrated Functional Systems: Finance |
3 |
COB 300C. Integrated Functional Systems: Operations |
3 |
COB 300D. Integrated Functional Systems: Marketing |
3 |
General Education courses or non-business electives |
3 |
15 |
|
Second Semester |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 382. Database Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 385. Buyer Behavior |
3 |
Marketing concentration course |
3 |
Free elective |
3 |
Non-business elective |
3 |
15 |
|
Fourth Year
First Semester |
Credit Hours |
Marketing concentration courses |
9 |
General Education or non-business elective |
6 |
15 |
|
Second Semester |
Credit Hours |
COB 487. Business Policy |
3 |
Marketing concentration course |
3 |
MKTG 485. Marketing Management |
3 |
General Education or non-business electives |
6 |
15 |
|
Transfer Credit Policy
The marketing program will accept no more than two courses for transfer
credit toward the major. In addition to this general College of Business
policy, there are restrictions on which courses will be accepted for
transfer credit, depending on the selected concentration.
Students concentrating in Business to Business Marketing must take the
following courses at JMU.
MKTG 382. Database Marketing
MKTG 405. Survey Research
MKTG 450. Business Marketing
MKTG 470. Strategic Internet Marketing
MKTG 480. Product Development and Management
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications
MKTG 485. Marketing Management
Students concentrating in Business to Consumer Marketing must take the following courses at JMU.
MKTG 382. Database Marketing
MKTG 391. Merchandising
MKTG 420. Data Mining
MKTG 470. Strategic Internet Marketing
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications
MKTG 485. Marketing Management
Students concentrating in Marketing Information Systems must take the following courses at JMU.
GEOG 366. Geographic Information Systems
MKTG 382. Database Marketing
MKTG 405. Survey Research
MKTG 420. Data Mining
MKTG 470. Strategic Internet Marketing
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications
MKTG 485. Marketing Management
Minor Requirements
European Marketing Minor
This minor in European Marketing is targeted to non-business majors
and earned exclusively through participation in a summer session in
Antwerp, Belgium. It is not offered at any other time of the year. The
curriculum offers non-business majors an opportunity to develop a specialization
in marketing within the unique European marketplace. The experiential
philosophy of this minor requires students to learn about marketing,
in a European context, through classroom contact as well as visiting
European business, governmental institutions, and cultural/historical
sites as part of the requirements for each class. Since the experiential
components cannot be accomplished outside of Europe, the minor will
not be offered on the Harrisonburg campus.
Except for MKTG 380, only courses taken in Antwerp will count towards
this minor. Except for MKTG 380, courses taken at JMU in Harrisonburg
will not count towards a European Marketing minor. Since COB 301 is
only taught in Belgium, and not at JMU in Harrisonburg, no substitutions
will be permitted.
To participate in the European Marketing minor, students must:
- Be a non-BBA major
- Have junior standing (complete at least 56 hours)
- Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better before beginning the summer semester in Belgium
- Be accepted to the Semester in Antwerp program
Specifically, the minor will consist of six courses and 18 hours. Students will take MKTG 380 at JMU in Harrisonburg, then complete 15 hours during a summer session in Belgium.
Required Courses |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 380. Principles of Marketing |
3 |
MTKG 380 is the prerequisite
for all of the following marketing courses. Therefore, this course
must be successfully completed before participating in the semester
in Antwerp. Typically, students will take this course during the
spring semester prior to the summer experience. |
|
COB 301. European Integration, Culture and History |
3 |
MKTG 385. Buyer Behavior |
3 |
MKTG 460. Global Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 484. Integrated Marketing Communications |
3 |
MKTG 485. Marketing Management |
3 |
18 |
|
Retail Merchandising Minor
The College of Business offers a minor in retail merchandising that provides fundamental knowledge and skills in traditional retailing, including store and merchandise management. The minor is open to all non-marketing majors. For more information about the minor, please consult the marketing program director. This 18-credit hour minor consists of the following courses.
Required Courses |
Credit Hours |
MKTG 380. Principles of Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 388. Retail Marketing |
3 |
MKTG 391. Merchandising |
3 |
MKTG 394. Buying Decisions |
3 |
Marketing electives (choose any 300 level marketing course or above) |
6 |
18 |
|
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Back to top |
Publisher:
JMU
Academic Affairs
MSC 8002, Harrisonburg, VA 22807
For more information contact:
JMU Catalog Office at
ug-catalog@jmu.edu
Copyright © 2004 James Madison University. All rights reserved.
Privacy
Statement
