Start dates: January 2025 / September 2025 / January 2026 / September 2026

Full time: 1 year or 2 years in sandwich mode which includes one year's full-time paid supervised work experience (a work placement).

Part time: MSc: 24 months for UK and EU students (teaching normally structured to provide one whole day or two half days each week in the semester)

Location: Headington

Department(s): Oxford Brookes Business School

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Overview

When a customer buys a prestige car, designer handbag or even a bottle of fine wine, they expect it to be an experience. Working in luxury marketing, your challenge will be to promote brands on different channels to maintain reputation, communicate heritage and build trust.

This area is glamorous and innovative. Luxury brands are often the first to test out new technology, such as augmented reality, to connect with their target audience and make a statement. We’ll also challenge you to consider the sustainability of innovations, looking at their longevity and quality.

We’ve spent time building relationships with luxury brands in the local area and beyond. We often partner with designer outlet Bicester Village and the grand country house Blenheim Palace. Past students have also visited experts at Porsche UK.

When you graduate, you won’t be confined to in-house marketing roles. You’ll also be the perfect fit for agencies specialising in the luxury marketplace. Your expertise in responsible marketing will help you make your mark and take the lead with sustainability in mind.  

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Specialise in luxury

    We’re one of a handful of universities with a course that focuses on challenges faced by luxury brands worldwide.

  • Marketing and Social Media Lab

    Work on real-world marketing projects. Develop the skills that employers are looking for and become confident using industry software such as Brandwatch, Sprout Social and Adobe Creative Cloud.

  • Theory meets action

     You’ll apply your expertise to real business environments in a luxury context, working on live projects and helping clients develop their strategy.

  • Responsible marketing focus 

    Our graduates become leaders who are aware of global issues and who make a conscious effort to have a positive impact.

  • Inspiring guest speakers 

    We invite experts from leading brands into the lecture theatre. Past companies include Amazon, Lego, Forrester Research, and Meta.

  • Accreditation(s)

    Chartered Institute of Marketing, Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing

    • Chartered Institute of Marketing
    • Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing

Course details

Course structure

We’ll introduce you to responsible marketing and key principles, including evaluating situations from financial, commercial, and cultural perspectives. 

You’ll explore practical case studies and real-life scenarios to develop decision-making skills. The programme applies insights from behavioural science to understand customer behaviour and the impact of marketing activities, while also investigating future change agents like climate change and emerging technology.

You’ll focus on luxury marketing, prioritising excellent customer experiences, quality, and trust, alongside strategic and operational business activities. Sustainability is embedded throughout the curriculum, ensuring graduates understand the environmental impact of the sector and how to foster positive change. The Professional Development for Marketers module offers personalised reflection and action-planning, helping you align career goals with skills development.

Note: part-time students must attend immersive sessions for two weeks mid-semester in Autumn and Spring.

Students in lecture

Learning and teaching

You'll strengthen your practical analysis and decision-making skills with:

  • lectures
  • discussions
  • role-play exercises.

These are linked with selected case studies and assessments.

Structured authentic immersive learning experiences will develop your skills in working as part of a team. If you're a Part time student the immersive learning experiences require daily attendance for two weeks mid-semester in both semesters.

Live research projects for an organisation allow you to gain practical experience. And to put your knowledge of events marketing approaches and theories into practice.

You'll benefit from the insight of the teaching staff at the Business School. They are engaged in academic research or come from an industry background with in-depth practical experience of marketing management issues.

You’ll take part in leading edge discussions and specialist events with input from visiting speakers from the world of business, consultancies and research bodies.
 

Assessment

You will be provided with a draft assessment schedule at the beginning of your programme. And you’ll receive a confirmed assessment schedule at the beginning of each semester.

We use a range of assessment methods which aim to develop workplace specific competencies including:

  • reports and presentations
  • portfolios
  • reflective statements
  • open briefs that encourage individual creativity.

You will improve your assessment technique and develop your confidence, through completing coursework.

Field Trips

The International Business in Practice Study Trip module allows you to experience ideas and practices of global business. During the trip you will have direct interaction with management executives and practices. You will: attend presentations from local management executives and experts and go on site visits to major corporations and agencies. This study trip is voluntary and you will need to fund all costs associated with the trip. It is not linked to university assessments in any way.

If you successfully complete this non-credit bearing module, it will be recorded on your transcript as International Business in Practice: Study Trip.

Where possible we incorporate field trips within the specialist luxury modules to help students engage with the luxury marketing in practice.

Start this course in January or September

You can start this course in January if a September start doesn't suit you or is not currently offered for this course.

If you start in January you will study a range of modules between January and May. During the summer months of June, July and August you will study further modules and begin work on your dissertation. Between September and December you will complete your final modules and focus on your dissertation.

Study modules

Be industry ready when you graduate

By undertaking an optional work placement you can gain valuable and relevant industry experience and develop transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, networking and problem solving. A work placement can help you decide on your long-term career objectives and may lead to a job offer after graduation (would require visa sponsorship for international students).

