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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Philosophy in Marketing 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
86806  Master of Philosophy in Marketing 
ORIGINATOR
IMM Graduate School of Marketing (Pty) Ltd 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Marketing 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  SAQA 1141/23  2021-07-01  2024-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2025-06-30   2028-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:

The Master of Philosophy: Marketing is a research-based qualification. This qualification offers expertise in research skills, knowledge and competencies relevant to the marketing industry. The purpose of this qualification is to equip learners with the knowledge required to produce a full dissertation in a prescribed format, on a specialist topic, in the field of marketing, and in which innovative new findings and recommendations are reported.

Rationale:

There is a need for a specialist postgraduate qualification, such as Master of Philosophy: Marketing, which will allow learners who graduate with a Bachelor of Philosophy Honours: Marketing Management to progress to a specialist Masters qualification.

A 2008 survey conducted amongst 76 marketing companies and marketing divisions in corporate organisations has strongly indicated the need for a postgraduate qualification for learners who have already obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy Honours: Marketing Management or Bachelor of Commerce Honours: Marketing Management. In addition, consultation with professional organisations, such as the Institute of Directors (IOD), has voiced a strong consensus that there is a need for a specialist marketing research qualification. A second survey conducted on 252 employed learners in the marketing industry indicated that not all learners want to continue with a generalist Master of Business Administration. Instead, approximately 20% of learners are keen to obtain a Master's in a specialist topic, with many indicating a need for additional learning in marketing research, as they are often required to draft strategic marketing plans that depend greatly on marketing research data. The Master of Philosophy: Marketing addresses these needs. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Learners accessing this qualification should be able to:
  • Demonstrate their ability to read, analyse and reflect on study material and relevant literature on a postgraduate level (NQF Level 8).
  • Communicate effectively using academic English in written and oral form.
  • Manage own study programme and time effectively.
  • Make managerial decisions in the context of the marketing management profession by utilising acquired applied competence in a marketing management context.

    Recognition of Prior Learning:

    This qualification can be achieved in part through recognition of relevant prior learning and experience in accordance with the policies of IMM GSM. Admission can also be obtained through Recognition Prior Learning.

    Access to the Qualification:

    Admission to the Master of Philosophy is open to learners who have any of the following qualifications:
  • Bachelor of Commerce Honours with Marketing Management and Research Methodology at NQF Level 8.
  • Bachelor of Philosophy Honours with Marketing Management and Research Methodology at NQF Level 8.
  • Four-year Bachelor of Business Administration with Marketing Management and Research Methodology at NQF Level 8.
  • Four-year Bachelor of Technology with Marketing Management and Research Methodology at NQF Level 8.
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours: Marketing Communication with Marketing Management and Marketing Communication as majors and the following modules: Economics 1 and 2, Accounting A and B, Statistics, Business Management 1, 2 and 3.

    Learners who do not meet the minimum admission requirements can apply for admission through Recognition of Prior Learning. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    Learners must complete an advanced research project culminating in the production and acceptance of a dissertation. 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Demonstrate specialist knowledge of marketing intelligence to enable engagement with and critique of current marketing research and practice.

    2. Design, select and apply appropriate and creative methods and techniques to engage with advanced marketing theory and investigate complex marketing problems.

    3. Design and implement a strategy for processing and managing information in order to conduct a comprehensive view of leading and current research in the area of marketing to produce significant insights.

    4. Use a wide range of specialised skills in identifying, conceptualising, designing and applying quantitative and qualitative market research methods and implement an appropriate process of enquiry for the area of study.

    5. Use resources of academic and professional discourse to communicate and defend ideas and products of research in an area of specialisation.

    6. Demonstrate advanced scholarship and research and use a range of advanced and specialised skills and marketing discourses to communicate to a range of audiences.

    7. Apply ethics in marketing research and understand the implications of complex ethical issues in gathering marketing intelligence and in implementing marketing strategies.

    8. Demonstrate specialist knowledge of advanced marketing research techniques to supervise implement and assist with marketing research projects.

