Marketing facilitates exchanges between organizations and customers and is a critical, dynamic, and multi-faceted area of business. The marketing function is found throughout organizations and businesses from global enterprises to start-ups; for services such as healthcare and banking; for nonprofits and municipalities. Students may pursue a variety of careers in marketing including: Advertising/PR/Communication, Digital Marketing, General Marketing, Marketing Research/Analyst, Merchandising/Buyer/Planner, Product/Brand Management, Business-to-Business (B2B), Sales/Business Development, Sports Marketing & Communication and Supply Chain Management.
In the marketing major, students learn the foundations of marketing—product, place, price, promotion—and how these concepts impact business strategy and execution in different industries and contexts, as well as the importance of relationships with customers and channel partners. Marketing professionals possess and develop a variety of skills including qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical thinking, creativity, communications, and problem solving. The marketing major provides a robust foundation in the marketing discipline, coupled with the flexibility to pursue several areas of interest in the discipline.
Recognition
In 2022, the marketing department at the School of Business was ranked 9th in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.
Related Student Organizations
Students wishing to pursue this major on campus must be admitted to the School of Business. Once admitted, students are able to pursue any business major they choose. To find out more about the school's admissions process for undergraduate students, please see Entering the School.
University General Education Requirements
All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. Various schools and colleges will have requirements in addition to the requirements listed below. Consult your advisor for assistance, as needed. For additional information, see the university Undergraduate General Education Requirements section of the Guide.
| General Education |
* The mortarboard symbol appears before the title of any course that fulfills one of the Communication Part A or Part B, Ethnic Studies, or Quantitative Reasoning Part A or Part B requirements. |
School of Business Requirements
The Wisconsin Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree program is based on a broad educational foundation combined with courses in business and economics. This curriculum is designed for those students who wish to prepare for careers in business. Students completing any School of Business major are required to satisfy a common set of Pre-Business Requirements, Liberal Studies Requirements, Business Preparatory Requirement, Business Core Requirement, Business Breadth Requirement, and Credits for BBA Degree.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| School of Business BBA Requirements | ||
| Complete requirements: | ||
Pre-Business | ||
Liberal Studies | ||
Business Prep | ||
Business Core | ||
Business Breadth | ||
Marketing Major Requirements
All marketing majors must take MARKETNG 300 Marketing Management, which is a business core course and a prerequisite for most of the undergraduate marketing courses. In addition to MARKETNG 300, the major consists of three required marketing courses plus three additional elective marketing courses. These required and elective courses can be taken in any order, with the exception of MARKETNG 460 Marketing Strategy. MARKETNG 460 should be taken after completing MARKETNG 305 Consumer Behavior and MARKETNG 310 Marketing Research and preferably in the final year of the major.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MARKETNG 305 | Consumer Behavior | 3 |
| MARKETNG 310 | Marketing Research | 3 |
| MARKETNG 460 | Marketing Strategy | 3 |
| Elective Coursework 1 | ||
| Select three of the following: | 9 | |
| Brand Management & Strategy | ||
| Marketing in a Digital Age | ||
| Contemporary Topics | ||
| Reading and Research-Marketing | ||
| Sports Marketing | ||
| Marketing Communications | ||
| Global Marketing Strategy | ||
| Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management | ||
| Logistics Management | ||
| Procurement and Supply Management | ||
| Sales Strategy and Management | ||
| Marketing Channel Strategy | ||
| Strategic Retailing | ||
| Information Technology in Supply Chains | ||
| Supply Chain Capital Management | ||
| Strategic Pricing | ||
| New Product Innovation | ||
| Digital Marketing Analytics | ||
| Marketing Analytics | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
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Elective coursework may follow a specific "career path" if students choose.
Potential Marketing Career Guidance and Career Paths
For further information on recommended electives and career paths, see the Department of Marketing website linked within the Contact Information box.
