An Online Marketing Degree From an Established Leader
We were the first online IMC master’s program in the country, and we are proud of
the program we have built. Since our start in 2003,
we’ve been honing our program to respond not only to student
needs, but to the needs of the market. While the program is
online, its rigor is held to the standards befitting West Virginia
University’s R1 research standing. Go ahead, check us out.
You’ll always find WVU’s IMC program listed among the
best in the country.
Completely online. Completely flexible.
You need 10 courses (that’s 30 credits) to earn your Master of
Science in IMC. But, how, where and when you do it is completely
up to you. There are zero in-person commitments. Schedule multiple
courses at a time to finish quickly, or spread them out
to balance school with work and family. Need to take a semester
off for a big work project or a new baby? No problem! It's
your degree, on your time.
Customizable.
There are more than 25 electives to choose from. What’s your
passion? What do you need to fill a void at your company? Be
the expert in digital and social media, or creativity, or healthcare
with our
specializations. Take courses in diversity, sports marketing
or entrepreneurship for course electives. The options are constantly
expanding to keep up with industry demands.
Practitioner faculty.
Our faculty are the best in the industry. They are professionals
from the nation’s capital, the Big Apple and Silicon Valley.
They take their daily professional life and bring the real IMC
world into your virtual classroom. They’re more than instructors
– they’re mentors, and well-connected members of your new network.
Unbeatable value.
At WVU, you get a lot of bang for your buck — a world-class program
taught by leading experts. Tuition is the same regardless of
where you live, and the flexible programming allows you to
take courses at a pace your budget and calendar can handle.
As with any investment, the question is - what’s the return?
In a recent survey of our graduates, 41% have received more
than 25% salary increases since earning their IMC degree. Now
that’s ROI.
Our 1,500+ alumni, current students and faculty hold elite
positions at companies all over the world. We have a saying,
“Once a Mountaineer, Always a Mountaineer.” Mountaineers
like nothing more than helping fellow alumni and soon-to-be
alumni, so the support system starts on day-one and continues
as long as you let it. Leverage the power of the Mountaineer
network!
Meet Amanda Beck, class of 2017. Amanda is now Marketing
Communications Manager at Texas Association of School Boards.
Amanda's favorite part of the program was the applicable
curriculum. "I enjoyed taking challenges from work and applying
the practices from each course to address them. Although
it was challenging to complete, the campaigns course was
the best example of this. I selected a client in the industry
I had previously worked—and had an interest—and really enjoyed
going through the process to build a campaign that would
be viable in the real world."
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a strategic, collaborative,
and promotional business function through which a targeted
audience senses consistent, persuasive, and reinforcing brand
messaging.
As a discipline, IMC attempts to unify all pieces of marketing
communications, including advertising, public relations, direct
marketing, social media, and sales promotion. Integrated Marketing
Communications adopts a human-centered approach where messaging
caters to an audience and is consistent across all channels.
What makes IMC different from general communications?
General Communications
In the broadest sense, to study communications means to study
the craft of delivering a message in an effective way.It’s
the “marriage of theory and application;” it’s a “wide ranging
generalist path that can be tailored to work in a variety of
specific industries.” Similarly, advanced communications-related
degrees — like a Master of Arts in Communication Studies, Mass
Communications, Journalism, orPublic Relations degrees — tend
to be more broad and general in subject matter.
IMC
When you study integrated marketing communications, you learn
how to align marketing activities to ensure a constant flow
of information to consumers from a variety of media. As technology
continues to advance and as digital media becomes increasingly
important, companies must be able to leverage those mediums
to create effective and consistent marketing and messaging
that connects the consumer to their brand. As a graduate of
an IMC program, you not only would excel at marketing communications,
but would also be able to analyze data and manage strategic
project planning.
IMC Curriculum
UP-TO-DATE COURSE CONTENT
The WVU IMC program is always evolving to meet the needs of professionals in our
dynamic industry. You will gain practical and experiential
knowledge of every aspect of IMC from advertising to social
media to PR to creative strategy and beyond. The curriculum
consists of 1 introduction course, 3 core courses, 2 specialty
courses, 3 elective courses, and 1 capstone. The curriculum
is structured so that students can attend full-time or part-time.
ADD A SPECIALIZATION
West Virginia University’s Integrated Marketing Communications
graduate degree program allows students to specialize with
an Area of Emphasis (AOE). These specializations broaden
your knowledge base, making you more competitive in the job
market. Included on your transcript once you graduate, the
AOE you choose demonstrates your expertise in that specific
area of specialization. Each specialization adds 3 credits
and $2,460 to the degree. Specializations include: creative
strategy, data marketing communications, digital and social
media, healthcare communication, higher education marketing and
public relations leadership.
There are
393 students currently enrolled in WVU's M.S. in Integrated
Marketing Communications program. They represent a wide spectrum of age
groups, years of professional experience, locations and undergraduate
disciplines. There are about 20 students in each IMC course - we keep
classes small to allow for more personal engagement with faculty and
one-on-one interaction with classmates.
IMC Careers
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER AND INCREASE YOUR SALARY
We understand your end-game and we take it seriously. While there are a
lot of reasons WVU's IMC program is one of the best in the country, the
ultimate sign of success is the success of our graduates. In a 2018 survey,
98.2% of graduates said they would recommend the WVU IMC program to a
friend or colleague.
Here's why:
Salary increases after graduating
increases of more than 25%
41.1%
15%-25%
17.3%
5%-14.9%
24.4%
less than 5%
17.3%
IMC Specializations
Specialize and Gain a Competitive Advantage
These paths offer industry demanded academic focuses to
broaden your knowledge base and be more competitive in the job market.
