Master’s in Marketing Communication Research Concentration: Media Science Program

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What is marketing communication research and consumer insights?

Marketing Communication Research is a specialized concentration within BU’s MS in Media Science focused on the science behind smarter marketing decisions. Instead of starting with a campaign, you start with the people it’s designed to reach. By combining consumer behavior, audience research, analytics, and strategic communication, you’ll learn how to uncover what people think, what influences their decisions, and how organizations can respond.

Should we target this audience or that one? Why did one message outperform another? What influences someone to choose one brand, product, or experience over others? You’ll learn how to investigate questions like these through qualitative and quantitative research and translate those consumer insights into recommendations decision-makers can use.

Whether you’re a recent graduate, advancing in your current field, or pivoting into consumer insights, you’ll build the research, analytical, and strategic skills to move from questions to evidence, and from evidence to action.

Why study Marketing Communication Research at BU?

Where can Marketing Communication Research take you?

Organizations have plenty of data. What they need are people who can make sense of it. Marketing Communication Research graduates become the people organizations rely on to understand consumer behavior and make smarter decisions.

More than 90% of alumni report working in their field. Graduates translate consumer research into strategies that shape campaigns, strengthen brands, improve customer experiences, and guide organizational decision-making across technology, retail, healthcare, finance, consulting, and beyond.

Alumni career spotlights

Consumer insights + analytics:

• Product Manager at TikTok
• Sr. Data Science Manager at Visa
• Senior Research Analyst (Research & Strategy) at Sony Electronics

Strategy + user research:

• UX Researcher at Google
• Associate Director (Marketing Insights and Strategy) at The Clorox Company

Leadership + innovation:

• Director (Consumer Insights and Front End Innovation) at Nestlé Coffee Partners

Additional career opportunities

• Core functional roles: Brand Strategist • Consumer Insights Manager • Market Research Analyst • Marketing Analytics Manager • UX Researcher • Consumer Insights Director • Research Consultant • Research Director • Research Analyst • Data Analyst • Market Research Specialist • Management Analyst
• Executive + academic milestones: Graduates have gone on to become founders, CEOs, corporate vice presidents, and university faculty.

Graduate employers

• Technology + finance: Google, TikTok, Sony Electronics, Tencent, Visa, Fidelity Investments, Allstate
• Consumer brands: Nestlé Coffee Partners, The Clorox Company, SharkNinja
• Research + analytics: Nielsen, Tiger Analytics, Lieberman, Digitas
• Industry Footprint: Graduates also work in boutique research firms, specialized consumer insights consultancies, nonprofits, and public policy organizations.

The curriculum: Learn to turn questions into answers—and answers into action

Across 12 courses, you’ll learn how to understand consumer behavior, design rigorous research, analyze data, and translate complex findings into recommendations that organizations can act on.

Core curriculum:

• Professional writing (1-2 courses): Learn to communicate clearly across professional formats and audiences.
• Research + analytics (3 courses): Build from research design and quantitative/qualitative methods into advanced statistical analysis using real-world data and SPSS.
• Measurement + consumer insight: Learn to design samples, questionnaires, and measurement tools that uncover attitudes, beliefs, media habits, and consumer behavior.
• Marketing communication: Explore how communication influences awareness, attitudes, and purchasing behavior, and how research informs marketing strategy.
• Technical research communication: Learn to turn complex analysis into clear research reports and recommendations for clients.

Customizable electives (4 courses)

Customize your degree with electives that deepen your expertise in consumer insights, communication strategy, analytics, and emerging media.

• Advanced data analytics
• UX research and user experience design
• Social media analytics and strategy
• Health communication campaigns
• Political communication and public opinion
• Interactive media and consumer behavior
• And more

Want to go deeper into data? Optional certificate in Data Analytics

Use your electives to pursue BU’s Graduate Certificate in Data Analytics alongside your master’s, adding advanced skills in statistical computing, machine learning, data visualization, and web analytics without adding another semester.

Put consumer research into practice

You’ll do more than study research methods. Through BU’s research centers and labs, you’ll work with professional-level tools used to understand attention, behavior, sentiment, and audience response.

