MARKETING CURRICULUM DESIGN AND CAREER OUTCOMES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Undergraduate marketing degrees have been shown to have the same impact on post-graduation income for marketing jobs as non-marketing undergraduate degrees for similar marketing jobs. Moreover, having a marketing degree has been shown to not impact long-term career satisfaction. However, previous research has not accounted for the possible differential impact of curriculum design on post-graduation income and long-term career satisfaction. In other words, not all marketing programs are the same. In this paper, we describe an innovative yearlong marketing honors program that uses six best practices drawn from the marketing education literature in its design and implementation. We then compare the starting salaries after college and current career satisfaction of graduates from the marketing honors program with those of graduates from a non-honors marketing program in the same university. We demonstrate the differential impact of course-level, programmatic, and extra-curricular design choices on career outcomes. Implications are then discussed that impact marketing curriculum design.