Master of Science in Marketing

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the MS-Marketing program and the MBA program?

The MS-Marketing program is specifically designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in business and wish to concentrate in a specific area of marketing. Whereas the Mays MBA program at Texas A&M University is a 48-hour program regardless of undergraduate major (with the first year being the core business courses), the MS-Marketing program is a 38-hour program for those who completed the core business courses as an undergraduate (or take four core business courses during the first year of the program). The MS-Marketing program is designed to allow students to focus more specifically on marketing.

Another difference is that the MBA program requires at least two years post-undergraduate work experience. The MS-Marketing program does not have this requirement (although some students have a year or two of post-undergraduate work experience). Since many of the MS-marketing students have limited business experience, the MS-Marketing program is designed to be very applications oriented. During their last two semesters, students work on real marketing projects for companies. During the summer MS-Marketing students work as an intern for a company or nonprofit organization. Opportunities are provided, through small group interactions with visiting executives and a required marketing leadership seminar, for students to interact with marketing leaders.

What are your admission standards?

We require either the GMAT or GRE. International students are also required to take the TOEFL.

Although there are no minimums required for admission, the average scores on the combined verbal and quantitative sections for those students admitted for the fall 2007 were as follows:

GMAT - 627
GRE - 1166
GPR - 3.6 (last 60 hours)
TOEFL - 293 computer based

Prospective MS-Marketing students should have all grades and letters sent, tests taken, and scores reported before applying, since no decision can be made without a complete application.

When can students enter the program?

Our policy is to accept students for fall semester only. Non-business undergraduates needing to take prerequisite courses should apply for spring or summer admission.

When are the application deadlines?

January 15 is the priority deadline for international students. The Texas A&M University deadline for international student applications is March 1. For consideration for a university-level Graduate Merit Fellowship (for U.S. students with very high grades and GMAT/GRE scores), applications should also be in by January 15.

Students requiring all/most prerequisite courses should enroll in January or June to take their prerequisite classes during the spring semester.  International students desiring to apply for spring admission should have their completed application in by September 15.  U.S. students desiring spring admission should have their completed applications in by November 1. Students desiring Summer admission should have their application in by February 1 (international students) or March 15 (U.S. students).

U.S. residents should have application materials in by January 15 if they wish to be considered for a university-level Graduate Merit Fellowship. Otherwise, U.S. residents should have all application materials in by May 31.

How many students are in the MS-Marketing program?

Thirty-five new students enrolled in the program in the Fall 2007 semester. This includes fifteen students from the Professional Program in Accounting at Texas A&M University who are getting their Masters degree in Marketing.

How long does it take to complete the MS-Marketing program?

Most students take 16 months to complete the program. The breakdown for students with an undergraduate business degree would be:

First Year:
Fall	13 hours
Spring	13 hours
Summer	3-hour internship
Second Year:
Fall	9 hours
Total:	38 hours

What if I don't have an undergraduate business degree?

No problem. Before beginning the program, students will need to take:

• One principles of management courses (either undergraduate or graduate)
• One principles of marketing course (either undergraduate or graduate)
• One corporate finance course (either undergraduate or graduate)
• One principles of accounting course (either undergraduate or graduate)
• Two undergraduate statistics courses (or one graduate)

These prerequisites may be taken at Texas A&M University or another accredited university and transferred in. Students may apply for spring or summer admission to take prerequisite courses.

Is an internship required?

We highly encourage a summer internship for all MS-Marketing students. Students will interview during the fall and spring semester for a possible internship for the next summer. The internship will run 10 weeks during the summer, with students receiving three hours of credit. Students entering the MS-Marketing program directly out of a bachelor's program, and with little or no work experience, should seriously consider finding an internship.

While the Graduate Business Career Services Office, the Center for Retailing Studies and the MS-Marketing advisor can help students locate internships, students are encouraged to pursue this on their own as well, through their own networking contacts.