University Degree Requirements
| Total Degree | To receive a bachelor's degree from UW–Madison, students must earn a minimum of 120 degree credits. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 degree credits. Students should consult with their college or department advisor for information on specific credit requirements. |
| Residency | Degree candidates are required to earn a minimum of 30 credits in residence at UW–Madison. "In residence" means on the UW–Madison campus with an undergraduate degree classification. “In residence” credit also includes UW–Madison courses offered in distance or online formats and credits earned in UW–Madison Study Abroad/Study Away programs. |
| Quality of Work | Undergraduate students must maintain the minimum grade point average specified by the school, college, or academic program to remain in good academic standing. Students whose academic performance drops below these minimum thresholds will be placed on academic probation. |
- Demonstrate the ability to formulate and implement marketing strategies related to product, place/distribution, price, promotion.
- Demonstrate the ability to evaluate and analyze appropriate market segments and generate effective marketing plans.
- Locate, evaluate, and leverage relevant sources to determine and support their marketing actions.
- Apply analytical rigor to marketing decisions.
This is a sample four-year plan for students directly admitted into the School of Business from high school. We encourage all students to consult with their academic advisor to develop an individualized plan that meets their specific needs.
| Freshman | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| ECON 101 | 4 | ECON 102 | 4 | OTM 300, FINANCE 300, or M H R 300 | 3 |
| PSYCH 202 | 3 | MATH 211 | 5 | ||
| Science | 3 | Communications A | 3 | ||
| Humanities, Social Science, or Literature | 3 | Ethnic Studies | 3 | ||
| GEN BUS 110 | 1 | ||||
| 14 | 15 | 3 | |||
| Sophomore | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
| GEN BUS 306 | 3 | GEN BUS 307 | 3 | OTM 300, M H R 300, or FINANCE 300 | 3 |
| ACCT I S 100 | 3 | ACCT I S 211 | 3 | ||
| MARKETNG 300 | 3 | MARKETNG 305 | 3 | ||
| Humanities, Social Science, or Literature | 3 | GEN BUS 360 | 3 | ||
| Communications B | 3-4 | OTM 300, M H R 300, or FINANCE 300 | 3 | ||
| 15-16 | 15 | 3 | |||
| Junior | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| MARKETNG 310 | 3 | Marketing Elective 2 | 3 | ||
| Marketing Elective 1 | 3 | Business Breadth | 3 | ||
| Ethics1 | 4 | Elective | 3 | ||
| Humanities, Social Science, or Literature | 3 | Elective | 3 | ||
| 13 | 12 | ||||
| Senior | |||||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
| MARKETNG 460 | 3 | Business Breadth | 3 | ||
| GEN BUS 301 | 3 | Elective | 3 | ||
| Marketing Elective 3 | 3 | Elective | 3 | ||
| Elective | Elective | 3 | |||
| 9 | 12 | ||||
| Total Credits 111-112 | |||||
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Students must choose one of the following courses: PHILOS 241 Introductory Ethics, PHILOS 243 Ethics in Business, PHILOS 341 Contemporary Moral Issues, PHILOS/ENVIR ST 441 Environmental Ethics
Advising
Advising is an integral part of any student’s educational journey in the Wisconsin School of Business Undergraduate Program. Starting at Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR), we encourage all students to connect with academic advisors. Business academic advisors have a wealth of knowledge about courses on campus, as well as policies and procedures.
Business career coaches help students with career exploration, internships, resumes, job search, interviewing and more. We encourage students to connect with their career coach once they arrive on campus.
Business academic advisors and career coaches are passionate about student success. Students experiencing academic difficulty or personal struggles are encouraged to talk to their advisor about how their individual situation may affect their academic performance.
Assigned Academic and Career Coaches
Admitted business students will have one assigned academic advisor. Career coaches are assigned by academic major to be able to provide industry-specific career guidance. If a student has more than one major, they may have more than one assigned career coach. Students can find their assigned advisor and coach by logging into the Starfish portal through MyUW.
