Are you a seasoned marketing and advertising professional looking for a hyper-specific master’s program to take your career to the next level? Or a rising star seeking a path into an exciting, growing industry?
Temple University’s Master of Science in Strategic Advertising and Marketing at the Fox School of Business could be exactly what you’re looking for.
The part-time grad program is a collaborative effort between the Fox School of Business and the Klein College of Media and Communication. In order to get a holistic, sophisticated view of the interrelationship between these two vibrant disciplines, students alternate between marketing classes taught by Fox faculty and advertising courses led by Klein professors.
Below, a few former students talk about finding exactly what they were looking for in the Strategic Advertising and Marketing program—and how the degree helps to boost their careers.
Matt Barber
Becoming a Better Marketer—and Moving Up to Manager, Too
Matt Barber, after earning a bachelor’s in marketing from Messiah College in 2005, worked in various marketing roles before taking a job with Subaru in 2015. He now works as a brand partnership and experiential marketing specialist at the Japanese car company’s Camden, New Jersey headquarters.
Barber’s goal is to move up to a managerial role. But that’s not necessarily why he’s pursuing the MS in Strategic Advertising and Marketing—it’s because he, first and foremost, wants to be a better marketer.
“It wasn’t just a play to move up the ladder, but to be better as a marketer and then let everything else settle where it settles,” says Barber, who started the program last year and plans to finish in 2021.
But, of course, Barber sees the degree as a necessary step to a leadership position, too. And he chose the MS in Strategic Advertising and Marketing over an MBA program because he loved the “hyper-targeted” curriculum focusing on his chosen field.
“Temple is the only school I knew that actually had a marketing graduate program with this narrow of a focus,” he says. “It’s very unique to have a program with a combined marketing and advertising track—that was huge for me.”
Barber, who in addition to working full time has two children, also chose the program because it can be customized to meet the demands of busy, working professionals.
“It’s great to be able to go to school and work while having a family,” Barber says. “It’s been a great experience. I find myself in meetings, big strategy discussions, or discussions around positioning, and these higher-level concepts are clicking quicker for me now. This is totally a result of what I’m learning in class.”
Brittany Turner
To Grad School or Not to Grad School?
When Brittany Turner, BBA ’17, graduated from the Fox School in 2017 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a major in marketing, she was unsure about her next move. Grad school was an option, but it was tough finding the right program. Then she heard about the MS in Strategic Advertising and Marketing.
“It was exactly what I was looking for,” says Turner. “I feel it was everything that was missing from my undergrad studies and it has connected the dots to make everything more applicable to the real world. I think it goes hand-and-hand with somebody who is working in the industry because it gives you the chance to understand it from not only the educational standpoint but also from the actual working standpoint.”
Turner was working as a staffing manager when she started the program in 2017; she is currently working full-time as a Chapter Coordinator at Entrepreneurs’ Organization. “I would love to get more into strategic marketing,” she says. “And this program is a great mix between marketing and advertising, so it gives an overhead view of the field, which a lot of other programs lack.”
In addition to gaining valuable skills that will help her succeed in her career, Turner is learning a lot from the diverse professional backgrounds of her classmates.
“I pretty much knew everyone in my classes. We are all going through it together. It was a fun experience getting to know everybody, and getting to know their different business experiences and how they fit in with what we are learning.”
Victoria Cianciulli
Finding the Perfect Fit
Victoria Cianciulli, BBA ’11, within several months of earning a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Fox School in 2011, took an entry level role as a marketing coordinator with Comcast Spotlight, the Philadelphia-based global telecommunications conglomerate’s advertising sales division. Her current title is senior sales marketing specialist.
She started her MS in Marketing Communications at Fox, but when she heard about the Strategic Advertising and Marketing program, she switched degrees because it was the optimal fit for the career she’s pursuing.
“It couldn’t have been more perfect,” says Cianciulli. “Temple is the only school with a specialized program like this. Being in the workforce while participating in this program has helped everything click. I find myself constantly applying subjects from class to my job and the real world.”
Cianciulli’s objective is to progress within Comcast Spotlight—and she’s confident this degree will enable her to do that.
“I love what I do currently and I am definitely in pursuit of growth within Comcast,” she says. “I also hope I am able to position myself as a thought leader—having now been trained in an elevated educational setting—and share new information with my peers or even managers and leaders above me. This degree will help me do so.”
Learn more about the Fox School’s Master of Science in Strategic Advertising and Marketing.
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