WVU Areas of Emphasis give you the ability to develop specific areas
of expertise. Add expertise to fill a knowledge gap in your company or
to move into an area of marketing in which you’re interested. Each AOE
consists of four 3-credit courses, three of which can be applied as electives.
The final 3 credits are additional to your degree requirements. So an
IMC Degree with a specialization requires 11 courses, 33 credits, and
adds $2,460 to the total cost of the degree.
Areas of Emphasis
Creative Strategy
The Creative Strategy specialization prepares students for careers
that focus on the creative aspects of integrated marketing
communications planning and execution. Whether you love content
creation, visual art or both, the Creative Strategy specialization
helps you develop the skills needed to deliver great content
to a variety of consumers.
You should select Creative Strategy if you’re interested in:
The Data Marketing Communications specialization is perfect for
students who want to use available data as part of a greater
integrated marketing communications strategy. You will use
a data-driven approach to bridge the gap between communicators
and data scientists and you'll be equipped to implement and
refine strategic marketing communications activities.
You should select Data Marketing Communications if you’re
interested in:
Marketing from a data-driven perspective
Learning the basic principles of media and digital analytics
Understanding customer analysis, profiling and targeting
The Digital and Social Media specialization gives IMC students
the tools they need for future careers using digital and social
media as part of a greater integrated marketing communications
strategy. From social media best practices to search engine
optimization, from web metrics to developing a broader digital
ad strategy, this AOE equips students with the skills needed
to thrive as digital and social media specialists.
You should select Digital and Social Media if you’re interested
in:
Developing digital and social media strategies
Evaluating ROI for digital and social media marketing plans
Understanding the digital consumer
Grasping the deep connection between storytelling and marketing
Optimizing content for SEO and utilizing web analytics
The Healthcare Communication specialization prepares IMC students
for data-minded careers within the healthcare industry. An
ever-changing and competitive industry, the healthcare field
needs effective communicators to develop healthcare communication
campaigns using integrated marketing strategies.
You should select Healthcare Communication if you’re interested
in:
Understanding the legal and ethical issues in healthcare communications
Exploring the role of content in the modern healthcare industry
Developing a cause marketing campaign strategy
Website and social media marketing for the healthcare industry
Emerging technologies in healthcare such as virtual reality
The Higher Education Marketing specialization prepares IMC students
to pursue careers utilizing integrated marketing communications
strategies for student recruitment and institutional branding
initiatives. This specialization equips students with the skills
and knowledge needed to develop strong integrated marketing
communications campaigns that are rooted in data and analysis.
You should select Higher Education Marketing if you’re interested
in:
Marketing content and strategies for higher education
The Management Area of Emphasis offered within the IMC graduate
program exists as an alternative to the traditional MBA by
focusing on leadership and business administration within the
marketing communications industry. Students learn how to motivate
and manage their team to produce effective integrated and data-driven
marketing strategies. By sharpening both management and communication
skills, professionals who specialize in Management graduate
from the IMC program ready to transform the communication processes
of any organization for the better.
You should select Management if you’re interested in:
Developing leadership and management skills
Ethics and legal issues relevant to marketing managers
Negotiation and position bargaining
Information and technology management
Management Courses:
BADM 622: Financial Statement Analysis
BADM 623: Strategy
BADM 644: Legal Environment and Ethics
ILR 543: Negotiation Strategy
Public Relations Leadership
The Public Relations Leadership specialization teaches the skills
that IMC graduate students need in order to lead a company's
public relations department or to run their own PR firm. Students
are exposed to coursework that provides practical knowledge,
data-minded analysis and hands-on experience in both client-
and agency-related public relations.
You should select Public Relations Leadership if you’re
interested in:
When you submit a request, we will send you a viewbook and our contact information
via email. We’re happy to answer any questions you have as you consider your graduate
education options.
Wondering whether you should send us your information? We get it, sometimes filling
out forms on the internet results in overwhelming phone calls and email.
We want to be completely up front with who we are and what we'll do with your data.
Learn More.
Marketing and communications during a crisis demand flexibility and adaptability.
For the West Virginia University Foundation, that was never more apparent than
during the height of COVID-19. The Foundation’s IMC team of 4 had to quickly
put together two campaigns in less than a month to help raise emergency funding
for students hurt by the pandemic. Learn how this small staff was able to create
two compelling campaigns while working remotely and amidst other job responsibilities.
Find out what worked and what didn’t, and how under budget constraints, powerful
messages were delivered to move donors to donate more than a half-million dollars
in one day.
Integrate Online: Career Boost - Building Your Portfolio Site
In a competitive market, job seekers need to seek ways to showcase their personal
brand and professional skills to stand out. For those in the marketing communications
field, the creation of a digital portfolio can be a great way to bundle relevant
project samples and convey relevant experience. This special Integrate Online session
will showcase different digital portfolio platforms, how to use them and best practices
for selecting projects to showcase.
Student Highlight: Spotlight on Digital Portfolios
Marketing communications professionals and students produce a lot of content throughout
their careers, for both coursework and clients. Having a place to host and organize
all of this content can aid in job interviews, award applications and the ability
to quickly refer to past projects for creative inspiration.
Digital and Social Media
The Digital and Social Media specialization gives IMC students the tools they need for future careers using digital and social media as part of a greater integrated marketing communications strategy. From social media best practices to search engine optimization, from web metrics to developing a broader digital ad strategy, this AOE equips students with the skills needed to thrive as digital and social media specialists.
You should select Digital and Social Media if you’re interested in:
Digital and Social Media Courses: