International Marketing & Brand Management - Master's Programme
MSc in Business and Economics, major in Business Administration | 1 year | 60 credits
The Master’s programme in International Marketing and Brand Management prepares you for a career in marketing, strategy, brand and product management, sales and marketing research in organisations varying from multinational corporations to small and medium sized enterprises and NGO’s.
- Description
- Specialisation tracks
- Case studies and guest speakers
- International Master Class
- Course Content
- Testimonials
- Career opportunities
Description
This programme allows you to develop advanced-level academic expertise in international marketing and brand management. We provide you with the theory, concepts and skills to operate, build strong brands and successfully market products and services across a range of dynamic and competitive international environments. You will train your ability to analyse societal shifts, trends and their interplay with consumption and brands, and gain skills that are essential for companies to be able to develop new innovations that raise profits and ideally improve sustainability as well.
The programme features a wide range of electives and value-added features, including high-quality industry collaboration, skills-based teaching, research excellence, and real-life learning based on industry projects.
Our students are truly international with representations from all parts of the world, which further enhances the learning experience. The programme is one of Sweden’s most popular MSc degree programme.
The programme is designed to increase your ability to solve complex problems and strengthen your decision-making skills. Teaching methods include case studies, seminars, presentations, team work, problem-solving exercises, and hands-on real-life business projects. The teaching methods are designed to facilitate integration of the theoretical and practical aspects of the programme and to encourage interaction among students. All modules require a high level of student participation in class.
Specialisation tracks
The programme is organised into two different tracks. When applying for the programme, you also select which track you are specialising in, depending on your ambitions and interests.
In addition to the track unique courses you will be provided with the opportunity to tailor your degree via elective courses in for example, marketing intelligence, corporate reputation management, marketing and social media, and retail management. Throughout the programme you will get a significant run through of dissertation skills, covering all aspects of a successful submission of your master’s thesis.
This track aims at introducing, explaining and applying central theories in business administration, especially with an international focus and an emphasis on marketing and branding. The track mainly discusses different areas from a management perspective. An ambition is to provide students with an academic perspective as well as an understanding of how challenges are approached from a practitioner point of view based upon theoretical models and constructs.
The track starts by introducing basic models and theories within the central areas of the international marketing and brand management. That is followed by a mandatory course on multichannel marketing, retail and internationalisation. In parallel, students choose one of two electives; either a course on sustainability and marketing ethics, or a course on on-line marketing, brands and consumers. The spring semester starts with a mandatory general course in research methods. Students also elect one of two courses on research methodology (qualitative or quantitative) and one additional elective dependant on career interests and courses available. As a final part of the track, students will conduct their own research and demonstrate their ability to independently apply the different ideas and theories introduced by the different courses. This will result in a degree project of ten weeks.
This track provides students with breadth and depth in central areas of the subject matters of global consumer culture evolution, brands and innovation. To reach this overall objective, the theoretical concepts, models and tools will be related to real and complex problems in organizations in order to train the students in applying advanced theory to real-life business challenges in branding and innovation.
This track starts by introducing theories within the subject matter of the evolution of consumer culture and brands, followed by a course on models and tools for innovation. That is followed by a mandatory course on the value of brands in a consumption society. In parallel, students choose one of two electives; either a course on sustainability and marketing ethics, or a course on on-line marketing, brands and consumers. The spring semester starts with a mandatory general course in research methods. Students also elect one of two courses on research methodology (qualitative or quantitative) and one additional elective dependant on career interests and courses available. As a final part of the track, students will conduct their own research and demonstrate their ability to independently apply the different ideas and theories introduced by the different courses. This will result in a degree project of ten weeks.
Case studies and guest speakers
The teaching methods used focus on the critical analysis of the course content with the use of real case studies wherever possible. International guest lecturers and speakers from business, government, NGOs and research regularly feature as part of the curriculum to further connect studies to the professional world.
International Master Class
Students with exceptional study results during the first semester at this programme, may compete for seats at the International Master Class programme. An International Master Class is a highly competitive opportunity to go on an exchange semester after finishing your Master’s studies at LUSEM.
Apply here
International Marketing & Brand Management – Master's Programme
(lunduniversity.lu.se)
Application period:
Mid-October to mid-January
International Marketing & Brand Management - Master's Programme
Requirements
You must also submit a CV and a statement of purpose when you apply to this programme.
Instructions for supporting documents for application to Master's programmes
Tuition Fees
Contact
Master coordinator Business Administration
master [at] fek [dot] lu [dot] se
The initial fifteen weeks of the programme are organised into two tracks. When applying to this programme, you must also select which track you want to follow, either a more management-oriented perspective or a perspective that puts an emphasis on consumer and cultural aspects. In addition, you will be able to choose courses that will give you the type of specialisation that you prefer within the broader area of international marketing and brand management.
This is a preliminary course list, and is intended as guidance only. The course list may be subject to change.
Autumn semester (September - October)
Strategies for Brands and International Markets (track 1)
This course focuses upon the various strategic aspects that are relevant for international marketing. It aims to provide the student with both a theoretical and a practical insight into the dynamics of the international marketing process.
The objective of the course is to make students familiar with the main areas, constructs and theoretical models within the broad subject of international marketing and strategy, and to provide them with a general understanding of the different challenges that companies operating on international markets have to manage.
The course also includes guest lecturers with practitioners that are intended to give the students an increased insight into how companies work with their international marketing strategy. The course includes individual assignments as well as a group assignment.
