M.Sc. in Business | Major Marketing

From the Origins of Marketing to Its Future
Welcome to the M.Sc. in Business │ Major Marketing at the Marketing Center Münster (MCM)

This is where mifarketing became an academic discipline in Germany — and where we continue to shape its future. At the MCM, marketing is not simply a business function. We understand it as a market-oriented leadership concept: a way to think, decide, innovate, and create value in dynamic markets.

Our program combines academic excellence, practical relevance, and exceptional flexibility. You can tailor your curriculum to your interests, connect with leading companies and international partners, and become part of a powerful career network.

We prepare you not just to enter the business world, but to help shape it. Explore the accreditations, rankings, and career opportunities that reflect the quality, ambition, and international orientation of our program.

#2
IN GERMANY
DAX Board Member Report
2nd place for the most DAX board members among German universities.
#5
IN GERMANY
Research.com - Best Business & Management Universities in Germany 26
5th place among Germany's top researchers in Business & Management.
#6
IN GERMANY
Academic Ranking of World Universities („Shanghai-Ranking“)
6th place in a leading university ranking, reflecting strong academic & scientific performance.
✦  AACSB & AQAS Accredited
✪  First Chair of Marketing in Germany

Why Münster? The Four Pillars of Your Success - Grounded in a Vibrant Student City

Wondering what you will take away from this master’s program? At the MCM, your experience is built on four pillars — each shaping a different part of your academic, personal, and professional development.

 


Tailor Your Curriculum to Your Career Goals
The MSc in Business │ Major Marketing at Münster University is designed for you to shape: the Marketing major anchors your expertise, your minor broadens your perspective, and your electives let you explore the topics that excite you most.
Major Modules
 
 
 
Mandatory Modules
12 ECTS
Market-oriented Leadership · Advanced Market Research
Electives
30 ECTS
5 free choice courses
(out of a much larger number of offerings)
Seminars
24 ECTS
Choose two seminars according to your preferences
Minor Modules
24 ECTS
Choose from
Accounting · Economics · Entrepreneurship · Finance · Information Systems · Management · Research
Total: 120 ECTS · Including a 30 ECTS Master's Thesis
Still picturing how this fits together? Watch the short video below for a quick walkthrough of how Major, Minor and electives build your degree.

Build Your Marketing Master Around Your Goals

Shape your Marketing Master at the University of Münster around your goals. Combine lectures and seminars with student initiatives, professional network activities, and international case competitions, among other things. Here are a few examples of how students can craft their personal curricula based on career interests and topic preferences.
Consulting icon Consulting

Structured problem-solving for pricing, positioning and market-entry decisions.

Course recommendations
  • Market-oriented Leadership by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel
  • Pricing by Prof. Dr. Sonja Gensler & Anett Erdmann
  • AI-Driven Marketing Analytics by Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann
Initiatives & networks
  • Uni Münster Case Club: case training and peer coaching (student initiative)
  • Circle of Excellence in Marketing: exclusive MCM practice program
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.: graduate network and mentoring
Recurring event

John Molson Case Competition — internal selection each autumn for the international competition in Montreal.

John Molson Case Competition
Brand Management icon Brand Management
Course recommendations
  • Brand Management by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau
  • Consumer Behavior by Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft
  • Entertainment Media Marketing by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau
Initiatives & networks
  • MTP Marketing between Theory & Practice (student initiative)
  • Circle of Excellence in Marketing
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.
Recurring event

Business Contacts careers fair — annual faculty fair after Pentecost with companies from digital, tech and e-commerce.

Business Contacts careers fair
Business and Market Strategy icon Business & Market Strategy
Course recommendations
  • Sales Management by Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft
  • AI-Driven Marketing Analytics by Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann
  • Service Marketing in the Digital Age by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau & Prof. Dr. Werner Kunz
Initiatives & networks
  • move e.V.: student consultancy in Münster (student initiative)
  • Circle of Excellence MCM
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.
Recurring event

University of Münster Case Challenge — international teams solve real strategy cases each October.

