Course details

Summary

Our continuous exposure to advertising and sales pitches leads us to believe that marketing activities begin only when goods or services have been produced. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Marketing is concerned with the analysis of customer needs and securing information needed to design and produce goods or services that match buyer expectations.

Strategic research methods, advertising and promotion, merchandising, sales, and management of products and services are utilised in the process, which applies to profit-oriented firms as well as not-for-profit organisations.

‌The Certificate in Commerce (CertCom) is an option if you want to add commerce content alongside your non-commerce degree, or do not want to study the full Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Qualification structure and duration

The certificate is made up of four standard courses (a minimum of 60 points) from any course in the Bachelor of Commerce Schedule C.

The CertCom can be completed in up to four years.

Credit from your completed courses can be transferred to the Bachelor of Commerce (and some other degrees), as long as you have not graduated with the certificate beforehand.

Students are encouraged to get involved in annual UC-wide competitions such as entré for young entrepreneurs and communities such as the UC Centre for Entrepreneurship. Students regularly enter and succeed in inter-university business challenges too. All these opportunities allow Marketing students to build their new product and service development, planning, project management and teamwork skills as well as gain real-world experience and make connections with businesses and the community.

Internships and company-related projects taken as part of your BCom count towards your degree and help enhance your résumé. Students have worked with a diverse range of organizations, such as Animates, Burgerfuel, Creatrix Ltd, Deep South Ice Cream, Golden Eagle Brewery, Harvey Cameron, Riccarton House, Top Hi-Fi and others.

Further study

The Certificate in Commerce is good preparation towards the full Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Recommended preparation

There are no formal requirements for those wishing to study Marketing. An interest in human behaviour and social sciences such as psychology, sociology, political science and education is advantageous.

Good communication skills, both written and interpersonal, are important. Those who have studied English-rich subjects eg, English, classics, media studies to an advanced level at school will benefit from the skills they have developed.

A sound understanding and previous study of statistics is also useful.

Career opportunities

The marketing and business skills acquired at UC are relevant globally. A Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing will open the door to an exciting, varied and fast-paced career in anything from advertising and promotion, brand management, product management, market research, retail management, marketing and communications, strategic marketing, direct marketing and sales and merchandising. Most of these jobs require a mix of quantitative, communication and interpersonal skills.

Marketing careers provide a lot of variety, since the roles and functions of marketers are constantly evolving as the business environment changes and a huge number of industries and organisation types the world over require marketers.

Graduates may enter the profession as marketing executives, officers, assistants or coordinators, with good graduates progressing to advisors, specialists and managers within a few years. Many marketing-trained staff end up in senior organisational roles of senior manager, director, chief officer, president or working independently as a consultant.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Certificate in Arts. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.