• Communication Research Center  (CRC): Collaborate with faculty on research exploring consumer attention, audience behavior, and message effectiveness using eye tracking, biometric measures, virtual reality, and emerging AI-powered research tools.
• Zimmerman Family Social Activation Center: Use social listening, sentiment analysis, and audience analytics platforms to understand public conversations, uncover consumer insights, and inform strategic communication decisions.

Meet your consumer insights faculty

Your professors know how to move from data to decisions because they do it themselves. Their expertise spans consumer insights, audience research, analytics, media psychology, and strategic communication, bringing real research questions, data, and industry challenges into the classroom. They’ll help you learn not only how to conduct rigorous research, but how to explain what you’ve found to the people making the decisions.

There is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing my students, years after they graduate, still applying what I’ve taught them. The same can be said about watching students who did not think they had the needed background to understand advanced analytic techniques become masters of these techniques.

Dr. Michael Elasmar, MCR program founder and director

Study in Boston: put consumer insights to work

In Boston, consumer research isn’t abstract. Tech companies want to understand users. Healthcare organizations want to understand patients. Brands want to understand what drives purchasing decisions. Agencies want to know which messages will resonate.

As one of the country’s leading centers for technology, healthcare, consulting, research, and innovation, major employers—including Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, Forrester Research, Applied Marketing Science, Wayfair, Ipsos, Kantar, NielsenIQ, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon—offer opportunities to apply your skills through internships, research, consulting projects, and industry connections.

Program details at a glance

• Degree: MS
• Concentration: Marketing Communication Research (within the MS in Media Science)
• Length: 3 semesters
• Format: On campus
• GRE: Not required
• STEM OPT: Eligible for 36-month extension
• Optional: Certificate in Data Analytics (within the same 3 semesters)
• Scholarships: Merit scholarships available — no separate application required
• Double Terrier: Scholarship available for current BU students and alumni

Frequently asked questions about the MS in Marketing Communication Research

What is marketing communication research and how is it different from a traditional marketing degree?

Traditional marketing programs often focus on developing campaigns and managing brands. Marketing Communication Research focuses on understanding the people those campaigns are designed to reach. You’ll learn how to conduct consumer research, evaluate communication effectiveness, and translate consumer insights into strategic communication recommendations. In other words, you’ll graduate knowing not only whether a strategy worked—but why it worked and what to do next.

Is this program a good fit if I want to work in UX research or consumer insights?

Yes. Many graduates pursue careers in UX research, consumer insights, market research, and strategic planning. The curriculum develops the research, analytics, and communication skills needed to understand audiences, interpret behavior, and translate findings into recommendations organizations can act on.

How is this different from the broader MS in Media Science?

Media Science asks, “Why does communication work?” Marketing Communication Research asks, “How can research improve communication strategy?” Both programs share a strong research foundation, but MCR applies that research specifically to consumer insights, audience behavior, analytics, and strategic communication.

How is this different from a business school consumer insights or market research degree?

Business schools often focus on analytics and business performance. Marketing Communication Research teaches you how to use consumer research and analytics to improve communication strategy. You’ll graduate knowing how to uncover meaningful consumer insights—and communicate them in ways organizations can act on.

What is the optional Data Analytics certificate?

A sequence of courses focused on data visualization, machine learning, web mining, graph analytics, and data mining — earned within the same three semesters, with no additional semester required. Students who want deeper technical expertise can complete the certificate as part of their elective coursework—with no additional semesters required.

Do I need a quantitative or coding background to apply?

No. We teach you audience research methods and applied statistical techniques from the ground up. Our students come from incredibly diverse academic backgrounds, including communication, psychology, business, sociology, and English.

Is this program STEM-designated?

Yes. International graduates are eligible for the 36-month OPT extension to work in the US after graduation.

See all marketing communication research FAQs →

Also worth exploring

• MS in Media Science: For students who want to understand why communication works through audience research, behavioral science, and communication theory.
• MA in Emerging Media Studies: For students who want to study how AI, digital platforms, and emerging technologies shape human behavior and society.
• MS in Public Relations: Focused on media relations, corporate reputation, crisis communication, and digital brand strategy.
• MS in Human Centered Design: For students headed into UX/UI design careers, with end-to-end focus on product strategy and prototype design.