The List of All U.S. Colleges With a Marketing/Advertising Major

If your high schooler is the type of applicant who wonders what makes one institution more appealing to college-bound students than another and looks past grades, expected student outcomes, and location, focusing instead on the school’s branding—like its logo, website, and social media posts—then a marketing degree might be for them.

High school students with aspirations of studying marketing or advertising in college who are beginning to build their school lists are in luck. We’ve taken the first step for them by pulling together a comprehensive list of all the U.S. colleges that offer a marketing/advertising major. Keep reading to see all the U.S. Colleges that offer a degree in marketing/advertising, along with reasons why a student should pursue a marketing/advertising degree and a few tips for making your college pitch a winner.

Why Should You Study Marketing/Advertising in College?

One of the most appealing aspects of studying marketing is that it requires knowledge and understanding in a variety of fields. Good marketers are creatives who possess strong speaking skills, the ability to write clearly, communicate effectively, analyze statistics, and work within a team. Additionally, marketers have an understanding of people and society, and a grasp of what makes them react—either positively or negatively.

Another interesting facet of studying marketing is how rapidly the field is evolving. Students will learn the fundamentals of marketing and advertising in classic media outlets such as print and television, while also learning about its application in new media like websites, social media, and streaming services.

In fact, the explosion of new media is creating incredible opportunities for exciting careers and the chance to earn high wages for graduates of a marketing/advertising program. A study by the American Marketing Association showed that from 2016 to 2017, marketing salaries rose by 19%, far surpassing the 3% baseline. The salaries pushing the average up? Content strategists witnessed a 40% increase in that time, while social media manager wages grew by 20%.

For many students graduating with a marketing degree, there is a clear career path—marketing specialist to marketing coordinator to marketing manager. This career path has lower level positions managing parts of a campaign to more senior roles overseeing multiple campaigns and clients.

Marketing students who climb the corporate ladder can expect a bright future; according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage in 2018 for advertising and promotions managers was $117,130. Marketing managers earned even more on average, with a median wage of $134,290. The BLS doesn’t see these jobs disappearing anytime soon and projects above-average growth between 2016 and 2026.

How Can You Increase Your Chances of Acceptance?

The best thing a high school student can do to increase their odds of acceptance into their first-choice school is to maintain a strong GPA. Students can also bolster their college applications by taking challenging and relevant coursework like AP calculus, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. Taking any offered business classes also demonstrates a student’s desire to increase their knowledge in an area of interest.

Extracurricular activities are an important factor in a student’s branding, as they broaden the image college admissions officials have of a student, allowing them to see past GPA and standardized test scores. For students hoping to study marketing in college, participating in a club like DECA or The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is a great way for high-school students to demonstrate an interest in business and begin building a peer-network with similar goals and aspirations.

Another extracurricular activity for students with an interest in new media is to start a blog or YouTube page. By doing this, a student will have real content to send to admissions officers, along with gaining the first-hand experience building an audience, working with SEO, and managing content. Get started by reading our article Starting Your Own Blog in High School.

If your student is interested in studying marketing at college and you want to make sure they get into the school of their choice, it’s never too early to begin. Our Early Advising Program is designed to help 9th and 10th graders build a strong college profile and make themselves more marketable to colleges by making sure they maintain the right GPA, take the right classes, and participate in extracurricular activities that admissions officers will notice.

If the marketing/advertising bug has bitten your high schooler in their junior year, you still have time to create a campaign that will wow an admissions office. Our College Strategy Program was created just for juniors, helping them use their remaining time in high school to create a application that pops by ensuring they’re engaged in the right extracurricular activities, acquiring meaningful and impactful letters of recommendation, and creating an impressive application.   

Which Colleges Have a Marketing/Advertising Major?

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!