BBA in Marketing

Why pursue a business marketing bachelor's degree at North Central College?

The unusual breadth and depth of our bachelor of marketing degree program mean you can spend your North Central years either focusing on a single aspect of marketing or exploring its many facets and specializations to develop the marketing skills needed to become a successful marketer. Whatever business major you choose, we know you won’t master the field by simply reading about it. That’s why we enrich each marketing class with real-world projects, like creating marketing campaigns and looking at marketing analytics to conduct research for partner business professionals within the Chicago area community.

We encourage all students enrolled in our business marketing degree program to put their skills to the test by joining the American Marketing Association (AMA). Each undergraduate student in our marketing program must get hands-on experience, and learn critical thinking, marketing strategy, and problem-solving skills before obtaining their bachelor's degree. They will then receive the proper higher education they need to advance in different marketing career opportunities when it’s time to find employment.

You can also:

• Learn from full-time faculty members with firsthand knowledge of best practices in marketing.
• Apply marketing best practices by working with local companies conducting market research and marketing analytics.
• Apply to our award-winning AMA case competition team and compete for the opportunity to present your marketing plan to corporate executives.
• Find competitive internships and job opportunities through faculty and alumni networks or through our Career Development Center.
• Simulate trades and access thousands of proprietary reports and data screens in the Bloomberg Finance Lab, where 10 workstations are equipped with the Bloomberg Terminal software, the iconic dual monitors, and Bloomberg’s unique keyboards. You can also choose to become “Bloomberg certified” by completing a series of modules that cover economic theory, economic indicators, currencies, fixed income vehicles, options, equities, and more.
• Obtain your Google Ads certification— professional accreditation that Google offers to individuals who demonstrate proficiency in basic and advanced aspects of Google Ads. A Google Ads certification allows you to demonstrate that Google recognizes you as an expert in online advertising.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!