Program Description

Marketing is an extremely broad field encompassing a range of business activities that have been estimated to account for approximately 45 percent of Gross National Product (GNP). It involves such matters as the search for new product opportunities, product development and management, distribution, advertising and promotion, sales, sales management and post-sale activities. People employed in advertising (agencies, clients, broadcast and print media), research firms, wholesalers, retailers, logistics and transportation firms of every kind are part of the marketing segment of our economy.

Every firm, whether it is a manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler or service provider, needs marketing people to discover, measure and analyze markets; develop and manage products and services; manage storage and distribution; create and manage advertising, promotion and sales; establish coherent pricing policies; and maintain positive customer relations.

The Marketing degree gives our students the opportunity to gain quantitative and qualitative skills in the field. Moreover, there is sufficient flexibility in our program to allow our students to seek additional courses to fit their needs and interests in areas outside of marketing.

Program Requirements

Business Majors

A Business major is any student majoring in Accountancy; Finance; Information Systems; Management; Marketing; or Business Administration with an option in either Business Law, Global Supply Chain Management, Real Estate, or Systems and Operations Management. Accountancy and Finance are impacted majors with additional admission requirements. All Business majors share 27 units of common lower division core courses and 19 units of common upper division core courses.

Double Major Requirements

Students seeking a double major in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and be able to complete both majors within a maximum of 140 units.

Transfer Course Requirements

Students should be aware that no grade lower than a “C” will be accepted on transfer from another institution to satisfy department or David Nazarian College of Business and Economics requirements.

Residency Requirement

At least 50 percent of the business and economics course credit units and 50 percent of the specialized major credit units required for the Bachelor of Science degrees in Accountancy, Business Administration, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics must be completed in residence at CSUN.

Course Requirements

Check course descriptions for prerequisite courses. Prerequisites must be completed prior to enrolling in each course.

1. Common Lower Division Business Core (27 units)

ACCT 220 Introduction to Financial Accounting (3)
ACCT 230 Introduction to Managerial Accounting (3)
BLAW 280 Business Law I (3)
ECON 160 Principles of Microeconomics (3)
ECON 161 Principles of Macroeconomics (3)
ENGL 205 Business Communication in Its Rhetorical Contexts (3)
IS 212 Information Systems for Business Users (3)
MATH 103 Mathematical Methods for Business (3)*
SOM 120 Basic Business Statistics (3)**

*MATH 103 or a higher-level mathematics course (e.g., Calculus: MATH 150A or MATH 255A) must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.
**The 4-unit MATH 140 course also satisfies this requirement.

2. Common Upper Division Business Core (19 units)

BUS 302 The Gateway Experience (3)
BUS 302L The Gateway Experience Laboratory (1)
BUS 497A or BUS 497B Capstone (3)
FIN 303 Financial Management (3)
MGT 360 Management and Organizational Behavior (3)
MKT 304 Marketing Management (3)
SOM 306 Operations Management (3)

3. Required Courses for the Marketing Major (9 units)

MKT 346 Marketing Research (3)
MKT 348 Consumer Behavior (3)
MKT 449 Marketing Management Seminar (3)

4. Elective Courses for the Marketing Major (6 units)

Select 6 units from the Marketing Electives below. Three of these 6 units must come from the Digital Marketing Electives subset.

Digital Marketing Electives

MKT 350 Consumer Information in the Digital Age (3)
MKT 356 Marketing Metrics and Insights (3)
MKT 448 Digital Marketing (3)
MKT 459 Social Media Marketing (3)

Marketing Electives

BLAW 430 Marketing Law (3)
BLAW 450 Intellectual Property Law (3)
BUS 491CS Small Business Consulting (3)***
ECON 307 Economics for Marketing Professionals (3)
ECON 309 The Use and Interpretation of Economic Data (3)
MKT 350 Consumer Information in the Digital Age (3)
MKT 356 Marketing Metrics and Insights (3)
MKT 440 Integrated Marketing Communications (3)
MKT 441 Sales Management (3)
MKT 442/SCM 442 Business to Business Marketing (3)
MKT 443 Retail Management (3)
MKT 445 International Marketing Management (3)
MKT 447/SCM 447 Logistics and Transportation Management (3)
MKT 448 Digital Marketing (3)
MKT 459 Social Media Marketing (3)

5. Experiential Requirement (3 units)

Select 3 units from the following courses to fulfill the Experiential requirement for the Marketing major.

BUS 491CS Small Business Consulting (3)***
MKT 498 Internships and Field Studies (3)

***Senior Standing with a 3.0 or higher GPA; others will be considered with recommendation.

6. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog.
15 units are satisfied by the following courses in the major: MATH 103 satisfies the Basic Skills B4 Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning; FIN 303 satisfies B5 Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning; ECON 160 and ECON 161 satisfy D1 Social Sciences; and IS 212 satisfies E Lifelong Learning and fulfills the Information Competence requirement.

If taken, ECON 307 or MKT 350 satisfies upper division D1 Social Sciences.

The Department of Marketing strongly recommends that its majors select one of the courses from each category below when fulfilling their GE requirements.

Social, Cultural and Behavioral Science Foundations

SOC 305 Culture and Personality (3) (D1 Social Sciences, Upper Division)
SOC 307 Ethnic Diversity in America (3) (F Comparative Cultural Studies, Upper Division)

Technological and Natural Environment Foundations

Total Units in the Major: 64

General Education Units: 33

Additional Units: 23

Total Units Required for the B.S. Degree: 120