The State of Digital Marketing in Academia: An Examination of Marketing Curriculum’s Response to Digital Disruption

Recent advances in technology have affected nearly every facet of marketing. However, less is known about the degree to which marketing education has responded to shifting capabilities and practices. To this end, the current research conducts a systematic analysis of all 529 domestic AACSB undergraduate marketing programs to understand how digital marketing courses have been incorporated into marketing program curricula. We find a broad range of digital marketing courses adopted in a majority of business schools, and that adoption varies by institution type. We find that digital marketing courses, especially analytics, are becoming requirements for marketing degrees with many schools creating opportunities to specialize. Informed by these findings, we propose a framework of stages for marketing programs to adopt a digital marketing orientation. Collectively, this research is designed to provide a comprehensive look at the current state of digital marketing in the marketing education landscape