Marketing (Management) Top-Up

• Top-up your existing HND or Diploma level qualifications to a full honours degree and enhance your career progression
• Combine essential skills and knowledge of marketing whilst developing managerial skills
• Placements, internships and hands-on projects for companies enable you to work on real marketing issues and develop your marketing skills

This top-up programme is designed to build on your existing marketing knowledge whilst helping you to develop managerial skills. It offers a direct route into management and marketing careers. In just one year of full-time study, you will have a highly regarded degree that will prepare you for management roles in marketing, communications and business development.

Accelerate your career progression

Designed specifically for students who have not taken a full degree course in marketing previously, it builds upon your existing marketing knowledge and skills, with a focus on management. We equip you with the skills, confidence and creativity to shape an organisation’s marketing strategy and help it develop a customer-led approach to business opportunities.

Build your networks

You’ll be invited to masterclasses and guest lectures delivered by influential thinkers, including Professor John Rudd and Dr Dave Chaffey. You’ll also benefit from our strong links with regional marketing and communication agencies to ensure that your learning is up to date and reflecting the real world. The programme includes real world case studies working with local organisations, visits to exhibitions trade fairs and companies, and guest speakers from industry. You can also extend your professional contacts through networking at showcase events such as our Marketing 2020 event.

Learn from expert academics

Our teaching team has extensive experience in marketing for a broad spectrum of organisations and an excellent network of contacts. The team is made up of industry experienced marketing specialists. They include influential researchers shedding new light on areas including customer behaviour and market sensing.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

We offer field trips to trade fairs, visits to exhibitions and we work on numerous live company projects to guarantee our courses are relevant and up to date with current market trends. There is also an opportunity to join a ‘student consultancy group' for those who wish to develop their skills and grow a professional portfolio.

You will be encouraged to be creative, whether you're creating eye-catching media, memorable slogans or designing mood boards to find new innovative ways to communicate with your audience. Some of your learning will be classroom based, sometimes you will want to use computer labs and at other times you may work in a studio.

You will learn to be adaptive in your communications to meet the needs of different consumers. Above all you will develop practical skills of marketing, alongside the sound theories and this process will be enhanced through work based learning such as projects and your Placement.

Our BA (Hons) Marketing Management (top-up) modules are assessed by coursework and a variety of assignments. 

Who you will meet

Dr Barbara Tomasella

Tracy Powell

Christine Harrop-Griffiths

Dr Charles Hancock

Lee Miller

Dr Alison Lawson

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

You need to have an HND or Foundation degree in a relevant subject.

You need at least five GCSEs (or equivalent) including Maths and English at grade 4/C or above.

When you apply, please send us a transcript of the modules you have already studied so that we can make sure that the HND or foundation degree is compatible with the top-up programme.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.0 (with at least 5.5 in each skills area)

2025/26

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

This qualification will offer you a direct route into management and marketing careers and will add momentum to your career development plans. Derby marketing graduates achieve excellent results and ultimately become high achievers destined for board positions or entrepreneurial wealth creators. You can take full advantage of the rapidly emerging career opportunities in marketing. You’ll also be well positioned for management level jobs.

You’ll be prepared for various roles such as Marketing Manager, Marketing Officer, Marketing Executive, PR Manager, Advertising Executive, Business Development Officer/Manager, Communications Manager, Marketing Analyst/Researcher, and Customer Insight Manager.

You could work in areas including advertising and the media, communications and public relations, sales, promotions and events management, market research, marketing management and operations.

On completion, you could go straight to a Master’s degree, which is just one more year of full-time study, and you’ll be eligible for an alumni fee discount as a University of Derby graduate.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.