The WAVES (Work and Voluntary Experience Service) or Careers Office will provide you with support and advice to get ahead in your career, and help you with your CV and applications. The team has access to a wide range of small, medium and large employers that offer postgraduate student work placements.

If you wish to pursue a placement at a particular company, our WAVES team can support you in making an approach to the company. Our Careers Office can also provide you with advice on how to use professional social media channels to pitch yourself to prospective employers.
 

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

  • Digital and Social Media Marketing Strategy

    Digital technologies have transformed marketing, they offer new sources of customer insight, they have dramatically changed customer behaviour, enabled new business models and impacted how organisations interact with their customers and key stakeholders. This module aims to take a strategic perspective of the digital and social media environment. It focuses on the interaction between consumers, businesses and other organisations and how thinking digitally can assist in effective marketing. Web based media, mobile platforms, social media and digital tools are reviewed, practised and critically evaluated to identify successful performance and to create contemporary digital marketing strategies.
  • Responsible Marketing in a Global World

    This module introduces the key principles of responsible marketing by studying the theories that underpin ‘Better Marketing for a Better World’ which works towards achieving the UN Sustainability Goals. The module will explore the marketing environment including the changing needs of customers, and how brands make choices about the marketing mix to meet those needs in a long-term sustainable way. This includes the ways in which marketers plan, manage and implement marketing programmes in the context of the international interconnected global environment of the twenty first century.

  • Sustainable Customer Behaviour

    You will critically appraise the behaviours of customers and their interactions with marketing. Informed by behavioural science, you will analyse why customers behave as they do and how marketing activity influences their behaviours. This analysis informs your critical understanding and implementation of both strategic and responsible marketing practice. An innovative dimension of this course is the investigation of change agents that will significantly influence the behaviours of customers in the future, for example neuroscience, climate change and technology innovation. This is an analytical module that utilises research evidence to inform evaluation, behavioural and communications research.

  • Research Methods for Marketers

    This module delivers the skills that enable you to conduct marketing research independently. Students on the MSc programmes are expected to undertake effective research drawing upon a range of secondary and primary data sources in the preparation of coursework. It is important that you are exposed to a range of methodological issues, data collection techniques and study skills. In addition, this Research Methods module is geared towards the preparation for, and successful completion of, high quality, rigorous and systematic research for business and management.

  • Professional and Academic Development

    This professional and academic skills development module helps you to become a lifelong learner and enhances your employability. Starting with a focus on how to achieve your best academically, you will then develop your skills for employment and career planning. You will work through a self-development plan, taking the lead in your own learning and development. You will be coached in identifying, engaging in and reflecting on how you can gain from developmental activities within the university and externally.

  • Sustainable Global Marketing Strategy

    You will build on the Responsible Marketing module, and explore the global marketing environment. There is a particular emphasis on internationalisation and the creation and development of global markets. You will understand the principles, influences, and institutions affecting the development of international trade and global marketing strategies. You will analyse opportunities and constraints in the context of global marketing strategy, and the associated organisational and control issues associated with the development of global markets. This includes an appreciation of the importance of ethical and social issues.

  • Marketing Luxury in a Sustainable World

    As one of the fast-recovering sectors in the post-pandemic period, the future of luxury is promising with a few significant changes taking place in global markets.

    Luxury brands are unique in many perspectives, for instance, offering consumers a high-quality product or service, engaging with the emotional benefits of prestige and exclusivity. In a new era of sustainability, it is critical to understand how the concept of luxury takes shape and continues to develop by adopting fresh ideas such as circular economy, substitute material and green consumption.

    This module introduces luxury from a perspective of both theory and practice on luxury goods and services, such as jewellery, fashion, tourism, and prestige cars and explores a range of luxury marketing areas, including concepts, principles, heritage, people and sustainability in luxury.
     

  • Managing the luxury experience in an era of sustainability

    Managing the experience of luxury goods and services is critical to the sustained success of luxury brands. Gen Z and Millennials are set to represent more than 60% of the luxury market around 2025. Younger consumers bring both opportunities and challenges to luxury brands worldwide. Besides the characteristics of luxury goods and services, digital natives value authenticity, integrity, and sustainability in terms of luxury purchase and consumption. It is important to understand how to deliver an excellent customer experience among luxury consumers in a dynamic environment and working with a range of target consumers.  

    This module introduces core principles of luxury experience management across different channels, linking operations management to core strategic activities with the aim of delivering a seamless luxury experience.
     

  • Enterprise Work Placement

    You'll expand your enterprise skills in the context of the workplace. The focus will be on building your intrapreneurial mindsets during your placement, helping you to develop the curiosity, creativity, vision and resilience to be successful in a variety of organisations. You'll draw on the OBBS Golden Thread and Brookes attributes embedded within your degree, for you to be a change agent on your placement, so you drive innovation in one or more of the following areas: ethical business behaviour, inclusivity, responsible management, sustainability, digitalisation and internationalisation. Drawing on your research skills you'll propose evidence based innovative solutions to your placement organisations’ challenges.

