Overview
The rise of digital technology has reshaped the way companies look to reach and engage with their customers. By studying our International Digital Marketing top-up, you will get the opportunity to learn how international organisations are harnessing this change.
From social media to mobile advertising, and from wearable technology to micro-targeting, there are now a multitude of new ways companies can build their brands, attract business and interact with their customers. This course, primarily aimed at international students, gives you the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in digital marketing techniques, with a focus on practical marketing, digital marketing skills development and emerging themes in digital marketing, and how they all relate to an international business context.
You can study the course over one-year, if you enter at Level 6, or over two-years, if you enter at Level 5. During the course, there are modules dedicated to providing you with the chance to develop your English language skills, as well as help prepare you for your future career – something you can also do through sessions in our DigiComm Lab, which is equipped with industry relevant software, designed to allow you to work in an environment that mirrors that of a digital marketing agency.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
COVID-19
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costAccreditation and Professional Recognition
This course is accredited and recognised by the following bodies:
Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools., which has a membership of over 120 business schools and higher education providers, and supports its members in maintaining world-class standards of teaching and research.
European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)
Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the European Foundation for Management Development, a global membership organisation dedicated to management development, covering over 900 members across 91 countries.
Course information
Designed to help you develop the skills needed for a career in digital marketing, this top-up course covers core marketing modules, along with specific modules focused on the knowledge needed to effectively plan and deliver digital marketing campaigns. This approach should give you the opportunity to gain knowledge of marketing as a broad discipline, while also giving you the chance to specialise in the skills needed to become an effective professional who could go on to a career within a company’s marketing function, or with a specialist digital marketing agency.
With a strong focus on applying theory and frameworks to relevant, practical problems, this course should help you to investigate not only digital marketing problems but also wider business problems, before proposing and developing appropriate solutions. Modules such as ‘Consumer Behaviour’ and ‘Global Marketing’ should give you the chance to explore the fundamentals that underpin marketing as a discipline, and in particular how it can be used by businesses that operate across a number of countries around the world.
Alongside these marketing modules, you will have the opportunity to learn about some of the key areas of digital marketing, such as managing online marketing campaigns, building online presence and analysing data to ensure communications are effective. There is also a module exploring how brands can suffer PR storms online, and how marketing professionals can take steps to manage online reputations in the age of social media.
Upon successful completion, the course also seeks to produce graduates who could go on to work effectively in international roles, with modules covering academic English, as well as two (depending on year of entry) focused on your own personal career development. And, if you would rather look to start your own digital marketing firm, as opposed to joining an already established one, there is a module on ‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship’, which can help to develop your start-up mind-set and set you up with the skills to start your own business, upon successful completion.
Course specification
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Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
In more detail...
More and more companies are putting a greater focus on digital marketing. According to a 2019 report, worldwide digital ad spending rose by 17.6% in 2019 to $333.25 billion, meaning that, for the first time, digital accounts for roughly half of the global advertising market. And it’s not just the big spending advertisers seeking to move online, as 60% of UK companies now have social media accounts. These changes are driven by consumer behaviour, with social media now having a total of 3.48 billion users worldwide, and 90% of those users say they have communicated with a brand or business through their account.
Faced with these developments and changes, companies need professional digital marketers able to harness them, to ensure their digital marketing strategies and plans are effective, and achieve their intended objectives. Focused on giving you the opportunity to explore digital marketing in an international context, this course could help prepare you for exciting future career options, potentially working for in-house marketing teams in a variety of sectors, or for agencies and firms set-up to help plan, deliver and optimise the digital marketing outputs of companies, from established global brands to start ups.
Alongside modules covering core marketing topics and those focused on the key areas of digital marketing, upon successful completion, the course should help to prepare you for a global career through the study of Academic English for International Business, which gives you the opportunity to develop your language skills to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of environments. There are also two modules (depending on the year of entry) dedicated to your personal career development, which could help you gain employability skills and techniques that, upon successful completion of this top-up course, will serve you well in your future career.
Finally, studying at Coventry Business School you will have the opportunity to have teaching sessions in our DigiComm Lab. Designed to build creative minds, the space is equipped with the latest industry-standard marketing and advertising software, designed to allow you to put the theory you have learnt in your lectures into practice, providing the opportunity to develop marketing campaigns, engage in blogging or the chance to try your hand at design, which could help bring your ideas to life.
- Coventry University was ranked 15th in the Guardian University Guide 2020 for ‘Business, Management and Marketing’
- Modules that engage with some of the key contemporary issues in digital marketing, such as online reputation and consumer relationship management in the digital age.
- Course content informed by research active staff, as well as by research produced by the Centre for Business in Society, in particular in their work looking at big data and data analytics
- Coventry Business School was ranked as ‘Excellent’ in 2018 by Eduniversal, a ranking of over 150 business schools worldwide
- A focus on employability, with two modules (depending on year of entry) dedicated to your own personal career development, as well as the support of the Faculty’s own Talent Team of employability and placement advisors.
