Diploma in Marketing Communications

Sonia Tamayo Diaz says the skills she acquired were her ticket to a job in marketing. Picture / Dean Purcell

The course

Manukau Institute of Technology's Diploma in Marketing Communications is a one-year fulltime course or two-year part-time course to prepare people for a career in marketing.

The practical diploma is a level 6 NZQA qualification and it provides students with an understanding of advertising, public relations, promotion and internet marketing.

They cover seven papers to learn the skills to design press advertisements, direct mail and press releases and assist in the design of brochures and web pages.

Graduates can find work in communications with a marketing department, a support role in an advertising agency, a marketing communications position in a small business, or as a marketing assistant.

Fulltime students attend MIT's Manukau campus for lectures and tutorials for four or five hours a day, Monday to Friday. Students are also expected to spend a minimum of three hours a day studying in their own time.

Part-time students take two papers each semester and attend the Manukau campus for lectures and tutorials. There are two 17-week semesters in MIT's year.

Students are assessed through assignments, projects, tests and examinations.

Applicants need to be 20 years or over and have a minimum of 64 credits at year 12 NCEA level 2, including one subject which demonstrates fluency in English, or relevant work or community experience.

The next course begins in July. Applications will close when the 75 places have been filled. Fees are $3304, including GST.

Students can pursue further study through MIT's Bachelor of Applied Communication, Bachelor of Business, Graduate Diploma in Marketing, or Graduate Diploma in Advertising.

What graduates think

Sonia Tamayo Diaz, 26
Media planner and buyer
Media One. Brand FX, Auckland
Graduated 2003

I knew I wanted to get into marketing and the course covered a lot of marketing areas so it appealed to me.

Some papers were quite practical and some were theory, so it was a really good balance.

The subjects gave me the skills I needed in the workplace 100 per cent. I have been able to utilise all the skills I learned at work in the past couple of years.

I think it was exactly what I needed as an entry point into the marketing field. It gives you a good base knowledge of what it is all about in terms of finding out what you want to be and where you want to go in the marketing field.

One of the papers was a project in marketing communications in which you do a marketing communications plan in a real company. That was fantastic.

You did a presentation at the end and you were dealing with real live situations. I was offered a position after I completed that paper.

If I had not done the course I would not have the confidence in myself. They taught us how to think strategically and provided the skills to make your own decisions. Now I am doing a Bachelor of Business, majoring in marketing management.

What employers think

Geoff Kirkham
Managing director
Media One. Brand FX, Auckland

There is virtually no way that you could get a job in our industry unless you have some kind of skilled training. Having a diploma gives us a point of reference which is very relevant for the skill sets that we require.

The diploma is a start - graduates will have a very good understanding of the concepts of marketing and media planning and buying, which is our particular interest.
But the reality of making it happen, of buying media space and time, doing the negotiations and the research, becomes a big part of the job.

It is really a case of what they don't teach you in school.

Handling large sums of money is something which comes with experience.

People take what they know, redirect some of it, and learn on the job.

The advertising industry is booming, media buying is at all-time highs, so the demand for a skilled work force is very high.

The qualification

Diploma in Marketing Communications
Manukau Institute of Technology
Phone: 0800 626252
Salary: First-year: $30,000-$40,000