Explore Grad School

Explore Grad School: Marketing

For complete information on graduate school search strategies and the application process, review our starter tips to Explore Grad School in all careers as well as the specialized tips on this page.

Master's Degrees for Careers in Marketing​

Before applying to graduate school to pursue a career in marketing, we highly encourage you to research the requirements of your specific career goals and interests, as most marketing positions do not require education beyond a bachelor's degree. Oftentimes, experience in the field is weighed more heavily by employers than a graduate degree.

If you are interested in pursuing graduate school for this career path, you may consider a Master’s in Marketing or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a marketing emphasis. MBA degrees usually require about five years of professional work experience prior to admission, whereas specialized degrees like a Master's in Marketing can be more suitable for recent graduates. 

Regardless of your educational pursuits beyond your bachelor's, it is essential that you conduct thorough research on your goals to understand the value of this kind of investment in advance. 

Advertising Portfolio School

If you are considering pursuing a career within an advertising agency, completion of advertising portfolio school can be very useful when trying to land a position. Because this is a particularly competitive path to pursue, we recommend researching programs deeply to better understand the return on investment (ROI) for your individual career goals.

Learn More  

For information regarding Advertising Portfolio school, read Adweek’s article, The Pros and Cons of Going to Advertising School. Or, if you want to save yourself a lot of time and money, read the book that the best advertising schools use in the classroom: Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This.

Professional and Continuing Education

Before applying to graduate programs, you may consider alternative forms of education that build specific skills within your marketing interests. For example, UCSB Professional and Continuing Education Program (PACE) offers specialized certificate programs to enhance your marketing skills, such as Digital Marketing, Project Management, Business & Executive Management, Technology Management, and more.

Beyond formal programs, you can also take individual courses (in-person or online) to build skills on the side. You can review a few common Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) platforms on our Extracurriculars page.