A Course in Marketing

You're at a certain stage in your career. The job is fine. The salary is alright. But you know that, to make progress, to get that promotion, you need a qualification. Or, you need to upgrade the one you already have.

Going back to college fulltime is not an option. But how about part-time? How about enrolling on a Marketing Institute course?

The Marketing Institute is the professional body for marketers in Ireland. Institute qualifications are widely recognized by the business community as the qualifications they want their employees to have. They are relevant, and respond to the needs of the market.

This year, one of the courses on offer is a one-year Certificate in Marketing Skills. This is designed for those who may have gone straight into a retail or service job from school, and are now in need of a qualification.

However, if you are looking for a longer course, then one option is the Graduateship, a professional qualification that enjoys primary degree-equivalence for the purpose of postgraduate courses in UCD, DCU and Trinity College. It is a four-year course of study, although you may be able to get exemptions for other courses that you have completed. If you think this may apply to you, then send in a copy of your college transcript to the Institute and they will let you know at what level you will enter the course.

After two years, the Foundation Certificate in Marketing is awarded; after a further year, the award is the Diploma in Marketing; the fourth year leads to the Graduateship. This is the professional qualification which confers graduate membership of the Institute with the designation MMII Grad.

The Graduateship is available by distance learning, so neither geographical location nor your working hours need impede your progress. All the materials, including the textbooks, are sent out, on a modular basis at six-week intervals. Saturday morning tutorials are held four times during the academic year. In addition, tutors are available by telephone and by email throughout the year to offer advice, solve problems, or generally help to keep you motivated.

Full-time courses cater for the needs of school leavers at Senior College Dun Laoghaire, the Graduateship is also offered part-time (two nights a week, for three hours each night) at a number of Institutes of Technology. Graduateship examinations take place in May and August.