Marketing and Distribution

Marketing is an integral part of our everyday activities and experiences. It is concerned with developing, transporting, promoting, and selling the vast assortment of products and services needed to satisfy the diverse wants and needs of consumers. It is an indispensable part of business practice and a challenging field for study and research.

The first two years of the marketing program at UGA concentrate primarily on liberal arts and business foundation course work. The second two years involve required and elective business administration core courses and the student's chosen field of specialization. All marketing majors are required to take a core of courses devoted to the development of analytical skills. These required courses draw heavily upon both the behavioral and quantitative sciences and are designed to help students gain an understanding of the analytical methods and research procedures used in identifying and solving marketing problems. Courses are available in advertising, promotion, sales and sales management, services marketing, direct marketing and international marketing.

Many students choose to gain valuable work experience and earn academic credit by completing an internship and preparing a paper relating to their work experiences in the field of marketing. Students are responsible for contacting the business, firm, or agency and setting up the internship, which can be paying, and must involve at least 200 hours of work over the course of the semester, i.e., approximately 15 hours per week. Contact the academic advisor for more information.

Throughout their program, marketing students work closely with the department's advisor, who provides assistance in course selection, individual program progress, and long-range planning. The department sponsors a very active student organization, Pi Sigma Epsilon, which offers students valuable business contact, leadership experience, and social interaction.

The purpose of the marketing major at UGA is to provide students with a basic understanding of marketing and its vital role in society. The marketing curriculum is future-oriented and emphasizes the skills needed for successful and responsible careers in advertising, promotion, sales and sales management, product management, research, and many other related areas. The curriculum is designed to develop the broad background of knowledge required for continuing professional growth in a changing world that is constantly demanding better trained people for executive positions. Many UGA marketing graduates move directly into lucrative sales or management training programs; others go on to graduate programs, such as the Master of Marketing Research (MMR), to prepare for academic or professional careers.