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Marketing is a fascinating area to study and an integral function of most organisations. Our Marketing degree involves research, strategic planning, brand and consumer analysis, and digital communication. If you are open to new ideas, persuasive, imaginative and a good communicator, you will enjoy our Marketing degree.
Overview
Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, our degree benefits from our strong links with industry and the research expertise of our staff.
Kent Business School (KBS) is a top 20 UK business school for academic teaching, student satisfaction and graduate employment prospects. You are taught by specialist lecturers, as well as by leading experts currently in business.
As a student at Kent Business School, you also have the opportunity to gain the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) Level 5 Professional Diploma in Management and Leadership alongside your degree.
Our degree programme
In your first year, you study accounting, management, financial reports and statistics for business, and are given a detailed introduction to marketing in a global context.
In your second and final years, you can choose from a range of modules related to marketing, which cover strategy, research, digital marketing, international marketing, branding and enterprise. Alongside your specialist marketing modules, you can choose modules from a selection that covers all aspects of business management.
Year in industry
You spend a year working between your second and final year – we have a Placement Officer who can give advice and guidance. In previous years, students have spent their year in industry with:
- Chase Anderson
- Cummins Power Generation
- Deloitte
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car
- General Electric
- IBM
- KPMG
- Microsoft
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Unilever.
Students have also worked in corporations in Athens, Dubai, Ghana, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Shanghai.
Spending a year in industry gives you invaluable workplace experience, which greatly enhances your employment prospects and also helps you in your final year at university, allowing you to put your academic learning into a real-world context.
You have the option to take this programme as a three-year degree, without the year in industry. For details, see Marketing.
Extra activities
There are a number of student-run Kent Business and Kent Enterprise societies for you to join. These organise regular events with guest speakers from industry and support budding entrepreneurs with their ventures.
Alongside your lectures and seminars, you can also interact directly with the business community. Special events and schemes offered in previous years within Kent Business School include:
- workshops and seminars
- business challenges
- enterprise initiatives, including the Business Start-Up Journey
- networking events.
Professional network
Kent Business School has long-established links with business schools in China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Finland. We also have excellent links with local, national and international businesses.
Independent rankings
Marketing at Kent was ranked 12th in The Complete University Guide 2017. In the National Student Survey 2016, Marketing at Kent was 13th for overall satisfaction.
Marketing students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE).
Course structure
The course structure provides a sample of the modules available for this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Based on sector research, the following innovative new modules are now offered:
CB756 - Digital Information Systems: A Management Perspective
CB734 - Introduction to Social Marketing
The following modules are offered to our current students. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation:
Year in industry
You spend a year in industry, supported by a dedicated placement team and a programme designed to ensure that you gain experience in the functional areas and industries of your choice.
The placement allows you to experience, first hand, many of the issues addressed in the taught programme and to use the tools, techniques and applications in a real business setting. It will become a vital component of your CV and will give you a distinct advantage over other business graduates.
Teaching and assessment
We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, case-study analysis, group projects and presentations, and computer-based situations. You have approximately 12 hours of class time per week, and regular access to an academic adviser for advice on any matter concerning your studies or your performance on the course.
Assessment is by a mixture of coursework and end-of-module examinations, with the examinations normally counting for up to 70% of the marks for each module.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- develop understanding and knowledge of a broad range of organisations, their management and marketing strategies, and the changing international environment in which they operate
- educate to marketing specialist level through a multidisciplinary approach to understanding regional and international markets and customers
- develop the ability to critically apply marketing and management theories in a range of different contexts
- provide an academic preparation for further study/research or a career in marketing and/or management
- meet the requirements for accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) on successful completion of the programme
- provide flexibility and a multidisciplinary approach to marketing and management issues through critical insights from the social sciences
- maintain high standards of academic rigour, currency and innovation
- provide a sound academic base from which students may continue to benefit from lifelong learning skills and personal development
- build on the University’s close ties with institutions in Europe and more widely
- support sustainable national and regional economic success
- provide a structured opportunity to combine developmental work experience with academic study (through the year in industry).
Learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
You gain knowledge and understanding of:
- organisations, their environments and the management of people, operations, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
- markets, customers and brands
- the concepts, processes and institutions in the production of goods and/or services
- the relevant traditional and contemporary approaches (such as new media) to communicating with customers and other stakeholders in a global environment, to fulfil organisational objectives
- a range of marketing and business research methods/techniques (qualitative and quantitative) to make informed decisions and appropriate marketing strategies to meet stakeholder interests
- relevant forms of IT and their application to and effects on markets and marketing in a global environment to fulfil organisational objectives
- contemporary and pervasive issues, which change over time
- aspects of the compulsory modules applied in a practical business/management context.
