Undergraduate Advising

Who is my advisor?

• First-year freshmen, sophomores, and students without a declared major are assigned a counselor in the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC).

How do I get in touch with my advisor?

• UAC counselors regularly contact their advisees to schedule an appointment. Invitations are sent to SF State email addresses.
• Students can also initiate a meeting with a UAC advisor by scheduling an appointment or taking advantage of drop-in advising hours. For advising options, see the UAC website.

What if I have questions about marketing major or minor?

• UAC counselors can walk you through the First-Time Student (4 Year) Roadmap that outlines a typical sequence of courses that marketing majors who enter SF State as freshmen are expected to follow.
• UAC counselors can also answer basic questions about Marketing major or minor degree requirements.
• For questions related to deviations from standard roadmaps, marketing elective course selection, career advice, etc., students should contact Marketing faculty advisors.

Who is my advisor?

• Juniors, Seniors, transfer students, and declared majors are assigned to the advising team from their respective colleges.
• College advising teams can help students navigate not only general education requirements but also the requirements of their major or minor.
• Marketing students are advised by the Lam Family College of Business advising team located in the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC).
• For questions related to deviations from standard roadmaps, marketing elective course selection, career advice, etc., students should contact Economics faculty advisors.

New transfer students

• New transfer students are encouraged to meet with a Marketing faculty advisor at the beginning of their first semester at SF State to ensure they have fulfilled or have a plan to fulfill pre-requisite course requirements for the major.
• Transfer Student (2 Year) Roadmap outlines a typical sequence of courses that marketing majors who transfer to SF State from community colleges are expected to follow.

Graduation application

• Graduating seniors should submit their graduation application in the Fall or Spring semester prior to their last semester at SF State:
  • Students planning to graduate in Spring should submit the application during the preceding Fall semester.
  • Students planning to graduate in Summer or Fall should submit the application during the preceding Spring semester.
• For exact dates of the priority graduation application period, see the Dates & Deadlines page on the Registrar's Office website.
• Detailed steps of the graduation application process are listed on the Undergraduate Graduation page of the Registrar's Office.

Graduation advising

• An important part of the graduation process is for students to review their Degree Progress Report (DPR) to identify any unmet requirements.
• Resolving any gaps (🟥 red squares in the DPR) may require a consultation with a UAC advisor/College Graduation Specialist or a Marketing faculty advisor.
• Graduating students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with a UAC advisor/College Graduation Specialist (for general education and university requirements) or a Makreting faculty advisor (for major requirements) to review their DPR, assess their readiness for graduation, and plan out their last semester.

Prospective students can obtain general information about the University and the Marketing program by submitting a Request for Information. They are also encouraged to visit the Future Students page.

For more specific questions, prospective students are welcome to contact the Marketing Department Chair. 

Finding courses

Students can find all economics courses offered in upcoming semesters by searching the Class Schedule.

Enrolling in courses

For detailed information on how to enroll in courses, see How to Enroll: Registration Guide.

Here are some tips for enrolling in courses you need to stay on track:

• Meet with an advisor beforehand to plan what courses to take, including alternatives, in case some courses are full or not available.
• Keep in mind the start of the priority registration periods for different student groups to maximize your chances of enrolling in the courses you need.
• If a class is full, you may still be able to join:
  • Get on the official waitlist, if available. You may be waitlisted for up to 12 units at a time. There is a significant turnover in the first few weeks of the semester as students finalize their schedules and drop some classes.
  • Attending the first few class meetings ("crashing" the course) can help secure a seat when one opens up due to drops or other reasons.
• Check that you meet the course's prerequisites. At the start of the semester, instructors may drop students who do not meet pre-requisites to make room for those who do.

Dropping a course

• Students can drop courses with no consequence at any time before the semester's Add/Drop deadline (see Dates & Deadlines), usually in the first three weeks of the semester.

Withdrawing from a course

• After the semester's Add/Drop deadline, course withdrawals will result in a W grade. To request a course withdrawal, students need to complete a Request to Withdraw.
• Keep in mind:
  • During weeks 4-12 of instruction, no documentation is required to accompany the request.
  • Starting with week 13, documentation supporting a serious and compelling reason to withdraw must be attached to the request.
• For more information, visit the Dropping and Withdrawing page at the Registrar's Office.

In some cases, to add a course, students need to submit the Waiver of College Regulations Petition.

After consulting with the course instructor, a student should fill out the petition to:

• Late add a course after the semester's add/drop deadline has passed.
• Repeat a course beyond the maximum number of allowed attempts.
• Change a grading option, e.g., from CR/NC to letter grade.
• And some other cases.

The completed form should be sent to the course instructor.

For the fall and spring semesters, undergraduate students may enroll in courses up to a maximum of 19 units. To request enrollment in 20 or more units, a student must fill out the Exceed Maximum Units Petition.

Students are strongly encouraged to consult a marketing faculty advisor before submitting the form to discuss the associated workload and the feasibility of taking a large number of courses.

Completed forms should be forwarded to a Marketing faculty advisor.