University of Münster Case Challenge
Innovation Media and Tech icon Innovation, Media & Tech
Course recommendations
  • The Digital Transformation Playbook by Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hohenberg
  • Innovation Management by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel
  • Entertainment Media Marketing by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau
Initiatives & networks
  • Symposium Oeconomicum Münster e.V. (student initiative)
  • Circle of Excellence MCM
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.
Recurring event

Symposium Oeconomicum Münster — annual student-run economics congress with research talks and a careers fair.

Symposium Oeconomicum
Entrepreneurship icon Entrepreneurship
Course recommendations
  • Innovation Management by Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel
  • Applied Business Simulation Mentoring by Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft
  • Customer Relationship Management and Direct Marketing by Dr. Claudio Felten
Initiatives & networks
  • REACH EUREGIO Start-up Center
  • Circle of Excellence in Marketing
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.
Recurring event

Startup Contacts Venture Club Münster e.V. — annual startup fair with startups, workshops and founder matching.

Startup Contacts
Marketing Analytics icon Marketing Analytics
Course recommendations
  • AI-Driven Marketing Analytics by Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann
  • Consumer Behavior by Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft
  • Customer Relationship Management and Direct Marketing by Dr. Claudio Felten
Initiatives & networks
  • MTP Marketing between Theory & Practice (student initiative)
  • Circle of Excellence in Marketing
  • Marketing Alumni Münster e.V.
Recurring event

Münsteraner Marketing Symposium — Annual marketing conference at Schloss Münster, organized with MCM: 2026 edition focuses on AI- and analytics-driven transformation in marketing.

Münsteraner Marketing Symposium
And more: These six areas are starting points, not boundaries. Combine modules across focus areas to match your own interests and career goals.

 
Academic Excellence – in the Classroom & Beyond

At the Marketing Center Münster, academic excellence meets current marketing practice. Our professors stand for distinctive research, international visibility and teaching that combines analytical depth with real management challenges.

Meet some of the professors who bring the curriculum of the MSc in Business │ Major Marketing at Münster University to life by teaching lectures and seminars – and who shape the state of marketing knowledge through their research.

Apl. Prof. Dr. Sonja Gensler

Apl. Prof. Dr. Sonja Gensler

Prof. Dr. Sonja Gensler is apl. Professor of Marketing at the MCM's Institute for Value-Based Marketing. A highly cited global authority on digital marketing, she explores how marketing can advance sustainable consumption and positive societal change.

Her research has appeared in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Marketing and the International Journal of Research in Marketing. Prof. Gensler was Co-editor in Chief of the Journal of Interactive Marketing and was honored with best paper awards. Sustainability is central to her research on responsible consumption, artificial intelligence, and public policy, helping organizations and consumers make better decisions. In the Sustainability Lab with KPMG, students address real-world challenges. Her teaching excellence was recognized with the School's Best Teaching Award for courses in the Master's curriculum.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

Market-oriented Leadership
Advanced Marketing Research
MSc Seminar DoIT! Generative AI and Consumer Decision-Making

and many more ...

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hennig-Thurau holds the Chair for Marketing & Media Research and serves as the MCM's spokesperson. Ranked among the world's top 2% most-cited scholars and 52nd among marketing scientists, his research spans seminal work on electronic word of mouth and studies of value creation in virtual worlds at the MCM's XRLab.

It has generated over 44,000 citations and includes eight articles in the Journal of Marketing, along with numerous articles in other high-tier outlets. He connects research with executive practice: he spearheaded the Digitalization Think with Roland Berger, collaborates with companies, and co-authored Entertainment Science, a book accessed two million times. Featured in the Financial Times and New York Times, his blend of academic rigor and practical relevance enriches the Master's classroom.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

Brand Management
Entertainment Media Marketing
Seminar AI in Entertainment

and many more ...

Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft

Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft

Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft is Director of the Institute of Marketing and Professor of Marketing Management. A leading global authority on sales, channel, and customer relationship management, he publishes in foremost journals, including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Marketing Science.

His scholarly and managerial impact has earned him the inaugural INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Practice Prize and the AMA Selling & Sales Management Lifetime Achievement Award. The SEF/Neil Rackham Research Dissemination Award recognized his pivotal role in connecting sales scholars with executives worldwide. An honorary professor at the University of Auckland and Fellow of EMAC and the Direct Selling Education Foundation, he brings exceptional international insight and practice-oriented expertise to the MSc in Business/Marketing.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

Sales Management
Consumer Behavior
Customer Relationship Management & Direct Marketing

and many more ...

Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann

Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann

Prof. Dr. Jens Paschmann is the MCM's Junior Professor of Marketing Analytics. An award-winning rising marketing scholar, he investigates how consumers engage with artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and emerging technologies - and how firms can turn these interactions into responsible experiences. Combining marketing, psychology, and computer science, he integrates behavioral insight with machine learning, Bayesian statistics, and causal inference.

His research on gamification and mobile-app engagement appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research and won the 2026 VHB Best Paper Award. His summa cum laude dissertation also received the HORIZONT Foundation Dissertation Award. In the Master's program, he brings tomorrow's marketing toolkit into the classroom through AI-driven analytics, digital consumer twins, and practice-oriented projects that turn complex data into smarter decisions.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

AI-Driven Marketing Analytics
Technology-Driven Marketing Solutions
MSc Seminar | Digital Consumer Twins to Gain Marketing Insights

and many more ...

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel

Prof. Dr. Thorsten Wiesel holds the Chair for Value-Based Marketing and directs the Institute for Value-Based Marketing. A globally recognized thought leader at the intersection of marketing, finance, and customer analytics, he has published in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Marketing and Marketing Science.

His research demonstrates how marketing creates measurable customer and shareholder value and has earned distinctions such as the INFORMS Marketing Science Practice Prize. As head of the multimillion-euro REACH Start-up Center, he has made entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer central priorities, helping students and researchers turn scientific ideas into successful ventures. Combining analytical rigor, managerial relevance, and entrepreneurial leadership, he brings a distinctly impact-oriented perspective to the Master's classroom.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

Innovation Management
Market-oriented Leadership
Go-to-Market and Business Development 

and many more ...

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hohenberg

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hohenberg

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hohenberg holds the Chair of Digital Transformation, which is affiliated with the MCM. A global authority on marketing strategy, he examines how firms achieve growth through digital transformation, innovation, sales steering, and emerging technologies.

His research appears in marketing's foremost journals, including five articles in the Journal of Marketing and two in the Journal of Marketing Research. The American Marketing Association honored his impact with the Varadarajan Award for Early Career Contributions to Marketing Strategy; he is only the second Germany-based professor to receive it. As associate editor of the Journal of Marketing Research, he helps shape the field's future. His work on spatial marketing and new growth organizations brings cutting-edge strategy into the Master's classroom.

Courses in the MSc Program (selection)

Digital B2B Marketing
Seminar - The Market-Oriented Digital Transformation
MSc Seminar | The Marketer of Tomorrow - Exploring the Future of Marketing Careers

and many more ...


Learn More about the M.Sc. in Business │ Major Marketing Professors

Discover the people behind the lectures. In these conversations, our professors answer questions from students and share insights into their research, teaching philosophy, career paths, and the topics shaping modern marketing.

apl. Professor Sonja Gensler
Professor Thorsten Hennig-Thurau

Powerful Network

The M.Sc. in Business │ Major Marketing prepares you for careers in many fields and industries. But a Master is not only about what you study. It is about who you meet, what you discover and where it can take you next. At the Marketing Center Münster, you join a network of students, alumni, researchers and practice partners. 

With more than 1,200 members and a history dating back to 1989, Marketing Alumni Münster is one of Germany’s largest and most established subject-specific alumni networks. Through career events, the Münster Marketing Symposium, student activities, and informal encounters, it connects you with experienced marketing professionals while you are still studying -- and helps turn Münster connections into opportunities that can last throughout your career. Münster students can join the Alumni organization the moment they arrive in Münster -- and can do so for free during their time as a Münster student!

 

Meet the people who studied here before you

Two MCM alumni are Dr. Christian Böing, now CEO of the accompio Group and former CEO of STRATO and IONOS, and Kerstin HoppeSupervisory Board Member of thyssenkrupp - Segment Decarbon Technologies. Their career paths show how a strong marketing foundation can lead to leadership roles in digital business, transformation and strategy. Dr. Böing has also been honored as Honorary Professor at the MCM and shares his insights in a seminar on Marketing Analytics every year in the M.Sc. in Business │ Major Marketing. Together, their perspectives reflect how MCM alumni continue to connect market understanding, customer needs, technology and entrepreneurial impact in practice.

