Abstract:

Due to its multidisciplinary nature and the diversity of roles that marketing professionals can perform, the discussion around which curricular units should be included in marketing curricula is very relevant in the scientific literature (e.g. Chen, Benedicktus, Kim, & Shih, 2018; Liu, Levin, Liu, & Levin, 2018; Walker & Moran, 2019).

In 2019 the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES) conducted an important cycle of evaluation of marketing degrees in Portugal. This agency, created by the Portuguese government, evaluates all cycles of studies taught at public and private universities in Portugal, on a periodic basis. This event was understood as the right time and opportunity to introduce major changes to the marketing degree curricula, and it was in this context that the relevance and timeliness of this article arouse.

In 2016 a study was published by Estima & Duarte (2016) that surveyed and analyzed all the curricular units taught in the undergraduate programs of marketing from 30 public and private Portuguese universities and polytechnic.

This paper extended the methodology proposed by Estima & Duarte (2016) to make a longitudinal analysis focusing and comparing two moments in time: 2016 and 2021. More specifically, the main dimensions analyzed include the distribution of marketing undergraduate programs and their curricular units. Simultaneously, the authors explored how topics such as curricular internships, digitalization, internationalization, data science, sustainability, or the flexibilization of curricula might impact the curricula redesign and development.

This evolution analysis allowed the authors to understand and assess the potential gap between the literature on marketing education and what higher education institutions are really implementing.

Keywords:

Marketing Education, Marketing Curricula, Curriculum Design, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Evolution.