Top 10 MBA Programs for a Career in Marketing 2021

Released today, the QS MBA by Specialization Rankings 2021 provide insight into the world’s top business schools and MBA programs for seven different areas of specialism.

Schools are ranked based on employer reputation and research strength for each of the seven areas, as well as the number of career placements MBA graduates from the school have achieved in the field. Each of these three indicators is assigned a score out of 100.

Stanford Graduate School of Business has been ranked as the best business school in the world for specializing in marketing yet again, with 18 percent of graduates going into a relevant industry. The complete top 10 can be found below.

10) Fuqua School of Business

Kicking off the top 10 for MBA marketing specializations is Fuqua School of Business’s MBA program which soared up the rankings this year from 28th to 10th.

Duke’s concentration in marketing on the Daytime MBA of a combination of six marketing and non-marketing elective courses from a list associated with one of three options:

• Product Management
• Market Analysis and Strategy
• Dual Marketing Concentration (10 courses total)

All courses meet for 2 hours and 15 minutes, twice per week.  Each term is 6 weeks long, rather than quarters or semesters. Courses include Consumer Behavior and Independent Study.

The estimated first-year cost of attendance for the Daytime MBA Class of 2022 is US$97,330. Fuqua’s stats for the 2022 class boasts 408 students, of which 46 percent are female, 38 percent are from a minority, and students have an average of 5.6 years’ work experience.

9) McCombs School of Business

McCombs’s MBA program scored very highly for career placements and research strength.

The Marketing Fellows program gives selected McCombs MBA students committed to pursuing leadership in marketing the opportunity to develop their marketing acumen and management skills through a combination of focused curriculum and consulting projects. The program is student-led and managed, with support from CCIMS and Marketing faculty.

Fellows who are selected to participate register for the weekly, two- to three-hour “Marketing Fellows” course during their 2nd and 3rd semesters of their MBA program.

Students will pay $16,715 per semester on the two-year program.

8) Harvard Business School

HBS’s MBA program achieved a perfect score for employer reputation and a very high score for research strength. It has the lowest number of students entering the marketing industry post-graduation in the top 10 (12 percent), although this is likely explained by Harvard’s very large class size (938 in the 2019 graduating class).

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, tuition fees for the 24-month program are US$111,818. Marketing is a required module in the first year of the MBA, and HBS offers many second-year electives for students who want to pursue marketing, such as Creating Brand Value, E-Commerce and a Digital Marketing Workshop field course.

7) Carlson School of Management

Carlson’s MBA program scored very highly for career placements and research strength. In fact, Carlson boasts the highest percentage of graduates going into marketing in the top 10.

Graduates typically find positions in manufacturing, medical technology, financial services, and retail industries. Marketing research and marketing services/advertising positions are also taken.

Carlson students choosing the marketing specialization have three tracks to choose from: General Marketing; Marketing Research’ Brand Management.

Minnesota residents will pay approximately US$47,830 in total per annum, with international students paying US$59,488.

6) Kellogg School of Management

Kellogg has long been considered one of the best business schools for a marketing specialization. The program achieved a perfect score in employer reputation. Around 13 percent of Kellogg students went into a marketing career post-graduation.

The MBA program at Kellogg, located in Evanston, Illinois, offers both a one-year and two-year option. The tuition fee for the one-year program is US$$103,316 and for the two-year program it is US$149,742. Students on the MBA program have the option to major in marketing, with access to Kellogg’s award-winning marketing department (three members of faculty have won the Marketing Educator of the Year award from the American Marketing Association).

5) USC Marshall

Marshall’s MBA program scored very highly for career placements and research strength – but the program has also soared up the ranking this year from 22nd in 2019. It also has the second-highest proportion of students going into marketing careers in the top 10, with 32 percent.

Students in USC Marshall’s MBA program are required to take Marketing Management as part of their core. Principles of Marketing is also a business foundation and Advanced Marketing Management is an elective option. And students could also get involved in relevant career clubs, including the Graduate Marketing Association (GMA).

Tuition and program fees for Marshall’s MBA program 2020/21 are estimated to be $124,715.20.

4) Kelley School of Business

Kelley’s MBA program scored very highly in the career placements and research strength ranking indicators. It has the third-highest proportion of students going into marketing careers with 29 percent.

Located in Bloomington, Indiana, the MBA program at Kelley takes two-years to complete, with a summer internship. For the 2020–21 academic year, Kelley Direct Tuition and fees are $1,380 per credit hour. The MBA program consists of 54 credit hours. MBA students at Kelley have the option of majoring (or minoring) in marketing to really tailor their degree to their career goals.

3) UCLA Anderson School of Management

In the bronze medal position for yet another year is the two-year, full-time MBA program at UCLA Anderson. The program score very highly in employer reputation, with a decent 26 percent of graduates going into marketing careers.

UCLA have an estimated MBA student budget of US$98,699 per academic year (subject to change). Graduates who go into marketing can expect median starting salaries of around US$120,000. Popular marketing recruiters for UCLA include Adobe, Disney, General Mills and Microsoft. 

2) Michigan Ross

Michigan Ross’s MBA program scored very highly for research strength. 18 percent of Ross MBA graduates went onto careers in marketing, with companies such as Amazon, P&G and PepsiCo.

The program is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and takes two years to complete. The tuition fees (per year) are US$66,048 for Michigan residents and US$71,048 for non-Michigan residents. Ross has a marketing club specifically for MBA students, as well as a yearly seminar series with the marketing department holding lecturers every Friday.

1) Stanford GSB

Taking first place in the MBA specialization rankings for marketing for another year is Stanford. Stanford’s program earned a perfect score in employer reputation, with 18 percent of students going into the marketing industry post-graduation.

Based in Stanford, California, the two-year program has tuition fees of US$73,062 per academic year (US$146,124 in total). Students can take marketing electives in their second year, plus join the Marketing Club which hosts a number of networking and career development events throughout the academic year.