    9. Lead and/or initiate processes and implement systems in a marketing division or company.

    Critical Cross-Field Outcomes:

    All the critical cross-Field outcomes are addressed in this qualification. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Understand marketing theory and its application within an organisation.
  • Use a range of advanced skills to gather data on marketing intelligence.
  • Critique management theories and their relation to marketing within the organisation.
  • Integrate marketing research results with decision-making processes.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Apply research methodologies and techniques to marketing and related fields of management to identify a complex marketing problem.
  • Understand and apply consequences of solutions and insights and formulate research questions and hypotheses.
  • Identify, conceptualise, design and implement an appropriate research design to investigate a marketing problem.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Investigate information sources to identify literature relevant to the research question.
  • Conduct a review of leading research to form a theoretical framework within which a complex marketing problem can be explored.
  • Use a range of advanced and specialised skills to critically engage with relevant research and write an integrated literature review.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Evaluate current processes of knowledge production and theories of research design, research approaches, data sources and data types in the marketing research environment.
  • Understand, apply and produce an appropriate research design in order to address a complex marketing problem.
  • Engage with and critique current marketing research methods and practices and select and implement an appropriate method or combination of methods to address a marketing problem.
  • Understand and apply different techniques to collect and analyse marketing information.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:
  • Use advanced research, analytical and writing techniques to defend ideas in an area of specialisation.
  • Analyse and present information on a specialist topic in a prescribed format.
  • Compile and produce a full dissertation in which innovative findings and recommendations are reported.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:
  • Prepare and submit research articles suitable for publication in national and international marketing and management journals.
  • Prepare and produce conference papers to be read at national and international conferences.
  • Prepare and deliver presentations for relevant conferences.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:
  • Identify, understand and apply ethical aspects of marketing research and other ethical issue in the marketing field.
  • Critically contribute to the development of ethical standards within an organisation, with special reference to marketing.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8:
  • Make informed decisions based on qualitative and quantitative research.
  • Identify research projects within the marketing environment.
  • Design and assist with marketing research projects.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 9:
  • Apply marketing dynamics within the organisation.
  • Transfer theoretical knowledge from a research project to problems within an organisation. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The Master of Philosophy: Marketing (M Phil Marketing) compares very favourably with qualifications offered in Pakistan and the United Kingdom. The duration and modules of the qualifications from these countries are comparable to this qualification.

    The University of Isra in Pakistan offers a Master of Philosophy specialising in Marketing, Finances or Management.
    The modules for a learners specialising in Marketing are:
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Industrial Marketing
  • International Marketing and Export Management
  • Marketing Communications
  • Marketing Research
  • E- Marketing
  • Personal Selling

    The University of Liverpool Management School in the United Kingdom is committed to the pursuit of original, high quality research. The university offers a Master of Philosophy in Marketing and Services Management, where learners may choose a research topic from those indicated below.
  • Cultural marketing
  • Contemporary cultures of communication
  • Marketing of books
  • Profiling the music festival consumer
  • Retail and tourism marketing and management
  • The consumer experience

    The Master of Philosophy: Marketing compares favourably with the qualifications cited above. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Horizontal Articulation:

    This qualification articulates horizontally with Masters' qualifications in any cognate field.

    Vertical Articulation:

    This qualification articulates vertically with a Doctor of Commerce: Marketing Management, a Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Marketing Communication or a Doctor of Technology: Marketing. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    As this is a Master's by Dissertation, learners must submit a research proposal that must be successfully defended at a meeting of the Research Committee. After the proposal has been approved by the Committee, the learner is allowed to conduct the research under the supervision of a senior academic supervisor. The supervisor must submit progress reports about the learner until the dissertation has been completed.

    On submission of the dissertation, a learner must also produce a research article for submission to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, as well as a conference paper to be read at a scientific conference.

    It is finally required of the learner to defend his/her dissertation in a research forum arranged by the Research Committee. On successful completion thereof, the dissertation will be submitted to two independent senior academic examiners.

    Anyone examining a student against this qualification must have an NQF Level 9 qualification and at least three years' relevant experience in the industry and/or as an assessor. 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2012; 2015. 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. IMM Graduate School of Marketing (Pty) Ltd 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.