For students not yet admitted to the Wisconsin School of Business, there is a team of pre-business advisors available.
Accessing Advising
Drop-in advising and scheduled appointments are available for admitted business students. Pre-business students may also schedule an appointment with a pre-business academic advisor or utilize drop-in academic advising.
For more information on accessing academic advising, please see our academic advising page.
For more information on accessing career coaching, please see our career coaching page.
Careers
The marketing function is found throughout all organizations and businesses from global enterprises to start-ups; for services such as healthcare and banking; for non-profits and municipalities. Students may pursue a variety of careers in: Advertising/PR/Communication, Digital Marketing, General Marketing, Marketing Research/Analyst, Merchandising/Buyer/Planner, Product/Brand Management, Business-to-Business (B2B), Sales/Business Development, Sports Marketing & Communication and Supply Chain Management.
Faculty and Staff in Marketing
For more information about the faculty and their research interests, please visit the directory.
Moses Altsech, BBA, Ph.D.
Lecturer
altsech@wisc.edu
Neeraj Arora, MBA, Ph.D.
Professor
Executive Director of the Marketing Leadership Institute (MLI)
neeraj.arora@wisc.edu
Verda Blythe, BBA, M.S.
Faculty Associate
Director of Assessment
verda.blythe@wisc.edu
Kelly Newbold Boudreau
Faculty Associate
Marketing Program Director
kelly.newbold@wisc.edu
Laurie Brachman, MBA
Senior Lecturer
lbrachman@bus.wisc.edu
Kristin Branch, BBA, MBA
Faculty Associate
Director of the Marketing Leadership Institute (MLI)
kristin.branch@wisc.edu
Timothy Buhl, CPA, MBA
Lecturer
timothy.buhl@wisc.edu
Ishita Chakraborty, B.E., MBA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
ishita.chakraborty@wisc.edu
Kevin Chung, B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
kevin.chung@wisc.edu
Remi Daviet, B.S., M.S., MBA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
daviet@wisc.edu
Jacob Dean, MBA
Faculty Associate
Director of Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management
jake.dean@wisc.edu
Amber Epp, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
amber.epp@wisc.edu
Alyssa Gosbee-Stang, MBA
Lecturer
gosbeestang@wisc.edu
Cheng He, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
cheng.he@wisc.edu
Jan Heide, B.S., MBA, Ph.D.
Professor
jan.heide@wisc.edu
Michael Johnson, B.S., MBA, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Chair of Marketing
mjohnson255@wisc.edu
Aziza Jones, B.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
aziza.jones@wisc.edu
Michael Judge, B.A., M.A.
Lecturer
michael.judge@wisc.edu
Katie Krueger, B.A., MBA
Senior Lecturer
katie.krueger@wisc.edu
Qing Liu, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
qliu@bus.wisc.edu
Yi Liu, B.S., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Peter Lukszys, B.S., MBA
Senior Lecturer
peter.lukszys@wisc.edu
Page Moreau, B.A., MBA, Ph.D.
Professor
page.moreau@wisc.edu
Jack Nevin, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
jack.nevin@wisc.edu
Thomas O'Guinn, Ph.D.
Professor
thomas.oguinn@wisc.edu
Joann Peck, B.S., MBA, Ph.D.
Professor
Associate Dean of Teaching Innovation and Assessment
joann.peck@wisc.edu
Evan Polman, B.COM., M.S., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
evan.polman@wisc.edu
Craig Thompson, B.S, Ph.D.
Professor
craig.thompson@wisc.edu
Sachin Tuli, BBA, M.S.
Faculty Associate
Director of International Business Major
sachin.tuli@wisc.edu
Liad Weiss, B.S., M.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
liad.weiss@wisc.edu
James Windsor, BBA, MBA
Lecturer
jwindsor@wisc.edu
Accreditation
AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Accreditation status: Accredited. Next accreditation review: 2026–2027.