Student Spotlight: Ariana Keller’s journey to UC’s online marketing master's

Ariana Keller’s first exposure to the University of Cincinnati wasn’t a campus visit; it was a Google search. 

Many students return to their alma mater for their master’s. However, Ariana’s interest in consumer psychology led her to search far and wide for the perfect master’s program. As soon as she discovered UC’s online Master of Science in Marketing, she described it as “that aha moment.” 

We asked Ariana about her experience studying marketing online and why she chose UC.

Ariana is no stranger to marketing. Despite earning her bachelor’s in marketing, she struggled to find her fit in the industry. It wasn't until she began working as a marketing communications specialist that she realized her true area of interest: consumer insights.

“It always felt like I was missing something until I took my consumer behavior class, and a light bulb went off in my head,” Ariana said. 

Understanding consumer behavior is crucial to marketing; ultimately, the litmus test for a successful marketing strategy is consumer response. Consumer behavior changes every year, and marketers can only keep up with these changes by paying attention and making sense of them.

“When I got my first job out of college, I realized I wasn’t doing what I loved,” she admitted. “I couldn’t get consumer behavior out of my head." 

Once Ariana decided on a career in consumer insights, all roads ahead pointed toward graduate school. Expanding her search to include online programs also allowed her to look beyond local options. 

“I had always known I wanted to get my master’s degree,” Ariana said, “but the question was always in what.” 

Now she could research programs with a clear idea of what she wanted: a master’s in marketing that focused on consumer psychology. 

Consumer psychology is the study of why consumers make certain buying decisions—including the emotional, cultural, and behavioral factors that impact what they do. Roles in consumer insights require a specialized skillset: research, influencing strategies, interviewing skills, and journey mapping. Ariana looked for a program that would help her develop those skills. 

“Trying to find an accredited business program that was science-based was proving to be really hard,” Ariana said. 

While she found a few graduate programs that focused on the psychology of shoppers, these were degrees in psychology—not marketing. Ariana had approached graduate school with a razor-sharp focus on her career goals; marketing needed to be at the heart of the curriculum. 

Then, amidst hundreds of options that were never quite right, Ariana discovered UC’s program. 

At UC, the online master’s in marketing focuses on consumer psychology, which initially piqued her interest. The more she explored, the more she realized it was a natural fit for her goals. 

“What attracted me to the program was the classes being offered,” Ariana said. 

Courses in marketing research and consumer behavior particularly interested her. UC’s graduate marketing curriculum combines online learning with valuable real-world experience, with coursework anchored in four key areas:

• Consumer Psychology & Strategy
• Planning & Design
• Build & Execution
• Analytics

Over half of the graduate degree is reserved for elective coursework, allowing each student to shape their education in alignment with their overarching goals. 

For someone like Ariana, who plans to specialize in the consumer insight niche, being able to craft her own curriculum offers a huge advantage. Additionally, the field-study component of the program ensures that she can apply her coursework outside of the classroom.

Like many online grad students, Ariana is working full-time while pursuing her degree. Despite her initial worries, she’s found the workload manageable and even complementary to her current job.

“I was really nervous that I was not going to have enough time to balance my degree with my work and normal life,” she said. “However, the professors have been really understanding and make the classes meaningful yet manageable. The best part about the degree is how quickly the classes are making me learn and apply more in a shorter time span.”

Curriculum is important, but it's only one aspect of a degree program. If you don’t connect with program faculty or have access to expertise in your area of interest, your ability to learn is limited. Luckily, Ariana’s experience has been nothing but positive. 

“Dr. Julie Thalman has made a huge impact on my learning journey by being really understanding and helpful throughout her course,” she shared. “She spent a lot of time and effort pushing me to dig deeper into the concepts, my thought processes, and helping me create really strong submissions each week.” 

Dr. Julie Thalman, the Vice Provost for UC Online, is one of UC's many instructors who bring decades of marketing experience into their teaching.

UC’s online marketing courses are taught by the same world-renowned faculty as their on-campus counterparts. It’s the same high-quality education across both formats; because of that, Ariana can feel confident that she’s learning from experts in the field. 

Several marketing faculty members at UC are also actively engaged in consumer psychology research—which is particularly important given Ariana’s career aspirations. Her market research coursework explored how to create efficient surveys for consumers and companies, a skill that’s immediately transferable to consumer insights.

The decision to pursue a master’s degree is ultimately a personal one. Just like any consumer decision, you have to know your “why.”

For some, continuing education is a chance to specialize in a new niche or keep up with industry trends.Others may be drawn to the increased earning potential and networking opportunities that come with earning a master's in marketing. 

In Ariana’s case, the benefits of earning her master’s degree were clear. 

“The biggest impact of earning this degree is the niche knowledge, new opportunities, and career advancement I will be able to take away and apply in my future dream job,” she said.  

What’s most clear is the bright future ahead of Ariana—as a Bearcat and beyond graduation. We’re cheering you on, Ariana!

Are you a marketing professional looking to move up in your career? Or, like Ariana, do you want to move into a new role but need a master’s to do it?  

If so, consider UC’s online Master of Science in Marketing. Designed with your busy schedule in mind, the program is asynchronous and highly customizable. It can even be stacked with an Online Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing to bring you closer to your goals. 

Don’t stop yourself before you even explore your options. Connect with us today.

Our dedicated online team is here to offer you personalized guidance!