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Digital Marketing

BA (Hons)

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UCAS code: N511

Start dates: January 2025 / September 2025 / January 2026 / September 2026

Full time: 3 Years, or 4 if a work placement is chosen

Part time: Up to 8 years

Location: Headington

Department(s): Oxford Brookes Business School

Overview
Course details
Careers
Entry requirements
How to apply
Tuition fees

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Overview

The future of marketing is digital. Innovative new channels mean new opportunities for reaching audiences and growing brands. Businesses need people like you to help them create content, collect data and make their marketing more effective.

On our BA Digital Marketing, we’ll introduce you to key marketing areas like communication, consumer behaviour and customer insights. Our optional modules will give you the freedom to explore topics that interest you. You’ll also consider what it means to market products and services in a sustainable way, as well as what it takes to be a good leader.

Put your skills to the test. You’ll work on live briefs set by our partners. You might carry out a social media review for a small business, create content for a product launch or look at data to see how to drive more people to checkout.

You’ll spend time sharpening your skills in our Social Media Lab too. Here you’ll find everything a digital marketer needs, from the latest industry-standard tools like Brandwatch to software such as Adobe Creative Cloud.

Ready to switch from consumer to creator?

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Students Working Around a Table on Laptops

Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Marketing and Social Media Lab

    Work on real-world marketing projects. Develop the skills that employers are looking for and become confident using industry software such as Brandwatch, Sprout Social and Adobe Creative Cloud.

  • Study abroad opportunities

    Do a semester overseas in your second year. Many of our students head to Australia. Where will you go?

  • Professional Placements

    Gain ‘real world’ experience at companies like Aldi, Disney, GlaxoSmithKline, Harley-Davidson, BMW, Nissan, Warner Bros, TNT and Xerox.

  • Sustainable mindset

    Our courses aim to create the responsible marketing leaders of the future.

  • Diverse optional modules

    Enjoy the freedom to explore the areas that interest you, whether that’s creative communication management or customer experience.

  • Study abroad

    You may be able to go on a European or international study exchange while you are at Brookes. Most exchanges take place in the second year. Although we will help as much as we can with your plans, ultimately you are responsible for organising and funding this study abroad.

  • Accreditation(s)

    Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing

    • Chartered Institute of Marketing
    • Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing

Course details

Course structure

Fast-paced. Global. Competitive. That’s how many professionals describe the world of digital marketing. In your first year, your journey to success starts with nailing the basics and understanding customers. We’ll challenge you to think about the mindset you’ll need to become a leader that manages teams effectively and makes decisions in a responsible way. 

Moving into your second year, you’ll start to learn what it takes to manage a brand and how this varies between different organisations. You’ll take a module where you’ll act as a consultant. This Involves looking at the whole process from writing a brief to presenting findings and creating a final report. 

To give you the freedom to explore your interests, you’ll pick from a range of optional modules that encourage you to think creatively. You can explore areas like creative content and social media management. 

In your final year, you’ll complete a project where you write a dissertation on anything from chatbots to ethics. Or you’ll develop a practical solution to a real-life scenario around enterprise or sustainability. 

Students at work at Oxford Brookes

Learning and teaching

Throughout the course there is a strong emphasis on experiential learning, applying knowledge and problem-solving through coursework projects, some of which are live projects undertaken in conjunction with external organisations (including not-for-profit organisations). In addition to drawing on the experience of those members of staff with professional and consultancy experience in digital marketing, links with industry and alumni of our existing courses are used to provide guest speakers and specialist input across a range of modules.

You will be immersed in an employer focused course, working on real-world marketing projects in our new Marketing and Social Media Lab that is equipped with the latest industry-standard tools and software, such as google analytics and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Assessment

The modules within the course are assessed through coursework only. Given the nature of the subject, this allows more extensive and exciting tasks to be set that allow students to blend theory and application and demonstrate their ability to find solutions to complex problems.