Learn more about the MCM’s Alumni organizations here.

Prof. Dr. Christian Böing

CEO of accompio Group, former CEO of STRATO and IONOS

“The Marketing major at the University of Münster is the ideal preparation for future leaders who want to take responsibility for revenue and market success. No other field of study develops such an integrated understanding of customer needs, corporate strategy, commercial decision-making, and concrete market actions as marketing. For me, the Marketing major laid the foundation for my career.”

Kerstin Hoppe

Supervisory Board Member of thyssenkrupp - Segment Decarbon Technologies

“Studying in Münster sharpened my understanding of how closely markets, customer needs and entrepreneurial impact are interconnected. Münster, as a place to study, was a special place to engage in conversations with one another beyond the lectures as well. Many of the connections that were formed back then continue to this day. It was precisely this combination that was formative: academic impulses, personal encounters and an understanding of how important it is to bring different perspectives together.”

Dr. Christian Böing and Kerstin Hoppe are just two of literally thousands of MCM graduates who are successfully pursuing careers at leading companies across industries and countries, shaping digital business, transformation, strategy and entrepreneurial impact. Many MCM alumni have also founded their own ventures. Meet several of them at the Münster Marketing Symposium, co-hosted by Marketing Alumni and the MCM. The next edition will take place in the Münster Castle in November 2026. Join the event as a Münster M.Sc. student!

 
Münster – the Vibrant Student City

Study your Master in one of Germany's leading university cities – where 50,000 students, a major university, vibrant city life and everything you need within a short bike ride create an exceptional place to study, connect and grow.
50,000
Students
200+
Cafés and Bars in Münster
5 min
Campus to Aasee walking distance
#1
Cycling city in Germany

Big-City Opportunities. Small-City Convenience.

The Aasee lake is a 5-minute walk from campus – for after class, not just weekends. Münster has more green space per resident than most German cities its size.

A Vibrant Student Culture

Jüdefelderstraße and Hansaviertel for bars and late-night drinks, Haverkamp for clubs – close to the city centre and to one another.

Everything by bike in 15 minutes

Campus, the city centre, nightlife and the Aasee are all a short bike ride away.

A Community Built Around Students

One in every six people in Münster is a student.

A map to münster

Explore the places that shape your Master experience

From the Marketing Center Münster to student hotspots, green spaces, cafés and the city centre.


Ask the People Who Know the Program by Heart
Choosing a Master is a big decision, especially if you're moving to a new city. Talk to current students or the program team to get answers before you apply.
Want to know what the workload is really like, how easy it is to settle into Münster, or which Minor fits your goals? Just ask us: no pressure, no generic brochure answers.
Chat with Current Students
Meet our cohort representatives and learn more about their personal experiences in the programme.
Johanna Pölling
Johanna Pölling
Master Student

Send an Email →

Lea Hilgers
Lea Hilgers
Master Student

Send an Email →

Contact the Programme Team
Do you have questions about the programme, curriculum or application process? Get in touch with our Master's coordinator.
Dr. Jan Niklas Dörseln
Dr. Jan Niklas Dörseln
Program Management Business and Administration

Send an Email →


Ready to Shape Your Future?
Join the next cohort of the Master in Marketing and be part of our future driven program.
In October

Start Your Master in Marketing Together

Marketing Bootcamp cohort 2024

Begin your journey with an immersive bootcamp: meet your fellow students and professors, explore Münster and gain a first overview of the program right from day one.

Marketing Bootcamp →

We have worked hard to make sure that this website presents the Master of Science in Business - Major Marketing accurately. Nevertheless, please consider that it still can contain errors. The offering of individual courses can change between semesters for a several reasons. If you have questions or need more information about certain issues, please get in touch with our service personnel listed on this website: they are waiting to serve you! 

This website has been created with the help of a group of highly engaged University of Münster students, as part of a seminar on higher-education marketing. We thank them for their efforts, ideas, and contributions!