Start or boost your marketing career with a Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing. With accelerated online courses, you can study part-time for a marketing qualification while you work full-time.
A Graduate Certificate in Marketing is a four-subject postgraduate course. Online classes contain a mix of people already working in marketing and those looking to break into the field. You can do a general course or specialise in digital marketing, in both cases at beginner or advanced levels.
Take a Virtual Step Forward
A marketing postgraduate course could represent an important step in your career. It really has the potential to open opportunities to new, interesting and well-paid lines of work.
Few people appreciate just how diverse and lucrative jobs are in the marketing field. Because marketing is crucial to business viability, demand for expertise is high across every industry. Marketing is also a sufficiently challenging and complex type of work that many niches exist, from writing content and creating ads through to crunching analytics and allocating campaign budgets.
Learning marketing requires formal education today more than ever before. Digital technologies are changing the landscape and you can't get by on instincts and workplace learning. Increasingly, the best, most sophisticated marketing professionals are university trained.
Graduate certificate courses are open to experienced professionals as well as people without a marketing background. In either case, a suitable course is available to learn the skills you need. The grad cert qualification is on a similar level to a degree and can be a foundation for further study.
Graduate Certificate in Marketing Online
A Graduate Certificate in Marketing online is a well-balanced, general course. As well as learning about digital marketing technologies, you build skills in areas such as pricing, consumer insights, marketing research, management and communications.
RMIT Graduate Certificate in Marketing
RMIT Online's Graduate Certificate in Marketing is a principles-based course that serves as a pathway to a masters degree. Students gain classic skills and knowledge, learning about consumer behaviour, marketing management, marketing research and communication strategy. Each of the 4 subjects takes just 7 weeks of 100% online study. The course is part-time and designed with working professionals in mind. After the graduate certificate, you can continue the program and go for a Master of Marketing. To gain entry, you should have a degree (any discipline) or 5 years of job experience.
Digital Marketing (Beginner)
If you don't come from a marketing background and want to learn about digital marketing, there is a graduate certificate course for you. A beginner-level course is appropriate if you haven't studied marketing before. You come away with sound working knowledge of the discipline. As well, you have an educational platform for advanced studies.
UTS Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Digital Strategy
The 100% online Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Digital Strategy gives you the foundational skills and knowledge to drive marketing strategies. This course is designed for those with a non-marketing background – such as journalism, content creation or retail management – who want to gain a foundational understanding of digital marketing concepts. Through this course, you’ll develop core marketing capabilities to become an adaptive marketing professional and prepare for the future of marketing. Upon completion of the graduate certificate, you will have the required marketing experience to qualify for entry to the Master of Digital Marketing.
Digital Marketing
For those with a strong interest in digital marketing, a graduate certificate is a great way to gain knowledge. Students learn how to take advantage of digital channels such as online search, social media, email marketing, company websites, display ads and blogging.
A digital marketing specialist course may be more technical than a regular marketing program but the field is relevant to almost every marketer. The courses cover online technologies and data metrics, along with customer experience, business strategy and marketing management.
UTS Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing
The 100% online Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing gives you the foundational skills and knowledge to be a strategic leader in marketing, regardless of your industry. This course is suitable for those with a background in marketing who want to upskill to be confident in data-driven marketing, and how technology shapes consumer behaviours and branding in a digital world. Upon completion of this course, you’ll have the opportunity to enrol into the Master of Digital Marketing, where you’ll develop the strategic, future-focused skills to lead in marketing teams and organisations.
RMIT Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing Leadership
The Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing Leadership from RMIT Online will help you harness the power of online marketing technologies. Students learn how to wrangle the multitude of platforms, apps, technologies and tools to produce positive, personalised customer experiences. As well, there is an emphasis automation, data connection and strategic partnerships. The 4-subject course takes 8 months of study, with each unit completed in a 7-week teaching block. Graduates come away with the ability to implement a well-organised and cost-effective marketing strategy.
What You'll Study (Course Structure)
The course structure reflects whether the program is meant to be introductory or for experienced marketers. As well, you can have a stronger emphasis on digital marketing topics for specialised courses.
Here are example subject lists. Enquire for detailed course descriptions.
The Graduate Certificate in Marketing from RMIT Online consists of these four subjects:
- Marketing Management
- Consumer Behaviour
- Marketing Communication Strategy
- Marketing Research
The Digital Marketing Leadership course consists of:
- Customer First Digital Marketing
- Consumer Analytics
- Marketing Technologies
- Leading Digital Transformation in Marketing
The UTS Online digital marketing graduate certificate is comprised of these four subjects:
- Digital Marketing Today
- Digital Customer Behaviour
- Data-Driven Marketing
- Branding in the Digital World
The 4-subject Marketing and Digital Strategy course consists of two core subjects and two electives:
- Customer Centric Marketing (core)
- Consumer Insights (core)
- Data-Driven Marketing (elective)
- Digital Customer Behaviour (elective)
- Digital Marketing Today (elective)
- Branding in the Digital World (elective)
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes depend on the specialisation and/or your choice of electives. With a well-rounded course, you should be able to achieve these kinds of competencies.
