Marketing
Contact Information
Smeal College of Business
The Pennsylvania State University
455 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 814-865-1869
Email: marketing@smeal.psu.edu
On the Web: https://www.smeal.psu.edu/marketing
Career Overview
Penn State Smeal Marketing offers an education balancing the timeless foundations of marketing with leading-edge concepts and tools, connecting theory and practice to enable better business decisions, in a diverse and collaborative environment. You’ll find courses expressly focused for those inspired to be creative, intelligent, hardworking professionals who get the job done, as evidenced by our many successful alumni.
Careers in marketing include positions in marketing management, brand management, sales management, advertising, digital analytics, marketing research, retailing, and consumer affairs.
Major Overview
At Smeal, every marketing course explores aspects of the 4 P’s of marketing—product, price, place, promotion—and their relationship to the fifth “P” of marketing: people. In doing so, students use data to analyze findings and learn how this information contributes to a range of marketing activities including developing marketing plans, product planning, and brand building.
Students may select their own combination of electives, or they may choose courses in one of the following Marketing Focus Areas that reflect specific career paths: Customer Insights (e.g., Brand Management, Digital Marketing, Marketing Analytics) or Sales (e.g., Consultative Selling, Personal Selling, Sports Marketing).
Preparing to Enroll in the Major
Enrollment in the Marketing major is contingent upon several criteria, which include the timing and completion of a specified range of cumulative credits at Penn State. Students must earn a minimum of 40 cumulative credits but not exceed 59 cumulative credits. These credits include required business foundation and related courses. In addition to the course and credit window requirements, students must attain a competitive overall GPA in all courses.
Marketing Major Course Offerings
The following courses are offered as part of the Marketing major.
MKTG 301 (3): Principles of Marketing (required) Focuses on customer behavior, product, channels of distribution, promotion, and pricing with emphasis on a culturally diverse environment.
MKTG 330 (3): Consumer Behavior (required) Application of behavioral science concepts to the understanding of buyer behavior as a basis for marketing management decision making.
MKTG 342 (3): Marketing Research (required) Research approaches, methods, and applications studied as a formal approach to problem solving for marketing decisions.
MKTG 410 (3): Personal Selling Principles underlying the selling process and practical application of these principles to selling situations.
MKTG 422 (3): Advertising and Sales Promotion Understand key decisions, creative strategies, and tools used by ad agencies. Create an integrated marketing communications campaign using traditional and new media.
MKTG 426 (3): Business Marketing Develop marketing strategies and programs. The course emphasizes the special nature of the business and organizational markets.
MKTG 428 (3): Advanced Sales Management Approaches to planning, organizing, staffing, training, directing, and controlling the sales force in support of marketing objectives.
MKTG 437 (3): Advanced Retailing and Merchandise Management Analyze, plan, and control the retail merchandising effort, including procurement, resource selection, vendor relations, product presentation, and inventory control.
MKTG 440 (3): Services Marketing Marketing theory and methods applied to profit and nonprofit service industries such as health care, finance, transportation, tourism, arts and consulting.
MKTG/BA 442 (3): Sustainable Behavior of Consumers, Firms, and Societies Strategies to influence sustainable behavior considering consumer response and marketing communications.
MKTG 443 (3): Sports Marketing Learn how sports organizations market their teams, leagues and events, as well as how major brands market their products and services through sports employing all forms of mass media.
MKTG 445 (3) (IL): Global Marketing Role of international marketing in the global environment; political, economic, geographic, historical, cultural conditions; develop and implement international marketing strategies.
MKTG 449 (3): Sports Business Market Strategy Introduces students to strategies for overcoming the unique business challenges faced by the sports industry, especially those pertaining to marketing strategy.
MKTG 450W (3): Marketing Strategy (required) Market-oriented problems of the firm; identification and selection of market opportunities; formulation of competitive strategies; marketing policies and programs.
MKTG 472 (3): Strategic Brand Management How to create profitable brand strategies by building, measuring, and managing brand equity.
MKTG 473 (3): Digital Marketing Management of digital marketing efforts; examines how evolving technologies are impacting marketing decisions including the Internet, mobile, social media, augmented reality, and Internet of Things (IoT).
MKTG 474 (3): Marketing Analytics Introduction to a variety of analytical techniques used for data-driven marketing decision making.
MKTG 495A (3): Penn State Prime Practicum Penn State Prime gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on project management skills in advertising and brand marketing in the fall. They may apply these skills in a spring practicum course mentored by ad agency executives and brand managers.
MKTG 498 (1): Digital Marketing Practicum Provides opportunity for advanced study in digital marketing to create a real digital campaign, manage the campaign’s budget (provided by the course mentors), and observe the outcomes.
MKTG 498 (1/2): Jacobs Fellows Engages students in the world of luxury retail through experiential projects, seminars and travel.
Marketing Highlights
Consider some of the other factors that help to enhance the environment for Marketing students at the Smeal College of Business.
Penn State American Marketing Association
One of the largest student run organizations at Penn State and awarded International Chapter of the Year by the AMA, PSAMA provides members networking opportunities and an outlet for professional growth.
Penn State Prime
Gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on project management skills in the areas of advertising and brand marketing.
Sports Business Club
Students gain knowledge of the sports industry through professional lectures, workshops, and other networking opportunities.
Marketing Research Assistants
Research assistants gain exposure to marketing research in action by facilitating data collection and providing research support.
Department Contacts
Department Chair
Meg Meloy
Professor of Marketing, Zimmerman Fellow
Email: mgm16@psu.edu
Faculty Coordinator
Jennifer Chang Coupland
Clinical Professor
Email: jxc75@psu.edu