Optional modules

International Business in Practice: Study Trip

The purpose of this elective study trip is to give postgraduate students a hands-on, intensive experience with the ideas and practices of global business. Students will meet with leaders of global firms, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour company facilities. Students will have direct interaction with management executives and practices through site visits to major corporations and agencies. This study trip is voluntary and all costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. It is not linked to university assessments in any way. If you successfully complete this module you will have it recorded on your transcript. As the destination and therefore precise costs vary from year to year, the programme fee of the study trip will be communicated to students well before the application deadline.

Academic English for Postgraduate Research

You'll develop the academic writing knowledge and skills required when undertaking postgraduate level research in a business context.

You'll focus on research writing skills relevant to a range of texts, particularly on 

  • research articles 
  • business research reports
  • case studies
  • critical reviews
  • and dissertations.

It is particularly suitable for those of you who are postgraduate students of business with limited experience in a UKHEI.

Academic English for Postgraduate Studies

You'll develop the academic writing and reading knowledge and skills required when undertaking postgraduate level study in a business context. You'l focus on skills relevant to a range of texts, including 
  • business research articles 
  • case studies
  • essays 
  • and critical reviews. 
It is designed to help you develop the academic literacy communication skills required on other modules across programmes.

It is particularly suitable for those of you who are postgraduate students of business who have had little or no previous academic English training or study experience.

Final project - choose one of:

Compulsory modules

  • Research Project for Marketers

    This module provides an opportunity for students to undertake a substantial independent marketing research project by applying and extending the study, knowledge and practical skills gained in other modules. It allows students to demonstrate a wide range of skills such as research, critical thinking, project planning, problem-solving and writing/presentation skills. Students are able to choose from four different research project options, so they have the opportunity to explore in detail an area of particular interest or relevance. These options are; Dissertation, Client Project, Group Consultancy (places limited) and Synoptic Enquiry.

Optional Work Placement year

Optional modules

Marketing Work Placement

This module is a great opportunity to gain one year’s supervised full time paid work experience in the UK or internationally in a marketing role. You will investigate a marketing challenge in a commercial or non-profit organisation. Throughout this placement, you apply the practical concepts you are learning on the course. When you are working for the organisation, you will be responsible for managing a large proportion of your own learning, including tracking and recording your progress.

We provide lots of support to help you find a paid work experience and gain connections with various organisations. Our placements team (WAVES) has a database which records work placement opportunities and they run numerous placements fairs where you could meet potential employers. Securing a work experience placement is your responsibility and does take a lot of effort, but this gives you valuable experience. You would need to cover your own living and travel costs throughout this duration.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Research

Studying for your MSc in a Marketing specialism at Oxford Brookes Business School offers you a first class experience to engage with our excellent researchers. They investigate core challenges facing contemporary societies, ranging from sustainable  marketing and to pro-environmental behaviour in a changing world. We also have expertise in Coaching and Mentoring (leadership development) and Diversity (gender, ethnicity, class) and are keen to include students into our projects where possible. Please visit our research pages to learn about our three research centres: The Centre for Business, Society and Global Challenges; The Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice and the International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies (Research in the Oxford Brookes Business School). Being a master student offers great opportunities to be part of research culture and to discuss your own research ideas with us.

 

Two researchers in a meeting

Careers

Marketing at Oxford Brookes University has strong relationships with companies in a range of industries. These relationships inform the course design and delivery and provide opportunities for placements and employment.

By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to work in luxury marketing roles in sectors such as jewellery, fashion, tourism, fine wine, spirits, and prestige cars.

Our marketing graduates work across the world in media, digital, brand and communications agencies, as well as in-house marketing management positions. Employers include Johnson & Johnson, Hitachi, DK, Avis, and PWC. Some of our students even go on to start their own companies.

Our graduates have secured roles in marketing including:

  • marketing managers
  • marketing planners
  • brand managers
  • corporate communication managers 
  • social media community managers.

Related courses

Entry requirements

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£11,350

Home (UK) part time
£5,675

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,100

International full time
£17,650

International sandwich (placement)
£2,100

Home (UK) full time
£11,350

Home (UK) part time
£5,675

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,200

International full time
£18,950

International sandwich (placement)
£2,200

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£11,350

Home (UK) part time
£5,675

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,100

International full time
£17,650

International sandwich (placement)
£2,100

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£11,350

Home (UK) part time
£5,675

Home (UK) sandwich (placement)
£2,200

International full time
£18,950

International sandwich (placement)
£2,200

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

The full-time fees quoted are for the taught Year 1. Fees will be charged for the placement year in Year 2 and are available on request from finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk. For approximate fee levels of the placement year see the placement fee above.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.