Creative and innovative assessments, reflecting the nature of this disciplinary area, include the opportunity to develop and deliver an audio presentation for LinkedIn, and the digital marketing live project. Students will develop Blogs. Vlogs and other digital artefacts as part of their assessment throughout the course, as well as more traditional forms of coursework, such as case studies, essays, reports, and presentations.

A balance of both individual and group-based assessments is included, at each level of study and students are well supported by tutors in preparing coursework.

Start this course in January or September

You can start this course in January if a September start doesn't suit you or is not currently offered for this course.

If you opt to start in January, in each of your 3 years, you will study your first semester between January and May and your second semester between September and December. There will be no teaching during June, July and August. 

Find out more about January entry

Study modules

In your second year please choose one optional module.

In your final year please also choose one optional module.

Teaching for this course takes place Face to Face and you can expect around nine hours of contact time per week. In addition to this, you should also anticipate a workload of 1,200 hours per year. Teaching usually takes place Monday to Friday, between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

Contact hours involve activities such as lectures, seminars, practicals, assessments, and academic advising sessions. These hours differ by year of study and typically increase significantly during placements or other types of work-based learning.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

  • Finance for Marketing

    You’ll look at finance for marketing and focus on its importance in a variety of business contexts. You will learn how to interpret and analyse simple financial statements in order to assess an organisation's performance and its financial strength. You’ll understand the basics of planning and budgeting and short-term decision making. Also you’ll develop your confidence in your ability to deal with the internal and external financial information important to marketing.

  • Academic and Professional Practices for Marketing

    This module supports your transition from your school/college to now studying an honours level undergraduate course. Through the lens of real business problems, you will acquire the necessary research, critical analysis, team working and communication skills that will be the foundation of your academic and future professional success. You’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills in specific areas, based on tutor feedback. This module will prepare you for your other first year modules, helping you to flourish in an academic environment.

  • Essential Management and Leadership Skills for Marketing

    Gain the key management and leadership skills you’ll need in a marketing environment. You will actively engage with the study of key management and leadership approaches by being exposed to the essential characteristics of organisations operating in a global context and the role of management within this. 

    Also you will explore the functions of business, their interrelatedness and the impact of management and leadership styles on their operations. By examining how theoretical concepts and frameworks are applied in practice you will be exposed to a number of different scenarios so you build your awareness of how management decision making impacts business performance and also look at and learn the skills successful managers and leaders use to meet the challenges of a dynamic marketing environment.
     

  • Marketing in a Digital World

    This is your introduction to the general principles of marketing. Through practical activities supported by lectures, you will learn to apply the tools and techniques used by professional marketers. You’ll gain understanding and appreciate the inter-relationships between different marketing and business concepts and be able to build upon the knowledge you develop in your subsequent second year modules.

  • Customer and Marketing Insights

    To understand customer needs and market trends is intrinsic to the success of any business. On this module, you will look at the concepts and tools required by professional marketers to understand customer and market needs including a brief overview of consumer behaviour. Through traditional and contemporary techniques you’ll explore the process of marketing research and its role in gaining understanding of consumers and markets to meet organisational objectives.

    You’ll learn the academic concepts underlying marketing research and develop practical research and analytical skills. You will gain sufficient grounding in marketing research techniques and data analysis and its interpretation to enable you to carry out projects involving marketing research and data analysis.
     

  • Sustainable and Ethical Marketing

    You are the marketers of tomorrow, so it is key you understand and are able to respond to the ethical and environmental sustainability challenges that will be faced. As such, your learning is tied to the Business School’s commitment to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management. 

    You will discuss the meaning of ethical marketing and key environmental issues such as:

    • global warming
    • pollution
    • biodiversity loss 
    • freshwater depletion.

    Including the role of marketing in causing as well as responding to such issues. You’ll look at a variety of stakeholder perspectives and frameworks to aid the analysis of marketing responses.
     

