Penn State offering new online master’s degree in marketing analytics

From Penn State World Campus

Note: Employees of all Columbia Montour Chamber members, their spouses and dependents are eligible for a 5% discount on tuition through the PSU World Campus. 

In today’s business world, marketers have an abundance of data at their disposal. However, they can struggle to analyze this volume of information and maximize the data to their companies’ benefit.

A new master’s in marketing from Penn State can help with that challenge.

Penn State is accepting applications for the new master’s degree in marketing analytics and insights that can help marketers leverage data to drive successful business decisions. The degree is being offered exclusively online through Penn State World Campus and led by the internationally ranked Penn State Smeal College of Business.

“A lot of this data is flowing in toward the marketing group, about customers and prospects. The biggest skill gap currently for marketers is how to actually handle and analyze the data to make better decisions on what you get out of it,” said J. Andrew Petersen, associate professor of marketing at Smeal and the director of the new program. “This degree was designed to address that skill gap in the market.”

Petersen said marketers traditionally have relied on their past experiences and intuition to drive their decision making. In the era of big data, though, marketers can more accurately quantify the value they’re going to generate.

“What we’re teaching is how to turn a marketing or sales question into something that leads into what data you should look at and what tools you should use,” Petersen said. “You want to be able to go back to your business to say here’s the decision I want to make and quantify what needs to happen.”

Petersen said the 30-credit degree program is comprehensive, covering topics including but not limited to digital marketing analytics, customer analytics and brand analytics.

The curriculum includes eight required courses within the field of marketing analytics, such as driving business success using marketing analytics, customer acquisition and retention, and data visualization and integration. Other required courses are in ethical leadership and marketing in a global environment.

Students will choose two electives to complete the degree from courses in business analytics, supply chain management, corporate innovation, strategic management and more.

Students who complete the core marketing analytics courses can also earn the 12-credit graduate certificate in marketing analytics, which can serve as an additional credential for those marketers looking to advance their careers.

The degree is being offered by the Smeal College’s Marketing Department, which consistently ranks among the top 20 worldwide in research productivity in marketing, according to the University of Texas at Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings.

“Students have the opportunity to learn from leading faculty in this field,” said Shubha Kashyap, director of academic affairs for World Campus. “We are pleased to offer this graduate marketing degree online to serve our working professional students who want to expand their education and skills.”

Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information about the new master’s in marketing analytics and insights.