Digital marketing is a great way to reach customers in new, more targeted ways through email, social media, and websites. In today’s age of technology, it’s important to keep up with the trends in marketing to effectively advertise your products and services. There are many online programs that can teach you to do it, but if you want to make a career out of it, you could consider getting a digital marketing degree.
With this degree, you would become a highly sought-after professional with more career choices, higher pay, versatility, and more freedom to be creative. The problem is that there are so many choices for degree programs that you can enroll in. Do you want online, or do you prefer in-person classes? What school or program would be best for your lifestyle?
To help narrow down your search and give you an idea of what’s out there, here are the top five digital marketing degree programs out there today.
Arizona State University
ASU offers a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in digital marketing that is specifically designed to build on the knowledge provided in classes that marketing majors take. It will prepare you with specialized training in advertising, brand management, and marketing to give you an edge on the competition.
This degree program is on campus, although ASU does also offer an online Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication & Media Studies. You have to meet general university admission requirements in addition to having a GPA of 3.60. The option to study abroad is also a huge bonus when considering your options—you never know if you might want to continue your studies in Rio de Janeiro!
Santa Clara University
The SCU Leavey School of Business in California offers a marketing emphasis that consists of 12 electives to help you choose a specialization. The specialization for digital marketing, called Digital Marketing and e-Commerce Emphasis, is tailored for internet marketing, big data analysis, search engine marketing, and social media marketing.
This degree program helps students prepare for careers by giving them specific training in areas they will need to be familiar with. The focus is put on managerial and specialist positions in areas like setting up marketing channels and communications, reaching customers, and making targeted marketing campaigns.
The Leavey School of Business is notoriously demanding, in terms of the academic workload. If you choose this degree program, be prepared to work—but also be prepared to learn a lot and gain necessary skills.
University of Michigan - Dearborn
The University of Michigan-Dearborn is one of the nation’s top business schools when it comes to digital marketing. The degree program focuses on social media and email marketing with mobile strategies. The goal is to give students the tools to develop marketing campaigns for any type of organization. This makes you a highly versatile worker, which makes you more valuable!
In this Bachelor of Science program, you will learn about the different business disciplines, how to communicate effectively, how to use new technologies in the field, and how to manage a diverse workforce. It basically teaches you how to be in charge of everyone while still putting out your own ideas. UM-Dearborn has a great financial aid department that can help you pay for courses and even help you plan for life after school is over!
Johnson and Wales University
In the JWU Bachelor of Science degree program, you learn from industry leaders in a career-focused curriculum that sets you up for success. Here, you can learn the ins and outs of every part of the digital marketing field. The business world needs workers who can comprehend, plan, and communicate brand messaging across different platforms. JWU’s targeted media courses teach you how to operate in today’s technology world—and have fun doing it.
When you complete the program, you have a set of skills that make you immediately hireable in your chosen career field. The best part? This program is completely online so you can develop other skills or hobbies at home, have another job, or raise a family while you get your degree.
Oregon State University
OSU offers a Bachelor of Science degree for Business Administration that requires you to pick out a specialization. One option is Digital Marketing specialization. This is a 24-credit hour add-on for core undergraduate business classes. OSU’s reasoning is that you have to have a background in business to be an effective marketer.
Their website even says that “Global businesses increasingly rely on digital solutions to thrive in the modern world, and the coursework in the digital marketing option will enable you to strategize, design, and evaluate like an expert digital marketer.” The classes in this focus area will prepare you for the workforce so that you can be immediately hireable as soon as you graduate.
This one is a little on the expensive side for online courses, with 180 credits required at $317 per credit. The upside is that this degree program is entirely online, so you can continue to work or spend time with your family while going to school.
