Championships aren’t won alone. It takes a team to take a title.
Likewise, a team effort landed the Eli Broad College of Business Masters in Marketing Research (MSMR) program a #1 ranking ahead of all of its marketing research peers in North America, as ranked by Eduniversal’s Best Masters in Marketing Ranking for 2018.
“The success of the MSU MSMR program has truly been a team effort,” said Richard Spreng, associate professor of marketing and MSMR academic director. “Our faculty have been very engaged, we have a spectacular advisory board, and we have been able to recruit great students.”
“The two key differentiators, however, would be our program director, Jessica Richards, and our exceptional advisory board. Jessica provides superb administration of the program and really cares about the success of each student,” Spreng said. “Our board was instrumental in the original design and continues to provide guidance on how the industry is changing … so our program changes along with it.”
Echoing the team effort credit, Richards added: “Our students, faculty, and board members who are from both the U.S. and abroad contribute and collaborate as a highly effective team, resulting in this outstanding ranking. This success is absolutely the result of teamwork at its finest.”
The Broad College MSMR was also ranked #13 in North America overall among all master’s marketing programs in general, and well ahead of most other programs specifically focused on marketing research, including those from the University of Wisconsin-Madison MBA in Marketing Research (#21 overall), and the University of Georgia MMR program (#35).
“From the program’s inception, the goal was to create not just great researchers, but great future leaders in the marketing research and insights space,” said Michael Brereton, program executive in residence and former CEO of Maritz Research. “So I think the program is differentiated in that regard; through internships, in-market projects, and constant exposure to industry executive guest lecturers, the students develop solid skills in managing research but also develop points of view on the future direction of our dramatically transforming industry.”
Eduniversal reviews nearly all marketing programs that exist in North America, and the review process is highly extensive, taking nearly a year to complete. The ranking incorporated feedback directly from current MSU students and also reviewed many categories including the high quality of MSU’s academics and placement results.
The MSMR program’s rapid ascent has impressed Sharon Sheremet, global market research director for General Motors, who also serves as the MSMR advisory board vice-chair.
“In a short time, they have successfully created a program that prepares graduates to hit the ground running in the fast-changing field of marketing research,” Sheremet said. “The team members we’ve hired have been a great add to our staff – not only are they skilled in the tools of market research, but they are also proactive, innovative, and highly engaged team members.”
The advisory board includes members representing corporate heavyweights such as Amway, Discover, Fiat Chrysler, HP, J.D. Power, Kellogg’s, Lowe’s, Microsoft, the National Football League, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Walmart, among others.
“It helps to start with a great university, such as MSU … but what made this happen is the high quality of the program leadership, professors, and students. They created the reputation of this program,” said Morpace president and CEO and MSMR board member Duncan Lawrence (MBA Marketing ’85).
The Broad College MSMR is a specialized program that provides a graduate-level degree for people who want to build or accelerate their careers in marketing research. The MSMR is available both in full-time and online formats.