Summer 2007 Internships
Name	Company	Position	Location
Rahul Bhatnagar	Office Max	Marketing Intern	Naperville, Ill.
Mario Campos	Hewlett-Packard	Marketing Analyst	Houston
Hollie Chachere	H-E-B	Management Intern	Houston
Bonnie Cooper	Star of Texas Fair & Rodeo	Marketing Intern	Austin
Will Cornwell	The Abelson Group	Marketing Team Member	College Station
Jennifer Cummings	TracyLocke	Account Planning and New Business Intern	Dallas
Elaine Dausy	FedEx	Retail Strategy and Marketing Intern	Collierville, Tenn.
Kayla Durham	The Abelson Group	Marketing Team Member	College Station
Josh Ellison	The Integer Group	Account Service Intern	Dallas
Clint Holland	Hewlett-Packard	Marketing Analyst	Houston
Kari Kelley	FedEx	Business-to-Business Marketing Intern	Dallas
Hye-jin Kim	Office Max	Marketing Intern	Naperville, Ill.
Christie Lambert	Crate & Barrel	Marketing Intern	Dallas
Heather Litell	Macy's	Sales Management Intern	Dallas
Danny Medina	Office Max	Marketing Intern	Naperville, Ill.
Yana Muzafina	Halliburton Energy Services	Health, Safety and Environment Intern	Duncan, Olka.
Maryann Overby	Enterprise Rental Car	Management Trainee	Dallas-Fort Worth Int'l Airport
Courtney Phillips	The Richard's Group	Brand Management Intern	Dallas
Samia Qaiyum	Dillard's	Retail Management Intern	Houston
Sonja Schultheiss	Wal-Mart	International Merchandising Infrastructure Intern	Bentonville, Ark.
Lauren Trost	H-E-B	Management Intern	College Station
Matt Valladarez	Valero Energy	Marketing Intern	San Antonio
Naoko Wada	Adplex	Marketing Intern	Houston
SeJeong Yun	OpenTide	Intern-Consultant	Seoul, Korea
Yulan Zhou	Wellpoint Health Networks	Intern-Financial Analyst	Indianapolis, Ind.

What is the average class size?

Class sizes range from 25 - 45, with most marketing classes having an average class size of 35.

What are the estimated expenses involved with the MS-Marketing program?

Of course, each individual has different living standards and needs. But here are some general estimates including tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, transportation and living expenses for one year (12 months) of master's level classes:

• Texas resident: $19,000
• International Students and non-Texas residents: $27,000
• International students and non-Texas residents awarded a scholarship or 20-hour graduate assistantship: $19,000 (scholarships and assistantships qualify students to pay the lower in-state tuition rate)

  More specific expense information is available at Student Business Services and International Student Services.

What type of financial aid is available within the Department of Marketing?

There are three types of financial aid available:

Scholarships: The Department of Marketing has a limited number of $1,000/year scholarships that are awarded on a competitive basis.

Assistantships: We have a limited number of 10-hour per week graduate assistantships that are also awarded on a competitive basis. Currently the pay for a graduate assistant in the department is $8.08 per hour for 3.5 months during the fall semester and 4 months during the spring semester. The assistantship is not guaranteed for the summer, but this would be a possibility, depending upon the department's need for summer help.

Most graduate assistants are assigned to a professor in the department, assisting him/her with with teaching and research activities. There may be other graduate assistantship opportunities in other departments on campus.

Fellowships: There are a very limited number of $1,000/month Graduate Merit Fellowships awarded on a competitive basis for U.S. students only by the Texas A&M Office of Graduate Studies. Students interested in applying for these fellowships should have their completed applications in by January 15. This allows sufficient time for the marketing department to nominate students for this award. Most of these fellowships are awarded to doctoral students, but some are awarded to master's students.

How do I apply for a scholarship, assistantship or fellowship?

All students accepted to the MS-Marketing program are automatically considered for a departmental scholarship and graduate assistantship. If professors need a graduate assistant, they go to the incoming student file in the department to select a candidate before each semester. The professor may want to arrange a personal or telephone interview with a prospective graduate assistant.