Consumer insight and analytics
Develop approaches to using marketing analytics to profile consumers, understand consumer behaviour, and optimise marketing efforts.
Digital marketing strategies
Design an online marketing strategy, accounting for organisational technology capability and characteristics of the product and target audience.
Marketing research
Develop and execute marketing research plans, including research project design, and data collection and sampling techniques.
Strategic marketing
Define strategic marketing objectives and apply meaningful performance indicators to shape and motivate marketing campaign activities.
Career Opportunities
You can use a marketing grad cert to upskill if you're a marketing professional already or to break into the field. In both cases, the course is also a platform for a graduate diploma or masters. Graduate certificates are flexible in terms of content and purpose.
The course will potentially open up career opportunities by giving you new, highly-relevant skills and knowledge, plus a university qualification. Demand for Advertising and Marketing Professionals is strong, with employment in Australia projected to expand by 11.4% to 89,000 over the 5 years to 2027.
Job titles in the marketing industry include marketing assistant, marketing manager, digital marketing manager, campaign manager, content creator, brand manager, and customer success manager.
Entry Requirements
The basic entry requirements for a postgraduate program are that you have a bachelor degree in any discipline. If you lack a degree, you may still be considered based on extensive professional experience.
For advanced digital marketing courses, you need a marketing or business background. You can show this using academic qualifications and/or professional experience.
Here are examples of course admission requirements. Enquire for further details.
RMIT Online
The entry requirement for the RMIT Online Graduate Certificate in Marketing is a bachelor degree or equivalent (or higher-level qualification) in any discipline.
You may also be considered if you have 5 years of relevant work experience.
UTS Online
Applicants for the UTS Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Digital Strategy must have a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent or higher qualification OR evidence of general and professional qualifications that demonstrate ability to complete postgraduate studies.
Applicants not meeting the academic requirement may still be considered based on having 4 years of relevant business-related work experience.
RMIT Online
Prospective students need either:
- an Australian bachelor degree or equivalent, or higher-level qualification, in any discipline AND two years of experience working in a marketing role; OR
- no qualification but 5 years of full-time experience working in a marketing role.
UTS Online
You must have at least one of the following:
- a bachelor degree in Marketing or a related business discipline such as Commerce or Management
- a bachelor degree and 2 years of full-time (or equivalent) relevant marketing work experience
- four years, or equivalent, relevant marketing work experience and the capacity for doing tertiary education.
RMIT Online
Tuition fees are $3,720 - $3,840 per subject in 2022.
Intakes are available in Jan, Mar, May, July, Aug, Oct.
UTS Online
Tuition fees for postgraduate marketing courses are $3,975 per subject in 2022.
Intakes occur in Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Oct.
FEE-HELP
FEE-HELP loans from the Australian Government are automatically available to eligible Australian students doing accredited postgraduate courses. They cover course fees and may be paid off gradually, with the rate depending on your annual taxable income.
Fully online courses are unavailable to international students in Australia on a student visa.
English language proficiency requirements apply for international student applicants lacking qualifications taught in English.
Is a Marketing Degree Worth It?
FAQs
Marketing can be a rewarding career choice for those interested in a high-growth field with outstanding prospects. It can be an excellent choice if you’re looking to build a career in a challenging and in-demand field. As Australia’s Labour Market Insights website reports, marketing roles enjoy “very strong” job growth.
Employers are constantly looking to recruit for entry and senior-level marketing positions. For instance, roughly 37% of companies plan to increase headcount in marketing, advertising, and direct promotion roles this year. As a result, marketing can be a great option to launch or further your professional career.
Those considering a marketing career will also be pleased to learn that the profession is extremely versatile. Gaining a degree in marketing can lead to a variety of high-paying and sought-after careers. Marketing professionals are typically equipped with a business-relevant skillset that finds application across multiple functions such as data analytics, sales, advertising, and business development.
Starting a career in marketing can also be financially rewarding. Marketing jobs are amongst the highest-paying positions tracked by the Bureau of Labour Statistics. According to recent data, marketing majors may earn between $50,000 to $208,000 in yearly salaries. Sales and marketing managers have some of the highest median annual wages, earning between $130,000 and $140,000 a year.
A marketing graduate certificate works both as a career booster and launcher. It's a specialised qualification that provides students who already hold a business degree with further learning in the field. However, a grad cert program may also be open to graduates from any discipline looking to shift careers, serving as an introduction to the field and a pathway to a master’s qualification.
The graduate certificate builds on the knowledge gained during a bachelor’s program through detailed instruction on marketing strategy, use of digital platforms, market research and consumer insights for example. Foundations courses are also available that suit non-marketing majors, with the program typically designed with a diverse audience in mind. A willingness to embrace principles and techniques will see newbie students from other disciplines catch up to speed.