Marketing major requirements

The BSBA Marketing degree requires taking 69 units of core and elective marketing courses:

• Three to Four Prerequisites Courses (9-12 units)
• Three Concentration Requirements (9 units) 
• Thirteen Core Courses (39 units)
• Four upper-division Electives (12 units)

For more information, see:

• BSBA Marketing Degree Requirements
• First-Time Student (4 Year) Roadmap
• Transfer Student (2 Year) Roadmap

Acceptable grades

• All Marketing courses must be taken for a letter grade, except MKTG 431, which may be taken CR/NC.
• Core Business courses must be completed with a C- or better. No more tan 6 units of core courses may be taken on a CR/NC basis, and only where allowed.
• Marketing concentration core courses - Marketing 632, 633, and 649 - must be taken for a letter grade.
• Elective MKTG courses must also be taken for a letter grade (CR/NC is not allowed for Marketing electives).
• Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher in all concentration courses. 

Core courses sequence

Due to pre-requisite requirements, marketing core and concentration courses should be taken in a certain sequence. 

• The course in Level 1 (MKTG431) is a prerequisite for courses in Level 2 (intermediate). MKTG632 and MKTG633 (Level 2) are prerequisites for MKTG649 (Level 3). 

Elective courses

Upper-division electives are generally courses numbered MKTG 400 and above. See "Choosing Electives" under "Common Advising Inquiries" for more details.

The Marketing Department offers a Minor in Marketing. It can be completed by taking 15 units of core and elective courses:

• Two core courses (6 units)
• Three upper-division electives (9 units)

Upper-division electives are generally courses MKTG 400 and above. See "Choosing Electives" under "Common Advising Inquiries" for more details.

All courses must be completed with a grade of C- or better. In addition, core courses must be taken for a letter grade. Only elective courses can be taken for the CR/NC option.

For additional details, refer to the Minor in Marketing  page in the Academic Bulletin.

Students who are applying to change to the Marketing major or minor are strongly encouraged to see a marketing faculty advisor who will walk them through the marketing major or minor requirements and answer any questions.

Requests to change your Major or Minor can be submitted online. To do so, follow the steps outlined on the Change of Major or Minor webpage.

In many circumstances, courses taken at other institutions can be transferred and applied toward the completion of your Economics degree at SF State.

Transfer process

The process consists of two distinct steps:

1. Transferring courses to SF State:

First, courses taken at other institutions need to be officially transferred to SF State. This is a standard part of the onboarding process for students transferring to SF State. For more information, visit Transfer Credit Central.

2. Course substitutions and equivalencies:

Second, to count towards the marketing major or minor, the transferred courses need to be substituted for their equivalents at SF State. The substitution may happen automatically for some transferred courses that have been verified in the past as equivalent. For example, this is typically the case with lower-division courses taken at other CSU campuses and California Community Colleges. Such courses will appear in the Marketing Major/Minor sections of the Degree Progress Report. Properly substituted courses can also be identified in the Transfer Credit Report, where they appear alongside the non-generic name of the equivalent course at SF State.

Some courses, such as upper division courses and courses taken at certain institutions, need to be manually verified and substituted. They appear as generic lower division or =courses in the Credit Transfer Report. To establish equivalency of a course, students should contact the Chair of the Marketing Department, who will direct them to the appropriate faculty advisor. The advisor will commonly request to see the syllabus of the course. Upon verification, the advisor will take steps to substitute the course so that it appears in the Marketing Major/Minor sections of the DPR.

Faculty contacts for course substitution and equivalency requests

For course substitution and equivalency requests, a student should contact the Chair of the Marketing Department. The student will be directed to the appropriate advisor who can establish equivalency of the course.

Transferring upper-division marketing courses

Students considering taking a marketing course at another institution with the goal of transferring it as an equivalent to an upper-division (400+) marketing course at SF State are strongly encouraged to obtain prior approval from a marketing faculty advisor.

Transfers from the quarter system

Transferring units from an institution on the quarter system may result in a shortfall in units required for the marketing major or minor. A marketing advisor will typically recommend an additional marketing elective course to make up for the shortfall to meet the unit requirement for the marketing major or minor.

Marketing majors must take four upper-division elective courses (12 units), while marketing minors must take three upper-division elective courses (9 units).

What counts as an upper-division elective?

To satisfy the electives requirement, students can take:

• MKTG courses numbered 400 and above. Keep in mind that courses numbered 700 and above are graduate courses and generally not available for undergraduate students.

What electives are offered?

• MKTG432, MKTG433, MKTG434, MKTG436, MKTG441, MKTG443, MKTG450, MKTG460, MKTG469, MKTG480, MKTG567, MKTG569, MKTG637, MKTG644, MKTG647, MKTG660, MKTG661, MKTG675, MKTG680, MKTG688, MKTG689
• Explanaitons of course description, symbols, and terms can be found in the course categlog. 

• All Marketing courses must be taken for a letter grade, except MKTG 431, which may be taken CR/NC.
• Core Business courses must be completed with a C- or better. No more than 6 units of core courses may be taken on a CR/NC basis, and only where allowed.
• Marketing concentration core courses , including Marketing 632, 633, and 649, must be taken for a letter grade.
• Elective MKTG courses must also be taken for a letter grade. CR/NC is not allowed for Marketing electives. 
• Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA or higher in all concentration courses. 

Students on academic probation should see an advisor at the UAC to develop a plan for future success. For more information, visit the Academic Probation page.