Marketing Research

Types of Degrees Marketing Research Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many marketing research graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	132
Graduate Certificate	57

What Marketing Research Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to marketing research were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Marketing Research Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in marketing research should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Marketing Research Majors

A major in marketing research prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Marketing Research Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a marketing research student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Marketing Research Major?

People with a marketing research degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Business Professors	18.0%	$83,960
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	23.2%	$63,120
Marketing Managers	10.1%	$134,290
Survey Researchers	2.1%	$57,700

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Marketing Research?

This major is dominated by women with about 69% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of marketing research majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	5
Black or African American	10
Hispanic or Latino	21
White	75
International Students	15
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

Geographic Diversity

Marketing Research appeals to people across the globe. About 11.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Marketing Research

Some degrees associated with marketing research may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for marketing research careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.1%
Some College Courses	0.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	28.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.0%
Master’s Degree	21.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	3.4%
Doctoral Degree	23.0%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

Online Marketing Research Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	11	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	15	2
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Marketing Research

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to marketing research.

Major	Number of Grads
Marketing/Marketing Management, General	50,017
Other Marketing	1,226
Digital Marketing	845
International Marketing	446

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Nick Youngson under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.