Year 2

Compulsory modules

  • Contemporary Marketing Communications

    The communications environment is rapidly changing and you’ll look at contemporary approaches to integrated marketing communications in a wide range of contexts. You’ll also be introduced to Digital asset management as a concept for curation of digital artefacts and assets in the context of marketing communications, building your understanding of marketing communicative methods.

  • Digital Consumer Behaviour

    You’ll develop your skills to identify and evaluate the latest developments in digital consumer behaviour, including emerging consumer behaviour trends across different consumption contexts. You’ll progress your application of appropriate research methods and tools to collect your findings.
     

  • Brand Management

    You’ll progress your existing marketing and business knowledge into the sphere of product branding (both physical goods, services and business to business). You’ll look at contemporary brand literature, both academic and professional, building your understanding of the brand knowledge that underpins the core themes you will cover. You will investigate the function of brand management within the various stages of the brand positioning process such as 

    • brand analysis
    • strategy development 
    • and implementation.
       

  • Applied Marketing Consultancy

    This is your introduction to marketing consultancy through action (or experiential) based learning methods. In action learning, you’ll be part of a team to solve a real and relevant problem for a client. Through this approach to learning you’ll experience and analyse marketing as it happens in a work based context.

    In the lectures, you’ll develop marketing theory, skills and knowledge to support you in the second part of the module (i.e. workshops, lab work and field work) to work on behalf of a client organisation.
     

  • Social Media and Influencer Marketing

    Get to grips with social media marketing, how and why it has become one of the most important tools used by businesses to find and engage with customers and the increasingly key role that Influencer Marketing plays. Through both a strategic and practical approach you will build a Social Media and Influencer Marketing Plan for a real business; gaining an understanding of the changing face of Social Media and Influencer Marketing, how to choose and find influencers and how to use them to improve customer engagement and ultimately drive sales.

Optional modules

Digital Advertising and Creative Content

This is your introduction to the world of digital marketing in a global context. It builds on your earlier module Contemporary Marketing Communications and will help give you insights into a range of contexts including mobile advertising, in-game advertising and user generated advertising.  

This will help to prepare you for your final year modules and also enhances your employability skills with the opportunity to engage you with practical and written assessments linked to creative industry scenarios.
 

Contemporary Omnichannel Retail and Marketing

This is your introduction to the nature, scope and characteristics of the various marketing and sales strategies used in the retail industry and how they are evolving, in line with changing customer buying habits and expectations. 

You will look at the drivers impacting on the sector and the interaction between digital platforms and physical outlets, combined with new technologies, to enhance the customer experience and bring new efficiencies to retail sales and marketing. You’ll build your knowledge of how these various factors can combine to create the ideal Omnichannel retail experience for the customer.
 

Year 3 (optional placement year)

Optional modules

CHOOSE ONE MODULE FROM:

Placement

On this placement you will be able to access a 40-52 week work-based learning / placement opportunity to help develop your employability and enterprise skills. You will gain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. You will set your own work-based targets and reflect upon your progress in the role you have on your placement. Halfway through your placement you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises your gained knowledge on your placement and the tasks you have/ will complete in your placement role.

Full Year International Study Abroad

This is your opportunity to study Business topics abroad in order to experience a different national, educational and business culture and to build on your knowledge, understanding, skills and competencies you’ve gained so far. You will undertake an international study exchange at a university outside the UK, arranged with the University’s exchanges office. This international study exchange lasts for one academic year and is taken after your second year of studies (Level 5).

OR CHOOSE THESE TWO OPTIONS:

Short Placement

This 24-week placement is your opportunity to develop your employability and enterprise skills. In the UK or Europe you will gain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. You will set your work based targets and reflect upon your success in your placement role. At the end of the placement, you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises the knowledge and skills you have developed on your placement.

Work-based Learning

This module is also a 24-week work-based learning opportunity for you to develop your employability and enterprise skills. As on the other modules you will have the opportunity to obtain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. This could include employment, volunteer work experience or undertaking a consultancy type project. 

