Master's Degree Programme
| About the programme Language: English (See language requirements) | Place of study: Aarhus | Commencement: August / September (no winter intake) |
The Marketing programme focuses on consumer insights and customer needs in order to provide products and services of value for the target market and target customer group that the company is serving. It thus includes an all-important approach to management decision-making and covers a set of business functions, taking into account the company’s business portfolio, the competitors behaviour in the market, and the trends in the macro-environment. Customers are central to marketing, and the main aim is to make brand promises and create high expectations to customers, and then reliably meet or exceed the expectations thus created, in order to achieve customer satisfaction and support brand loyalty. This is accomplished through the firm's own value creation activities, but also through support for the value creation process of customers, channel members and other stakeholders. These activities and processes are often naturally international in scope. The international aspect of marketing is also reflected in the international faculty and study body, as well as in the possibility to study abroad for a semester.
Thus, the marketing programme provides you with the analytical and academic skills of a research-based higher education, thus preparing you for a wide range of national and international management careers within the private and public sector, including:
Applicants with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration (HA) from Aarhus University have the right to be admitted to the Master's degree programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.) at Aarhus University on the condition that application is made for admission to the Master’s degree programme no later than three years after completion of the Bachelor’s degree programme. The legal right of admission requires receipt of the application by Aarhus University within the appropriate period of time.
The following Bachelor’s degrees fulfill the admissions requirements for the Master’s degree programme in Economics and Business Administration at Aarhus University but are not automatically secured a spot at the programme:
* With a diploma older than 2000, your Bachelor’s degree will be assessed according to the specific admission requirements described under the section: “Students that hold a degree from another university”.
Other Bachelor´s degrees can provide admission to the Master’s degree programme. When you apply the university will access if your Bachelor´s degree corresponds in level, extent and content to a BSc in Economics and Business Administration/HA from Aarhus Universitet. The assessment will prioritize the sufficient content of the following subjects and ECTS-points:
Subject | ECTS |
Methods* | 15 ECTS |
Marketing | 7,5 ECTS |
Finance | 7,5 ECTS |
Accounting | 7,5 ECTS |
Organisation- and Leadership Theory | 7,5 ECTS |
Microeconomics | 5 ECTS |
Operations Management | 5 ECTS |
Additional ECTS points within the abovementioned areas | 25 ECTS |
Total ECTS within Economics and Business Administration | 80 ECTS |
*Please note, applicants must have at least 15 ECTS within methods including at least 10 ECTS within quantitative methods or statistics.
In order to meet the admission requirements for the MSc programmes in Economics and Business Administration, applicants with a specific professional bachelor’s degree must have completed specific elective courses as part of their qualifying exam. In this table the requirements for elective courses are laid out.
As English is the language of instruction in all subjects, all applicants are required to provide evidence of their English language proficiency.
Please see the page on language requirements.
If you apply for admission with an international Bachelor's degree, you must fill in this appendix and upload it in the application portal. The appendix serves to help the Admission Board assess your Bachelor's degree in regard to the admission requirements.
As from the intake 2022, the Master’s degree programmes in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.) only admits a limited number of students each year. Therefore, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme.
Please note, for programmes with restricted admission special rules regarding supplementary Bachelor’s courses apply. Therefore, we no longer offer pre-assessments for the programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.).
Read more about supplementary Bachelor’s courses.
If there are more qualified applicants than available seats, the Admissions Committee assesses each applicant based on the average mark (i.e. GPA) of the Bachelor’s degree at the time of application. Marks/grades obtained after the application deadline will not be included in the GPA. The Admissions Committee assesses each applicant’s marks based on the information provided by diplomas and transcripts.
Below is an outline of the courses:
The study programme consists of two semesters in the first year which cover the compulsory courses in the programme specialisation and two semesters in the last year which are reserved for the student's own specialisation.
In the first semester you follow the prerequisite courses that form the methodological and academic basis for the further study programme.
In the second semester you follow the specialisation courses of the programme.
In the third semester you can choose elective courses within your areas of interest. The courses can either be taken at Aarhus BSS during the semester, at the Summer University or at one of our more than 300 partner universities abroad. You can also participate in project-based internship programmes either in Denmark or abroad.
The fourth semester is devoted to the final thesis. You may choose the topic of the thesis freely and so get a chance to concentrate on and specialise in a specific field of interest. The thesis may be written in collaboration with another student or it may be the result of your individual effort.
At Aarhus BSS, we conduct research at the highest academic level.
All researchers employed are engaged in research projects covering a wide range of different subjects and focusing on knowledge and skills considered essential for professional business activities in the global marketplace. All faculty have both research and teaching responsibilities which means that our teaching is continually based on the latest research results.
Aarhus BSS is very internationally oriented. The broad scope of our research activities and educational programmes enable us to attract researchers, teachers, and students from all over the world, and this creates an international environment for research and learning in which academic views are exchanged, experiences are gathered and friendships are formed.
Aarhus University is a leading university in Denmark in building student exchange opportunities. The university encourages all students to spend time studying abroad. Every year, more than 700 students from Aarhus BSS go abroad to participate in exchange programmes around the world at our more than 300 partner universities. About the same number of students from all over the world come to participate in the exchange programme in Aarhus, and this contributes to a truly international learning atmosphere.
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The specialisation in Marketing gives you the skills to fill a position as
The MSc programme in Marketing qualifies students in state-of-the-art approaches to each of the following strategic marketing areas: innovation, channel management, product/market selection, pricing and profit planning, marketing research and consumer insights, customer and brand relationship, and communications management. These areas are taught in individual courses and integrated into an advanced course on marketing management and strategy.
More specifically the programme will provide students with analytical competences in relation to: the study of customer behaviour, identification and choice of targets, suppliers and competitors, the design and selection of appropriate marketing studies and models, and the development of marketing plans encompassing the most complex issues of concurrent marketing trends. For instance, students will be able to:
Regarding communicative, cooperative, cultural and persuasive competences, the marketing programme will enable students to develop, present, plan, recommend and evaluate marketing scenarios and strategies for national and global business and non-business organisations.
The marketing programme hence prepares students for a wide range of management careers in the private and public sectors including consulting, entrepreneurial management, innovation management and communication management, all of which are currently in heavy demand.
"The analytical courses of the masters in marketing gives you a strong foundation of what you need to push yourself into an exciting career. Combine that with curiosity, hard-work and experiences obtained during studies and you have a strong profile ready to take the world head on." (Msc in Marketing).
”Studying Marketing at Aarhus University has given me the skillset to engage in entrepreneurial ventures and projects with value creation and relevant markets in focus; allowing me to capitalize and engage with the market from launch. (…) It taught me that marketing is not just sales and advertising; it is the notion of creating value. (…) The marketing studies at Aarhus University covered a broad range of relevant topics that has allowed me to reach out in many directions, both in terms of occupations I can fill and the industries in which I can operate in.” (Msc in Marketing).
We want to help our students find successful careers. Students can always contact our Career Services for advice and assistance with getting onto the Danish labour market. Check out our careers page to see the range of services we offer.