Intellectual skills
You gain the ability to:
- search, select, organise, develop and synthesise complex material
- critically evaluate arguments and evidence
- analyse and draw reasoned conclusions to structured and unstructured problems
- plan, work and study independently
- apply core numeracy and IT skills to problems
- apply these skills within a practical business/management context.
Subject-specific skills
You gain the ability to:
- identify, formulate and solve business problems using qualitative and quantitative tools
- create, evaluate and assess options in a range of business situations, applying concepts and knowledge
- conduct research into marketing/management issues for project work, using a variety of sources and methodologies
- identify, find, record, organise and manipulate knowledge relevant to the subject
- apply these skills within a practical business/management context.
Transferable skills
You gain the ability to:
- identify and use information from various sources to assess ideas
- communicate well, orally and in writing, using a range of media
- be an effective self manager of time, planning and delivering outputs
- work in groups and apply other interpersonal skills
- make good use of numeracy and IT skills
- apply these skills within a practical business/management context.
Careers
Graduate destinations
Our Marketing graduates work in public and private sector management and consultancy, both overseas and in the UK. Some find work in management consultancy companies and media agencies, while others start their own businesses.
Recent graduates have gone on to take up positions in a wide range of organisations, including:
- Deloitte
- KPMG
- PwC
- Lloyds Bank
- Sainsbury’s
- Tesco
- Transport for London
- Yahoo! UK
- Thames Valley Police
- Heineken.
Help finding a job
Kent Business School has an excellent international reputation and good links with businesses globally. This network is very useful to students when looking for work in industry.
The University also has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:
- apply for jobs
- write a good CV
- perform well in interviews.
Career-enhancing skills
Marketing gives you a solid grounding in core business management concepts, theories and skills, with a particular focus on global business.
To help you appeal to employers, you also learn key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:
- think critically
- communicate your ideas and opinions
- manage your time effectively
- work independently or as part of a team
- find imaginative solutions to business challenges.
You can also gain skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as adding much-sought-after analytical skills to your degree via Kent’s Q-Step Centre or learning a language.
Professional recognition
Kent Business School has also joined forces with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) to give students the opportunity to gain professional qualifications through the CIM Graduate Gateway. CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers.
Independent rankings
According to Which? University (2017), the average starting salary for graduates of this degree is ‘high’ at £22,000.
Marketing students who graduated from Kent in 2015 were the most successful in the UK at finding work or further study opportunities (DLHE).
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. Students offering alternative qualifications should contact us for further advice.
It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
New GCSE grades
If you’ve taken exams under the new GCSE grading system, please see our conversion table to convert your GCSE grades.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB |
| GCSE | Mathematics grade C |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University will not necessarily make conditional offers to all Access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If we make you an offer, you will need to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | The University will consider applicants holding BTEC National Diploma and Extended National Diploma Qualifications (QCF; NQF; OCR) on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further advice on your individual circumstances. |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL |
International students
The University welcomes applications from international students. Our international recruitment team can guide you on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country.
If you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes.
Meet our staff in your country
For more advise about applying to Kent, you can meet our staff at a range of international events.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2017/18 tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
UK/EU fee paying students
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
In accordance with changes announced by the UK Government, we are increasing our 2017/18 regulated full-time tuition fees for new and returning UK/EU fee paying undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses will also rise from £4,500 to £4,625. This was subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. This fee will ensure the continued provision of high-quality education.
For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.*
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
Fees for Year Abroad/Industry
As a guide only, UK/EU/International students on an approved year abroad for the full 2017/18 academic year pay an annual fee of £1,350 to Kent for that year. Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.
Please note that for 2017/18 entrants the University will increase the standard year in industry fee for home/EU/international students to £1,350.
General additional costs
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Funding
University funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details.
Government funding
You may be eligible for government finance to help pay for the costs of studying. See the Government's student finance website.
The Government has confirmed that EU students applying for university places in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will still have access to student funding support for the duration of their course.
Scholarships
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.
The scholarship is also extended to those who achieve AAB at A level (or specified equivalents) where one of the subjects is either Mathematics or a Modern Foreign Language. Please review the eligibility criteria.