You will agree a brief before your work-based role begins,set work based targets and reflect upon your success in your placement role. At the end of the placement, you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises the knowledge and skills you have developed on your placement.

Year 4 (or year 3 if no placement)

Compulsory modules

  • Personal Branding

    Harness your knowledge of brands, communication strategies and business types gained through your degree. This module will help you to understand your potential future career paths, based on your strengths, skills and interests. You’ll get the support to be focused, differentiated and successful in planning your future careers through developing your 

    • personal brand purpose
    • brand story
    • brand communication plan 

    in a way that is consistent and authentic. You’ll look at theoretical and professional perspectives relating to management, professional ethics and other areas relevant to careers in business, marketing, events and related areas.
     

  • Critical Issues in Digital Marketing

    Look at the emerging digital environment and future trends, which will help you to develop a critical understanding of the research and practice trajectory of digital marketing. You’ll progress your critical understanding of how consumers engage with brands online and the ethical dilemmas that may require critical consideration with the further adoption of future digital developments.

  • Harnessing Big Data

    Big data is generated from various sources, including social media, websites, mobile devices, and customer interactions. In today's competitive market, the application of harnessing big data is highly useful. 

    This module is your introduction to harnessing big data and how it can be used in a marketing context. You will look at data collection, storage, and processing, as well as data mining and machine learning techniques for marketing applications. Also you’ll learn how to analyse large datasets to gain insights into consumer behaviour and preferences, and how to use these insights to inform marketing strategies. 
     

  • Social Media Management

    Focus on the use of social media platforms as a key part of digital marketing strategies. You’ll actively engage with current trends of social media management by evaluating relevant social media campaigns and applying learned theories and approaches to understand their effectiveness. This will help you think critically about how to design, plan, and manage successful social media campaigns. You will also critically evaluate and implement various stages of managing social media platforms for marketing purposes.

Optional modules

Project (academic or sustainability and enterprise)

You’ll receive appropriate supervision and guidance, on a topic you select to study in depth from your course. You will engage in research and employ methodologies which will progress your understanding of the process of research, and you’ll also use material that is at the forefront of the topic you’ve selected.

Advanced Consumers and Marketing Analytics

Marketing Analytics uses data and advanced methods to solve marketing and business problems. It is one of the fastest growing areas of application and as a consequence, competition and value generation has moved quite fast from the use of general theories towards a data-driven approach. 

Through this module, you’ll examine and equip yourself with the knowledge of how to best use this data in order to reach business, economic and societal and ecological objectives for a sustainable future.
 

Entrepreneurial Business Management

This module provides you with an in-depth focus on the skills involved in evaluating business ideas, the practical steps involved in launching a business and the necessary processes of winning the finance. The module also addresses those issues that ventures must consider when planning an exit strategy and so focuses attention on the purpose of business enterprise. In Semester 1 this module explores contemporary theories of entrepreneurship and applies them to real life case studies. In Semester 2 the module focuses upon the preparation of a complete plan for a new business, capable of attracting funding.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to apply appropriate analytical concepts to provide support for untried venture proposals, understand the range of technical issues faced by those in start-up ventures and reflect on application of entrepreneurship theory, based on experience in a practical setting.
 

PR and Crisis Management

You will explore the main concepts and theoretical models that underpin Public Relations (PR) and crisis management. Also you’ll look at the role of PR campaigns to influence and change consumer’s behaviour and consider what goes into creating a successful PR plan. Examining how organisations manage and respond to crises. You will learn how to conduct a crisis audit, and plan a response strategy across different communication channels.

Global Marketing Management

Build upon your marketing knowledge and apply it within an international context. Brands operating in international markets need to be mindful of the various challenges posed by an ever changing and dynamic global market. You’ll proactively understand these global market dynamics that help brands establish a sustainable competitive advantage. You’ll also look to develop understanding of various ethical and sustainable issues in a global context and respect cultural differences in different markets.

