Earn Your Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications
Your Ascent to the C-Suite Starts Here
Find your place at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Our Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Professional program is designed for aspiring marketing executives who want to expand their knowledge, skills and capabilities to evolve into marketing powerhouses. Students enrolled in this program are not looking for your average marketing master’s program—they seek to be challenged and grow into future CMOs and VPs.
The IMC Professional program accommodates working professionals. This comprehensive program can be completed via live online courses with optional on-person experiences over two or more years. Medill’s approach goes beyond teaching isolated marketing tactics. We equip students with a strategic mindset to develop and implement cohesive IMC strategies that align with organizational goals. Our faculty includes both distinguished academics and industry practitioners who bring real-world experience directly to your virtual classroom.
Claim your place in Northwestern’s storied history and rise to new heights.
Build Your Career On Our Reputation for Excellence
Medill’s IMC Professional program was the first of its kind in the U.S. Experience 104 years of academic excellence at a university ranked #6 Best National University by U.S. News & World Report.1 Gain immediate access to a powerful network of Medill alumni who hold influential marketing positions across various industries.
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Are you a working professional looking to take your career to the next level?
Earn your master’s live online with the option for on-site experiences through Northwestern University. Our MS in Integrated Marketing Communications Professional program, offered through the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, helps you build your expertise in consumer understanding through a rigorous and immersive curriculum.
Complete the form to download a program brochure for more information on the IMC Professional program.
What Is IMC?
Integrated marketing communications (noun):
a marketing approach that aims to coordinate and align all communication instruments, channels and messages of an organization to ensure good customer relations.
The Medill MS in Integrated Marketing Communications Professional program at Northwestern University was created by marketers, for marketers. Our deep marketplace knowledge, backed by the latest insights and data, will help you make strategic decisions and adapt to an industry that seems to evolve every week. In collaboration with a diverse professional cohort, you will become adept at creating innovative marketing communications strategies and engaging consumers in the digital age.
Our Integrated Marketing Communications Professional program draws from the first-hand, real-world experiences of world-renowned scholars, executives and industry authorities who make up our faculty. Their unique customer-centric approach turns the tables on traditional marketing and shows you how to balance qualitative and quantitative data to achieve your goals. With a solid foundation from which to work, you’ll start to reach audiences in the right way, at the right time, with the right messages to drive powerful results.
Medill Means Excellence
Since 1991, Medill has been producing marketing trailblazers who pioneer and transform marketing across industries. Our students leverage their IMC education to overcome challenges, seize opportunities, and emerge as leaders in their fields. Meet just a few of our outstanding graduates:
Chris Laskowski, IMC24 — From Manager to Marketing Leader
Min Bae, IMC23 — Elevating Hospitality Through Strategic Marketing
Tifair Hamed, IMC23 — Purposeful Marketing Leadership
Power your organization and your career with IMC. What are you waiting for?
What Can You Do With an Integrated Marketing Communications Degree?
The Medill IMC Professional program helps you fill leadership skills gaps and equips you with deep knowledge to drive high-level transformation and success that molds you into a future marketing executive.
Medill IMC graduates excel in positions such as:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Vice President of Marketing
- Global Brand Director
- Director of Consumer Insights
- Senior Product Marketing Director
- Customer Marketing Director
- Communications Director
- Marketing Analytics Leader
- Social Media Director
Medill IMC alumni and faculty have made their name in marketing leadership with these innovative companies:
Medill Advantages
Join a Global Network of Marketing Innovators
This network provides invaluable opportunities for mentorship, collaboration and career advancement. Medill IMC alumni regularly engage with current students through guest lectures, networking events and career panels, offering insights into industry trends and opening doors to new opportunities.
Meet Our Alumni
Learn From Forward-Thinking Faculty
Our faculty include former C-suite executives and senior leaders with Deloitte, McDonald’s, Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, and other global companies; authors in world-renowned publications such as the International Journal of Advertising and The Wall Street Journal; and the creators of leading research centers including the Medill Spiegel Research Center and the Retail Analytics Council.
Get to Know Our Faculty
Choose a Curriculum Built for Today’s Marketing Challenges
- Data-driven decision-making that balances quantitative insights with qualitative understanding
- Strategic brand positioning across multiple platforms and touchpoints
- Digital marketing ecosystems including social media, search and emerging channels
- Consumer behavior analysis and audience segmentation
- Creating cohesive brand experiences across the customer journey
Why Choose Medill’s Online Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications?
Medill pioneered Integrated Marketing Communications. The IMC approach was named and codified by Don Schultz, one of the most cited marketing communications thought-leaders in the world. Commonly referred to as the “father of IMC,” Schultz joined the Medill faculty in 1977 and later became department chair and associate dean.
When Schultz began his work at Northwestern University, his descriptions of IMC were an entirely new philosophy for the time: look at the whole of marketing communications, rather than concentrating on each of the parts separately. Schultz dedicated much of his career to IMC research and implementation, including publishing the first textbook dedicated to the subject in 1993 and the first graduate-level integrated marketing program in the U.S.2,3
Since we launched the world’s first master’s in integrated marketing communications program in 1991, Medill has become synonymous with marketing excellence and innovation. As the training ground for some of the world’s best storytellers, we provide in-depth, unsurpassed education that’s as strong as our reputation.
Now, IMC strategies are standard for marketing organizations, agencies and the academic community and the Medill IMC Professional program continues to pave the way in research, theory and practice.
Christopher I., IMC22 — Marketing Director, The Heico Companies LLC
Online Learning, Real World Impact
Our format is designed for working marketing professionals who must balance career advancement with existing commitments—manage going to school while working full time. The program consists of live online weekly courses that give students real-time engagement and a traditional classroom experience:
- Live Online Sessions: Participate in real-time discussions and collaborative projects with faculty and peers through interactive video conferencing
- Optional Immersive Experiences: Choose to participate in immersive in-person courses in various cities, including Chicago, New York and San Francisco, and global destinations
- Collaborative Projects: Work with peers on real-world marketing challenges, building both skills and professional relationships
The program can be completed in two years or at your own pace while you maintain a full-time career. Courses are typically scheduled in the evening to accommodate the demanding schedules of working professionals.
Many students report implementing strategies from their coursework in their organizations within days of learning them. This immediate application not only reinforces learning but often leads to tangible career advancement before graduation.
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- Retrieved on November 21, 2024, from usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities
- Retrieved on November 21, 2024, tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1300/J057v01n01_07
- Retrieved on November 21, 2024, from taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780080878294/strategic-integrated-marketing-communications-larry-percy