A key benefit of the graduate certificate is the advanced skillset that it provides. Graduates gain a head start in understanding and applying specialist marketing skills compared to peers with only a bachelor’s degree. Such an advantage can be helpful when applying for entry and mid-level roles.
Options for further study
A graduate certificate could provide a great alternative for both marketing and other majors if you’re not ready to commit the time and money required to pursue a master’s in marketing or an MBA. Optionality is one of the key benefits of graduate certificates.
You’ll gain some of the knowledge you would learn in a master’s program, and you may be able to qualify for similar roles. Plus, if you eventually choose to get a master’s degree, you can likely apply the credits you earned in your graduate certificate program towards that or the in-between graduate diploma qualification.
Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that, while business graduate certificates present alternatives to an MBA, they're not equivalent to an MBA or other masters. A graduate certificate has a shorter program schedule, typically eight months, and may not be as comprehensive as a master’s degree.
A number of marketing specializations are attracting attention due to their high demand from businesses and popularity amongst students, amongst other factors.
Here are the top seven in-demand roles in the sector currently, according to the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI):
- Content management and strategy: With the explosion of new platforms from TikTok to YouTube Shorts, companies face a greater than ever demand for content. Therefore, the task of planning, crafting, launching, sharing, and monitoring that content has grown in significance and market need.
- VR development and editing: Virtual and augmented reality represent immense marketing opportunities for companies today, especially with the growing interest in the metaverse.
- SEO and SEM: Search engine marketing continues to be an indispensable part of internet marketing strategy, and anyone who can demonstrate expertise in this area may enjoy excellent career prospects.
- UX design: With the growing focus on user experience, UX designers are more sought after and better paid. According to PingPong research, the average yearly salary for UX designers is $97,000.
- Email marketing: Email remains one of the most effective marketing media available, and those who are technically proficient here continue to be valuable for most companies.
- Digital marketing management: There’s a constant market need for people to fill roles such as Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Marketing, and that demand won’t end soon, according to DMI.
- Analytics and AI: Lastly, data analytics and AI competence continue to present an attractive prospect for candidates. The AI market is expected to be worth $360 billion by 2028. Companies actively seek those who will help them gain a slice of that market.
Each of these niches presents its advantages, and professionals in those roles can expect to do valuable and rewarding work. However, which amounts to the best field will vary depending on each student’s career interests and unique skills.
Successful digital marketers exhibit a blend of technical and soft skills. For instance, they need to understand consumer behaviour and know how to plan and launch marketing strategies that resonate with audiences. They should also be accomplished communicators, creative problem solvers, and dedicated team players.
While you don’t necessarily have to excel in all the following areas, there are some key skills you’ll need in most marketing roles. Here’s a roundup of the core skills required.
Hard (technical) skills
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Digital marketing analytics
- Digital technologies
- Content marketing
- Social media marketing
- Pay Per Click (PPC) and social ads
- Email marketing
Soft (non-technical) skills
- Storytelling
- Creative problem solving
- Design
- Leadership
- Adaptability
- Communication
- Strategic planning
Google’s Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate teaches marketing and e-commerce fundamentals in a well-rounded free online course. The course equips students with in-demand marketing skills and provides a respected professional certificate from Google.
If you’re looking to start your track into a rewarding marketing career or skill up in your current role, you’ll find this certification valuable. You don’t need any experience to apply. Plus, it’s completely free. And with the course delivered 100% remotely, you can combine learning with your job while studying for less than 10 hours weekly.
In terms of quality instruction, there are few educational resources as valuable as Google. So, students can look forward to learning concepts and case studies backed by the immense authority that Google provides.
There are 26 modules in the course, made up of roughly 40 hours of instructional videos, check-in questions, and quizzes. Throughout the program, you’ll learn how to develop online marketing and e-commerce strategies, attract and engage with customers, measure marketing analytics, and help create a successful e-commerce store.
Professional certifications are a dependable way for digital marketers to remain current with the latest industry trends and tactics. But, with so many options available, it can be hard to determine which certification makes the most sense.
Here’s a list of leading certifications that are worth considering.
Kellogg Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing: The Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University offers this certification under its executive education program. As a result, it’s a great option for experienced professionals looking to take a career step forward.
DMI Digital Marketing Pro Certification: The Marketing Pro Certification is one of the most respected professional marketing programs worldwide. Additionally, the course, which is offered online, carries dual professional certification: Certified Digital Marketing Professional and PCM® Digital Marketing.
Duke University Digital Media & Marketing Certificate: (OMCP) Duke University offers a comprehensive certification delivered over 350 learning hours. While the course offers its own certificate, it’s also excellent preparation for the prestigious Online Marketing Certified Professional credential. Note that the OMCP credential is priced separately.