Social and Non-profit Marketing

An effective society is arguably one where people are civically engaged. It is one where they not only know about and are conscious of social and environmental issues and imbalances, but are also motivated to step forward: whether through managing nonprofit organisations, leading social campaigns or through consumer behaviour such as donating, volunteering or boycotting. 

On this module, you will deepen your knowledge of the role of marketing in strengthening engagement with the nonprofit sector, and how behaviour change is achieved through social marketing campaigns. 
 

Creative Communication Management

You will practise marketing problem-solving using marketing communications throughout this module. Your taught input and practical exercises will help you develop a holistic view of marketing communications campaigns, their role and how they are developed, managed and evaluated in a variety of organisational and social contexts, cultures and communities. 

You’ll build on your knowledge of marketing communications tools, ability to conduct independent research into a variety of markets and sectors. You will further develop and hone your knowledge and skills, which will be utilised throughout this module in a way that prepares you to be effective within a marketing communications-focused area.
 

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Careers

Digital marketing skills are in high demand, with the top 3 fastest rising jobs all in social media. Social Media Coordinator is increasing by 19%, Community Manager up 18.1% and Social Media Assistant up 16.5% (Marketing Week).

We’ve designed this course to make you feel confident in a range of areas, from critical analysis to teamwork. By the time you graduate, you’ll be ready to apply for these roles in a range of organisations. Or perhaps you want to be part of a digital marketing agency and work for a range of clients. 

Our digital marketing students have applied for graduate schemes, as well as roles in:

  • marketing analytics 
  • digital media 
  • customer relationship management 
  • social media management 
  • B2B
  • not-for-profit organisations.

Alternatively, you might decide to progress to postgraduate studies to specialise in an area that interests you.

Student profiles

Alberto Nania

"My academic advisor is very prepared and good with helping me progress my work."

Read more about Alberto
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Business and Marketing Management
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Entry requirements

Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.

Standard offer

UCAS Tariff Points: 120

A Level: BBB

IB Points: 31

BTEC: DDM

Further offer details

Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications, international qualifications or recognised foundation courses. For advice on eligibility please contact Admissions: admissions@brookes.ac.uk

If you don’t achieve the required tariff points you can apply to join a foundation course, like Foundation in Business or an international foundation course to help to reach the required level for entry onto this degree.

How to apply

Application process


Full time Home (UK) applicants
Apply through UCAS


Part time Home (UK) applicants
Apply direct to the University


International applicants
Apply direct to the University

Full time international applicants can also apply through UCAS

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
Home (UK) part time
£1,155 per single module
Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£1,600
International full time
£16,300
International sandwich (placement)
£1,600
Home (UK) full time
£9,250*
Home (UK) part time
£1,155 per single module*
Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£1,700
International full time
£17,100
International sandwich (placement)
£1,700

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£9,250
Home (UK) part time
£1,155 per single module
Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£1,600
International full time
£16,300
International sandwich (placement)
£1,600
2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£9,250*
Home (UK) part time
£1,155 per single module*
Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£1,700
International full time
£17,100
International sandwich (placement)
£1,700

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

* Following the government’s announcement of 4 November 2024, we expect to increase our undergraduate tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 from the start of the 2025/26 academic year. Please visit The Education Hub for more information about the changes. We will confirm our fees for 2025/26 as soon as possible.

Please note, tuition fees for Home students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students in line with an inflationary amount determined by government. Oxford Brookes University intends to maintain its fees for new and returning Home students at the maximum permitted level.

Tuition fees for International students may increase in subsequent years both for new and continuing students. 

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

International Student Scholarship - CAS ready Oxford Brookes Bursary for home students Undergraduate maintenance loans for part-time UK students Undergraduate maintenance loans for full-time UK students Undergraduate tuition fee loans for UK students Oxford Brookes Bursary Scheme

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Information from Discover Uni

Full-time study

Part-time study

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.