Marketing is a dynamic and fast-growing field with a wide variety of careers.1 Located in the global business hub of San Francisco, the Department of Marketing in the Lam Family College of Business strives to be a leading academic force in training future marketers in the digital age. With a focus on innovation, diversity and community engagement, our program is committed to providing a state-of-the-art curriculum that equips students with future-proof skills and capabilities.
We have a strong team of faculty members devoted to teaching excellence and engaged pedagogy that emphasizes experiential learning, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making.
Our vibrant student organizations facilitate professional networking and create a sense of community. Graduates of our programs enjoy successful careers in diverse domains, such as social media, advertising, marketing, consulting, retailing, personal selling, and more.
The innovative curriculum and the exciting job opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area make marketing one of the most popular concentrations at San Francisco State University.
Degree Programs and Certificates
Undergraduate Program
Graduate Program
Faculty Spotlights
Foo-Nin Ho
Foo-Nin Ho has been a professor of marketing at San Francisco State University since 1993. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi and his teaching interests include marketing research and consumer behavior. Currently, Professor Ho teaches both graduate and undergraduate marketing research, consumer behavior, and principles of marketing. His research areas include ethics, healthcare marketing, ethnic marketing, international business, luxury marketing, and consumer behavior. He is also the recipient of the 2023-2025 Lam Larsen Distinguished Research Professorship Award.
Gulnur Tumbat
Gülnur Tumbat, Professor of Marketing and Director of Lam-Larsen Community Engagement Initiative, is an internationally renowned marketing ethnographer focusing on risk marketing and consumption. Tumbat’s main research interests lie at the intersections of risk discourses, consumer culture, and technology. She published in top outlets such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Theory, Consumption, Markets and Culture, Journal of Consumer Behavior, and also in Advances in Consumer Research, European Advances in Consumer Research, and Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Advertising. She has also climbed six of the seven summits (including Everest), the highest mountains on each geographic continent.
Alumni Spotlight
John Gumas
John Gumas is the founder and CEO of Gumas, an advertising and branding agency based here in San Francisco. Having graduated from SF State with a Bachelor of Science in Business, with concentrations in Marketing and Advertising, in 1984, John went on to run his company for 39 years and counting. By equipping brands with marketing strategies to challenge industry giants, John has changed the way people think about marketing. He currently serves on many boards, including the San Francisco Giants Community Fund, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the Elios Society. If you’re interested in learning more about John, his company, and what advice he has for students, click “Learn More” to watch his on-campus interview.