Marketing with Sustainability MSc



Our course brings together two activities of global significance and gives you the skills and knowledge to address these important issues.
For a career in the most exciting and dynamic of all the business disciplines

Overview

This programme combines two harmonising and essential fields of study: marketing and sustainability.

Marketing is the engine of global economic growth, but it has also been blamed for the rise in consumerism and the acceleration of pollution. For marketing to be practiced responsibly, an understanding of marketing’s relationship with sustainability and sustainable practices is required, and this degree provides a focused and dedicated understanding of the relationship between these crucial fields for the success of every business, on both a theoretical and practical level.

The MSc Marketing with Sustainability will give you the skills and knowledge to address these important issues of global significance. 

Woman smiling behind stacks of books

Mode of Study:

Full-time

 

Duration:

1 years

Start date:

SepJan

Course details

The MSc in Marketing with Sustainability is a single year of study over 12 months (for students starting in September), or 18 months (for students starting in January).

As a full-time student, you will study six taught specialist modules,  designed to provide you with in depth knowledge of sustainable marketing practice, plus an additional module in either ‘Research Methods’ or ‘Research Skills’, as well as our non-credit bearing module, ‘Skills for Success’, where you will learn business skills and etiquette, and essential computer literacy skills. 

Three bespoke modules linking marketing and sustainability will focus your expertise: ‘Sustainable Supply Chain Management’ allows you to learn about global distribution issues, ‘Marketing, Sustainability & Ethical Perspectives’ will develop your skills in debating important theoretical and practical points and sharpen your abilities as a critical thinker.

The module ‘Marketing for a Sustainable Future’ will lead you to a full understanding of how marketing can help businesses and consumers achieve their sustainability goals. In particular the module will consider the role of marketing in advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in relation to SDG 12, which seeks to promote sustainable consumption and production.

Option modules will allow you to decide which aspects of marketing you would like to focus on, such as Global Marketing, or Strategic Brand Management, and the Dissertation or Capstone Project, completed in your third trimester, will focus on a marketing and sustainability topic. This substantial piece of work will allow you to showcase your academic writing and research skills, and demonstrate expertise in an area of marketing and sustainability that will be of interest to future employers.

At Edinburgh Napier, we have a well-established international reputation in marketing research and education. As one of the graduates from this programme you will be well informed in the theory and practicalities of marketing and sustainability.

Programme Leader: Dr Elaine Mercer-Jones

 

 
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    How you’ll be taught

     A variety of learning, teaching and assessment methods are utilised. These include lectures, tutorials, workshops, presentations, reports, essays, debates and individual supervision. Key to the programme is the opportunity to complete either a Dissertation or the more practice-based Capstone Project, which provides the opportunity to reflect on how the knowledge and skills you have gained from the taught modules can be applied in practice. Our MSc in Marketing and Sustainability programme provides frequent emphasis of the importance of ‘practice’, with opportunities to apply your existing and new knowledge to sustainable marketing industry situations, and to personalise learning tasks. 
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    Assessments

     You will be assessed in the following ways:

    Presentations
    Debates
    Group presentations
    Reports
    Essays
    Closed Book Examination

Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

Entry requirements

What are the entry requirements for Marketing with Sustainability?

The entry requirements for this course is a Bachelor (Honours) Degree at a 2:2 or above. We look for applicants to have a background in any discipline in order to be eligible for the programme.

We may also consider lesser qualifications if you have sufficient professional work experience within the industry.

Can I get admission into Marketing with Sustainability based on my working experience in this sector?

This course has academic entry requirements which are assessed alongside relevant work experience. Full details of any relevant work experience, including references should be submitted with your application and may be considered for entry where the minimum academic entry requirements are below those required.

Usually, unrelated work experience is not considered sufficient for entry without meeting the minimum academic entry requirements. Please contact us with your specific circumstances by submitting an enquiry form above and we will be happy to discuss your options.

Can I make an appointment with an advisor to discuss further about the admission process?

If you want to get more information on the admission process, please get in touch with the Postgraduate admissions team by submitting an enquiry form above.

If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test and our minimum English language requirements will apply.

This may not apply if you have completed all your school qualifications in English, or your undergraduate degree was taught and examined in English (within two years of starting your postgraduate course). Check our country pages to find out if this applies to you.

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to our students.

Tuition fees
Students from 2024/25 2025/26
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland £7,280 £7,650
Overseas and EU £18,800 £19,750
Tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next. For more information on this and other tuition fee matters, please see our Fees and Funding links above.
The University offers a 20% discount on Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes to its alumni. The discount applies to all full-time, part-time and online programmes. The discount can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount. For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount. Please read our full T&C here
Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2021 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.


Careers

What career will open as a result of studying the MSc Marketing with Sustainability?

Marketing is the engine of global economic growth and with a Masters in a marketing discipline you can help any business, charity or NGO to be a leader in its field.

What will make me distinctive as a graduate from this programme?

For marketing to be practiced responsibly, an understanding of marketing’s relationship with sustainability and sustainable practices is a real benefit. Although our other MSc Marketing programmes emphasise the role marketing can play in contributing to a sustainable future, this degree provides a more focused and dedicated understanding of the relationship between marketing and sustainability on both a theoretical and practical level. By studying MSc Marketing with Sustainability you will benefit from the marketing group’s well-established and high-quality work in both fields. 

Three bespoke modules linking marketing and sustainability will focus your expertise: ‘Sustainable Supply Chain Management’ allows you to learn about global distribution issues, ‘Marketing, Sustainability & Ethical Perspectives’ will develop your skills in debating important theoretical and practical points and sharpen your abilities as a critical thinker.

The module ‘Marketing for a Sustainable Future’ will lead you to a full understanding of how marketing can help businesses and consumers achieve their sustainability goals. In particular the module will consider the role of marketing in advancing the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in relation to SDG 12, which seeks to promote sustainable consumption and production.

Option modules will allow you to decide which aspects of marketing you would like to focus on, such as Global Marketing, or Strategic Brand Management, and the Dissertation or Capstone Project, completed in your third trimester, will focus on a marketing and sustainability topic. This substantial piece of work will allow you to showcase your academic writing and research skills, and demonstrate expertise in an area of marketing and sustainability that will be of interest to future employers.

 
Graduate student smiling for the camera as he works on a laptop