Marketing Program

Fairfield University offers students the opportunity to study marketing in the contexts of a broad liberal education and a dynamic and flexible business curriculum. Here, students develop the skills to determine the product and service needs of consumers and industries, as well as the challenges of creating and delivering these products and services.

As a marketing major, you are introduced to accounting, statistics, information systems, business law, competitive strategy, and the global business environment. This curriculum educates you on the motivations and behaviors of consumers, advertising and promotion, Internet marketing, and branding and marketing techniques.

Fairfield’s close proximity to a thriving business community provides exceptional opportunities for marketing internships and introductions to the business world. These opportunities afford excellent, hands-on experience for you to apply in your future career.

As a graduate, you will have a well-rounded view of consumer and organizational needs and an understanding of the applications of marketing research and communication techniques. This knowledge strongly prepares you to continue your education into graduate school or to find a career in professions such as sales, advertising, direct marketing, media planning and event coordination.

Hear from Jennifer Stucko '09, a marketing and finance double major, about her professional career path

Marketing Major

Marketing majors examine the exchange processes by which consumers and organizations satisfy their needs and wants. In a sense, it is the most humanistic of the business majors; it requires students to understand consumer behavior, the motivation of sales personnel, the impact of advertising and communication on the potential consumer, the characteristics of consumers, the cultures involved in international marketing, market research techniques, and the role of marketing on the Internet. Marketing majors may further specialize by choosing one of two concentrations: relationship marketing or integrated marketing communications.

For an 18-credit major in marketing, students complete:

• MK 212 Consumer Behavior
• MK 311 Marketing Research
• MK 312 Global Marketing
• 3 more marketing courses listed below. 2 courses are required from a concentration area in order to receive the concentration notation.

Marketing Minor

This minor provides students with a basic foundation in marketing by exposing them to the functions that constitute the marketing discipline, including market research techniques and consumer behavior.

For a 15-credit minor in marketing, students must complete:

• MK 101 Principles of Marketing
• MK 212 Consumer Behavior
• MK 311 Marketing Research*
• 2 courses from the following:
  • MK 221 Sales and Sales Management
  • MK 231 Advertising
  • MK 241 Internet Marketing
  • MK 312 Global Marketing
  • MK 321 Marketing Channel
  • MK 322 Business to Business Marketing
  • MK 331 Media Strategy
  • MK 332 Public Relations
  • MK 341 Brand Management
  • MK 342 Contemporary Issues in Marketing

*Students should note that statistics and senior standing are prerequisites for MK 31

See Marketing course descriptions from our catalog‌ for more information

MK 101 Principles of Marketing
MK 212 Consumer Behavior
MK 221 Sales and Sales Management
MK 231 Advertising
MK 241 Digital Marketing
MK 251: Social Media Marketing
MK 261:  Sports Marketing| MK 311 Marketing Research
MK 312 Global Marketing
MK 321 Marketing Channels
MK 322 Business to Business Marketing
MK 331 Media Strategy
MK 332 Public Relations
MK 341 Brand Management
MK 342 Contemporary Issues in Marketing
MK 391-392 Marketing Internship
MK 397-398 Seminar in Marketing

Because of the University's favored location, excellent internships with small and large businesses are available to any qualified marketing major who wants one. Interns have worked at such organizations as:

• Survey Sampling
• Millward Brown
• A.C. Nielsen

Marketing students have:

• Helped develop marketing strategies for Newman's Own
• Collected data on Generation X for Yankelovich Partners, a leading market research firm
• Fashioned promotional materials for the New York Fever, a professional sports team
• Worked in sales management for Gap

In marketing courses, students regularly work on real projects for businesses and nonprofit organizations. An active marketing club offers students the opportunity to experience marketing practices beyond the classroom through field trips, speakers, and career fairs and projects.

Learn more about how the Dolan School's internship opportunities will help prepare you for your career. 

Fairfield's marketing majors have started their careers in:

• Sales
• Brand management
• Retail buying
• Advertising account management
• Media planning
• Copywriting
• Market research

Recent employers of marketing majors have included such firms as:

• Automatic Data Processing
• GE Capital
• Wallace Computers

Some students go directly to graduate school but most seek advanced education after they have started their careers. They have been successful in gaining admission to top graduate programs including Fairfield's own MBA program.

Learn more about how Fairfield's Career Planning Center can support your post-graduate goals, and how Fairfield's tight-knit alumni network can build career and mentoring opportunities that last a lifetime.