Skip to main content

Key information

Our MSc Digital Marketing will equip you with the specialist digital marketing knowledge and skills that are sought-after by employers from all markets and sectors and is designed to position you as a marketing professional with digital expertise.

Level
Postgraduate Taught
Delivery type
Full Time, Part Time
Degree qualification
MSc
Mode of delivery
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Location
Edinburgh
Start date
September, January

Our MSc Digital Marketing provides you with the opportunity to transition to a digital marketing career by combining an accelerated introduction to marketing with a detailed consideration of digital marketing concepts and techniques. The programme has been specifically designed to meet the current and emerging demands of the growing digital economy, to ensure you are highly sought after upon graduation.   

During the master’s programme, you’ll gain knowledge that covers and integrates the main areas of marketing and digital marketing, including their features, boundaries, terminology, and conventions. You’ll gain a critical understanding of general marketing theories, principles, concepts and applications and specialist knowledge of Digital Marketing theories, concepts and principles relating to product and service marketing and consumer behaviours. You’ll develop a critical awareness of developments in research and knowledge creation within Digital Marketing and cognate disciplines of sociology, geography and psychology.  

You’ll develop research-informed learning skills through lecture activities, independent research, coursework, and the dedicated Research Methods Philosophy and Practice course which will enable you to apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis to problems at the forefront of digital marketing. You’ll be able to identify, conceptualise and define new and abstract problems and issues related to digital marketing and apply a range of standard and specialised instruments and techniques to mitigate such issues.   

Each course will equip you with highly employable expertise and skills across digital marketing. You’ll have the opportunity to choose three optional courses – from the legal context of marketing, strategic innovation management, databases and information systems, entrepreneurship and creativity, contemporary business technology, digital marketing analytics, social media marketing, psychology for marketing, and e-commerce technology – to customise your learning and develop your specific marketing interests. Your digital marketing dissertation will allow you to engage in an independent in-depth critical examination of a particular digital marketing topic, which is of interest to you.   

You’ll benefit from the industry relevance of the programme, which will set you up for life after graduation. Upon completion, you’ll be able to use a significant range of professional skills, techniques, practices and materials to develop original, creative and practical responses to commercial and digital marketing problems and issues. You’ll gain the skills to deal with complex issues and make judgements in situations in the absence of complete or consistent data, as encountered in real-life commercial marketing environments. Beyond the subject-specific knowledge and skills, you’ll be given the opportunity to learn and practice transferrable skills such as presentation, communication, analytical and ICT skills.   

MSc Digital Marketing has been awarded the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) Employability Programme Award. Judged by the CIM and its industry partners, the award is based on the programme evidencing eight employability capabilities within the course material expected by employers in the marketing industry today. As a result, you will have a CV that is competitive and attractive to employers.

Your student experience

Your learning will be informed by the expertise of our research-active academics whose work covers four key areas:  

  • Employment, Work and the Professions  
  • Logistics and Sustainability  
  • Networks and Enterprise Excellence  
  • Social and Economic Data Analysis  

Go Global

With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.

Inter-Campus Transfer: Dubai

Discover new friends and places with an inter-campus transfer to Dubai.

Course content

September Intake - Edinburgh

Mandatory September

  • Contemporary Consumers
  • Digital Customer Experience
  • International Strategic Marketing

Optional September

  • Creativity and Entrepreneurship
  • Strategic Innovation Management
  • Databases and Information Systems
  • Management Consultancy

Mandatory January

  • Research Philosophy and Practice
  • Branding and Communications

Optional January

  • Digital Marketing Analytics
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Psychology for Marketing
  • e-Commerce Technology

Mandatory May

  • Digital Marketing Dissertation

January Intake - Edinburgh

Mandatory January

  • Branding and Communications
  • Research Philosophy and Practice

Optional January

  • Digital Marketing Analytics
  • e-Commerce Technology
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Psychology for Marketing

Mandatory September

  • International Strategic Marketing
  • Contemporary Consumers
  • Digital Customer Experience

Optional September

  • Strategic Innovation Management
  • Creativity and Entrepreneurship
  • Management Consultancy
  • Databases and Information Systems

Mandatory Second January

  • Digital Marketing Dissertation

Programme Video

The Heriot-Watt experience

Student testimonials

Felicity Neyme

MSc Digital Marketing Student

The MSc Digital Marketing course content was very aligned with my goal of advancing my knowledge within digital customer experience and marketing. Furthermore, it allowed me to tailor my electives to my career objectives.

Fees and funding

/ intake tuition fees
StatusFull TimePart Time
UK£12,344£6,172
International£24,176£12,088
  • Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
  • International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).

Additional information

Note: the fees indicated above will apply if you begin your studies in September. If you choose to join us in January instead, the fees below will apply.

January 2025 intake tuition fees

Status Full Time Part Time
UK £10,736 £5,368
International £23,248 £11,624
  • Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
  • International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland).

Scholarships and bursaries

Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries

We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.

View details

Entry requirements

We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.

A minimum of honours degree at 2:2 or non-UK equivalent in any academic subject provided that it includes evidence of critical thinking. Digital experience may be helpful.

Applicants with relevant education and work experience may also be considered.

Why Heriot-Watt

We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.

We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.

Employability

An MSc with industry demand Digital Marketing MSc graduates will enter a job market with a growing choice of specialist digital marketing roles, that provide job mobility and good promotion prospects. Reports identify that, during COVID-19 lockdown, digital skills enabled many businesses to continue operating and boosted online consumption behaviour. When there is a turbulent business environment, organisations need to fill managerial roles with candidates who have advanced problem solving and critical thinking ability – skills that masters-level study develop and test. Heriot Watt is a global university and classes are shared with students from a range of MSc programmes and nationalities providing opportunities for professional networking that will be of benefit in professional life. Students gain experience in online collaborative working, business presentation creation, report writing and business research techniques. Students also can become involved in the Heriot Watt Marketing Society, a student-run society which hosts speakers from industry and organises social events. The MSc is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) within the Graduate Gateway programmes. This provides graduate with a credit for prior learning upon completion of their degree or the choice of self-study for a CIM qualification during their programme of study. This would require registration on one additional CIM training course to gain a CIM certificate or two additional courses to gain a CIM diploma.

Student life

Explore facilities, and chat to staff and students

Contact our enquiries team

Contact us