- Study in our DigiComm Lab, a space designed specifically for the needs of students studying marketing related courses
The key study themes covered by this course are below;
- Digital marketing, advertising and social media theories – the course aims to develop your ability to apply and critically evaluate the theory and practice of digital marketing, advertising and social media domains.
- Tackling business challenges with digital marketing – the course will give you the opportunity to gain the appropriate analytical tools to investigate digital marketing and broader business challenges and develop appropriate solutions.
- The application of theories to modern international business – you will have the opportunity to become critically aware of, and understand, how contemporary digital marketing and marketing concepts and theories can be applied to modern international businesses.
- Understanding core pillars of marketing – through modules focused on consumer behaviour, marketing management and global marketing, you will have the chance to explore some of the key principles of marketing and how they have developed over time
- Enhancing personal skills – with modules focused on academic English and your own career development, upon successful completion, the course aims to develop you into a self-starting graduate with the ability to work with autonomy.
This course is available on a one year (entry to level 5) or two year (entry to level 6) full-time basis only. Your course will be taught through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, tutorials, self-directed study, computer-based workshops, and through the use of our DigiComm Lab. Coventry Business School’s Progress Coaches will also be available for advice throughout your time on the course.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which could vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods may include formal examinations, in class and/or online tests, coursework designed to focus on real world scenarios, group projects and presentations.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Analyse and critically appraise customers and stakeholders and their role within the International Digital Marketing Environment.
- Understand, critically evaluate and apply the principles and latest developments in the theory of international digital marketing.
- Identify and apply an appropriate depth of analysis and interpretation of data from relevant sources of marketing information and research techniques by using digital analytical tools.
- Synthesise and apply selected specialist sub-disciplines within digital marketing, advertising and management.
- Understand and apply creativity to design and evaluate ethical and sustainable solutions for an international range of digital marketing challenges.
- Critically evaluate and apply tools used in digital and social media marketing using appropriate software.
- Demonstrate a professional level of transferrable, practical and cognitive skills to address complex problems in response to different digital marketing challenges.
- Develop international and cross cultural perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of digital marketing, and apply management and operational plans to achieve digital marketing goals in these diverse contexts.
- Act as independent learners, communicate to an audience effectively in written, verbal or electronic format and demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and intercultural competence to work in an international team.
We set out below the typical teaching contact hours that you will receive on this course. Teaching contact hours will vary in different semesters and years of study. In addition to the contact hours below, we offer the opportunity to attend additional optional sessions, including sessions with the Faculty’s progress coaches, or to meet with staff during their advice and feedback hours.
Within your first and second year of study (if applicable), you will have around 12 contact hours of teaching a week. The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
In addition, you will be expected to undertake a significant amount of self-directed studying and revising in your own time each week, which may include, for example, guided study using hand-outs, online activities.
At Coventry Business School in 2018/19, over half of our students were from outside the UK and therefore you will have the opportunity to work in multinational teams during your studies, learn about your fellow students’ cultures and build networks of friends throughout the world, who could even become future contacts as and when you start your career.
In addition, given the nature of the digital marketing sector, which is considered highly interconnected at an international level, the majority of modules taught on this course seek to discuss topics from an international perspective, with current teaching staff on the course coming from a range of international backgrounds (please note that staff are subject to change)
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we were able to provide a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
international experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
Entry Requirements
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
This course may incur additional costs associated with any field trips, placements or work experience, study abroad opportunities or any other opportunity (whether required or optional), which could include (but is not limited to) travel, accommodation, activities and visas.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
The skills and attributes you should develop throughout this course should enable you to pursue future career options in the digital marketing sector, in roles within the marketing departments of major organisations, or within digital marketing agencies, or larger advertising agencies with digital departments. In addition, upon successful completion of this top-up course the knowledge and skills learnt through the marketing modules studied could allow you to start a future career in marketing management more generally.
With a module focused on entrepreneurship, upon successful completion, the course could also set you up with the skills needed to set up your own digital marketing consultancy or agency, advising firms on their digital marketing strategies and activities. Indeed, many digital professionals now operate their own business alongside working for an established company or agency.
If you choose to continue your studies, Coventry Business School offers a range of postgraduate courses in marketing, including Digital Marketing Management MSc, and International Marketing Management MSc, which could help you further develop skills covered in this course. Please note that further study opportunities are subject to competitive application, availability, meeting any applicable visa requirements and additional costs may apply.
Our Talent Team are on hand to offer advice, employment opportunities, CV/personal statement checks and placement advice, as well as hosting an annual Employment Fair, dedicated to students studying business and law courses.
Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. As well as the support available through the Talent Team in the Faculty, the University's Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career, including a regular series of employer events.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
