Consumer Behaviour and Marketing with Foundation

Consumer behaviour and marketing is a field that applies insights from psychology, sociology, and economics to understanding how people make purchasing decisions and how organisations can engage customers effectively. Consumer behaviour as a discipline asks why people buy what they buy, how attitudes and preferences are formed and changed, how cultural and social contexts shape consumption, and how the digital environment has transformed the relationship between brands and their audiences. Marketing provides the strategic and practical frameworks for reaching, persuading, and retaining customers across a range of channels and contexts.

This four-year full-time programme at the University of Reading includes a foundation year, giving you a supported entry point into degree-level study if you would benefit from additional preparation before the main programme begins. The foundation year is designed to build academic and analytical skills alongside relevant subject knowledge, providing a bridge into the full degree for students who have the ability but whose prior qualifications do not offer direct entry. From there, you will study the psychological and social science foundations of consumer decision-making alongside the core skills and knowledge of marketing practice, including brand management, market research, digital marketing, advertising, and communications strategy.

You will develop your ability to analyse markets, design research, interpret data, and construct strategic recommendations.

Graduates of consumer behaviour and marketing programmes are well placed for careers in marketing management, brand strategy, advertising, digital marketing, market research, public relations, and product management. The consumer-facing and strategic insights the degree provides are valued across retail, financial services, healthcare, media, technology, and the public sector. Further study options include postgraduate degrees in marketing, consumer psychology, business administration, and market research, as well as professional qualifications aligned to the chartered marketing and market research bodies.