Course code: BUSN20 | Download syllabus
Strategic Brand Management is a broad subject which touches upon many different scientific disciplines, for instance intellectual property right, strategy, marketing, organization, finance, semiotics, sociology and psychology. This gives excellent opportunities for scientific cross-fertilization.
Brands are intangible assets, assets that provide benefits to business and society. This is the domain of Strategic Brand Management: how to create value with proper management.
Course code: BUSN21 | Download syllabus
International Consumer Trends, Brands and Innovation (track 2)
This is a course which takes the student on a challenging and intellectual journey through the modern history of consumption and production, into the present, and even into possible futures. The purpose of the course is to provide broad understanding of what has created the consumer trends we live by today and how what is happening today may form new trends tomorrow.
Necessary for this is a step away from mainstream business management literature, into relevant sociological, cultural and anthropological literature on historical changes and present phenomena in consumer culture.
Course code: BUSO30 | Download syllabus
The course covers an area increasingly important to many companies, not least international and global companies namely the link between consumer studies and innovation. Being able to increase innovation on the market is of greatest importance to many companies, not least those working on consumer markets.
While internationalisation and decreasing loyalty drive margins down, there is a need to increase margins by being able to innovate. One important input into innovation processes is consumer studies and as the media situation is changing, consumer studies means more now than the traditional input via surveys etc.
New media and new methods have increased the number of ways to create and get access to relevant consumer input to drive the innovation process. The course intends to enhance students’ ability to create consumer input as well as to understand how this input can be turned into valuable innovation in terms of products, services, business models etc.
Course code: BUSO31 | Download syllabus
Autumn semester (November - January)
Strategies for Brands and International Markets (track 1)
The objective of the course is to introduce students to Retail management. The retail sector is the dynamic, multifaceted and highly competitive part of our economy from which some of the world’s leading firms originate, and it is also where production meets daily consumption. Today, the retail landscape is changing fast and the development of innovative business models create new conditions and challenges for the retail manager. The course aims at providing an overview and analysis of the development and current themes within the field of retail management, with particular focus on multichannel marketing and internationalization.
Course code: BUSP36 | Download syllabus
International Consumer Trends, Brands and Innovation (track 2)
Brands are today ascribed with great value. However they are valuable for different reasons and for different actors. For companies brands are considered as the most valuable asset, enabling them to compete successfully on global markets. For consumers brands simplify choice, they offer them identity value, social value, and the value of long-term relationships. This course offers a multifaceted understanding of the value of brands and branding. The aim of the course is to provide the students with advanced knowledge of the value of brands, by treating brands and branding from various perspectives; including a brand management, a consumer, and a critical perspective.
Course code: BUSN33 | Download syllabus
All students choose one of the following two elective courses:
- Sustainability and Marketing Ethics (7,5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSP35 | Download syllabus
- AI-Driven Digital Marketing (7,5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSO23 |
Spring semester (January - March)
This is a course that aims to advance students’ philosophical, critical, and analytical understanding of fundamental concepts academic research leans upon, and ultimately be able to master this conceptual understanding in order to initiate their own research strategy and knowledge generation.
Among the most important concepts are the following included:
- Theory
- Theoretical Contribution
- Problematisation
- Positioning
Course code: BUSP37 | Download syllabus
All students choose one of the following method courses (elective course one):
- Qualitative Research Methods (5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSR31 | Download syllabus
- Quantitative Research Methods and Data Science (5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSR37 | Download syllabus
All students choose one of the following method courses (elective course two):
- Understanding Consumption (5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSN26 | Download syllabus
- Corporate Brand Management and Reputation (5 ECTS) – Course code: BUSN35 | Download syllabus
- AI-assisted market intelligence (5 ETCS) – Course code: BUSN24 |
Spring semester (April - June)
The students work independently, in smaller groups with designing and conducting their own study and on presenting their study in the form of a final written master thesis. This includes to search for and to select relevant literature on the appropriate theoretical area as well as on research methodology, and to collect relevant empirical data through field studies and documentary research. The students are also expected to read and discuss the work of other students that attend the same course.
Course code: BUSN39 | Download syllabus
The workload is high, therefore being able to manage your time effectively is very important. The main emphasis on each course is largely on group-assignments, this is predominantly where students are able to get hands on experience, either divulging into an interesting research topic, or to tackle a company problem. In some courses, we had the ability to work with large international companies such as IKEA, and in others we worked with smaller, yet highly innovative companies.
– Sarah Featherstone (UK)
The programme also invites different types of marketing practitioners to give guest lectures and share real-life cases, industrial trends, or career insights.
– Felicia Sandberg
International opportunities
Lund is just the starting point. Explore the world during your studies.
Career opportunities
Graduates from this programme can seek positions in international firms within marketing, strategy, brand and product management, sales and marketing research. You will be able to help businesses gain insight by providing them with trend analysis, consumer and marketing research, business intelligence, scenario planning, strategy and innovation.
The School's close ties to the international business community and extensive network of corporate partners ensure practical relevance and gives your career a head start. Graduates have found employment at internationally leading businesses all over the world at, for example, SAS, L'Oreal and Ikea.
Programme requirements & documents
International Marketing & Brand Management - Master's Programme
Requirements
You must also submit a CV and a statement of purpose when you apply to this programme.
Instructions for supporting documents for application to Master's programmes