Many times, graduate assistantships are not obtained until the student is on campus, before the beginning of the semester. So, even if a graduate assistantship has not been obtained prior to your arrival, there is a still a possibility of obtaining one after you start the program.

Students might also check with the Office of Student Financial Aid for information about other scholarships or fellowships that might be available.

Where do most students live?

Most students live in one of the numerous apartment complexes located in the Bryan - College Station area. More specific housing information for graduate students is available from the university apartments web page and the Off Campus Student Services web page. The Texas A&M shuttle bus service provides transportation to and from most apartment complexes in the College Station area.

What about jobs? What kind of placement rate do you have and what kinds of jobs do MS-Marketing graduates get?

The average salary for 2005 graduates was $55,000 and the average salary for 2006 graduates was $62,000, with a range of $32,000 - $80,000.

Here is a listing of the jobs received by our most recent MS-Marketing graduates:

Employment of 2006 MS-Marketing Graduates
Name	Company	Position	Location
Brent Allen	Hewlett-Packard	Product Manager	Houston
Tyler Cosban	Hewlett-Packard	Demand Planning Analyst	Houston
Clifton Coufal	J.P. Morgan Chase	Investment/Personal Banker	Temple
Rui Heh	Office Max	Import Specialist	Naperville, Ill.
Laura Henderson	Devon Energy	Business Analyst	Oklahoma City, Okla.
Nicole Hoegg	McDermott, Inc.	Internal Auditor	Houston
Steven Holcomb	Brass Real Estate Services	Director of Operations	Longmont, Colo.
Sorim Jang	Office Max	Corporate Marketing	Naperville, Ill.
Julie (Jones) Burris	PricewaterhouseCoopers	Assurance Assoc.	Dallas
Jonte Lee	Payless Corp.	Distribution Analyst	Topeka, Kan.
Allison Martyn	Office Max	Corporate Marketing	Naperville, Ill.
Daniel May	7-Eleven	Asst. Project Manager	Dallas
Cory McElroy	Office Max	Corporate Marketing	Naperville, Ill.
Jacob McKinney	Hewlett-Packard	Total Customer Experience and Quality	Houston
Lisa Moore	Planto Roe Financial	Marketing Assistant	San Antonio
Jessica Morris	PricewaterhouseCoopers	Associate	Dallas
Cherie Norman	Hastings	Advertising Manager	Amarillo
Kimberly (Curtis) Pickens	Deloitte & Touche	Assurance Assoc.	Dallas
Raja Srinivasan	Deloitte Consulting	Systems Analyst	Irvine
Shalini Sengupta	Sabre Holding	Analyst	Dallas
Carrie Song	Newage Co.	Marketing Leader	Minneapolis, Minn.

Employment of 2005 MS-Marketing Graduates
Name	Company	Position	Location
Shweta Barghava	Net Matrix Solutions	Marketing Manager, Assistant to the CEO	Houston
Andrew Brown	Huron Consulting	Legal Business Consulting - Analyst	Houston
Clay Collins	Hewlett-Packard	Product Marketing Specialist	Houston
Jessie Condit	Evans, Hardy & Young	Account Executive	Santa Barbara, Calif.
Kristin Cooper	Executive MBA/Masters Program Office, TAMU	Assistant to the Director	College Station
Lauren Edmission	J.C. Penney	Merchandising Trainee	Plano
Mark Glodowski	Silver & Blue Outfitters, LLC	Owner	Las Vegas, Nev.
Jamie Guck	ConocoPhillips	Strategic Analyst	Houston
David Hobbs	Hewlett-Packard	Supply Chain Manager	Houston
Katie Johnson	FedEx	Project Management Analyst	Memphis, Tenn.
Carla Amaning-Kwartend	Ernst & Young	Strategic Analyst	Houston
Natasha Mataga	Lennar Corporation	Marketing Coordinator	San Antonio
Deanna McGehee	Chevron	Account Manager	Louisville, Ky.
Carrie Song	Newage Americas - Cummins, Inc.	Marketing Leader	Minneapolis, Minn.
George Zhang	Domain Group	Strategic Analyst	Seattle, Wash.