Marketing Communication Major

In this introductory marketing course, students will learn the foundations of marketing including how to develop the marketing mix (product, price place, promotion) for goods, ideas or services. Students will apply what they have learned as they respond to current issues, case study questions and develop a marketing plan for a real organization. Students will learn how to function within successful teams as they engage with actual businesses to analyze and recommend market-driven solutions to real-world business challenges and opportunities.

This course provides insight into consumer behavior, and how consumers engage in the decision making process. This includes an in-depth study of the internal, external, and situational influences on consumer behavior such as culture, learning, personality and lifestyle, values and motivations. Students will learn to assess current brands’ marketing strategies with respect to consumer behavior and develop an understanding of the impact consumerism has on various global populations.

Focuses on the field of public information and public relations, with an emphasis on applying the appropriate theories and techniques to solve organizational and institutional communications problems. (Spring only)

This content and hands on production class examines and creates audio and video for web cast, podcasts, and social media venues. Students will script, capture, edit, enhance and host audio and video projects for specific audiences.

This course will inform the student of the various forms of public relations writing and help to develop competency in written communications for different media. Emphasis will be on conducting research, audience analysis, establishing communications goals, executing the communications plan and evaluating the total communication effort. The student will prepare a complete media kit applying such areas as: research and writing for public relations, design, production, copy disseminations, and media. Communication vehicles covered in this course include internal and external media, print electronic and audiovisual and basic formats including news releases, features, pamphlets, brochures, fact sheets, management reports, scripts, publicity, annual reports and position papers.

Students gain practical experience as interns at a site appropriate to the major, such as at a public relations agency, corporate or non-profit communications department, production house or other venue as approved by the program director. In addition to involvement in the workings of their placement organization, students will gain additional professional understanding through class requirements.

In this upper level marketing course, students will explore in depth a current topic in marketing that is impacting society and business. Given the ever changing nature of marketing there are always new areas to explore, and this course will allow students of all disciplines to engage with an important emerging topic selected by the instructor. This is a required course for marketing students and an elective option for all other majors.

An organization’s online community manager must be a community advocate and brand evangelist, who has savvy communication skills, can create content on multiple platforms, gather community input and measure success. Students will learn how to manage multiple online communities for an existing brand. In this hybrid course, students will meet both in the classroom as well as virtually utilizing an online learning management system. Students will be required to sign up for multiple online accounts on a variety of services.