NC State’s Jenkins Master of Management, Marketing Analytics (MMA) program has grown from a pandemic-era launch into an active community that prepares professionals to turn data into business decisions.

Before Rishika Rishika and Allison Anthony welcomed the program’s first class, they met in person by accident.

For months, the two colleagues planned the new online graduate program over Zoom. When both families visited Emerald Isle, N.C., Rishika recognized Anthony’s dog from their video calls. Anthony spotted Rishika’s family from photos and online meetings.

Their first face-to-face conversation happened by chance, but now it seems like a preview of the program itself. While the MMA program operates online, personal connections have defined the student experience from the start.

Five years after welcoming its first class of 20 students in 2021, the program now enrolls 71 students and has 61 graduates. Leadership opportunities, industry partnerships, global study, career support and an active alumni network have also become central to the student experience.

Along the way, the MMA program has kept up with a fast-changing marketing landscape.

Built to Respond to the Market

Poole College created the MMA program at a time when companies were collecting more customer and market data than ever before, but the number of professionals capable of working with data lagged behind.

Rishika, MMA faculty director and professor of marketing analytics, saw a clear gap. Business analytics programs were expanding, but few graduate degrees focused directly on the intersection of analytics, marketing and strategy.

“Companies want to use all the data coming in to make everyday strategic decisions,” she says. “Our students need the training to use available technology for marketing decision-making.”

“Our younger students are bringing tech fluency, and our more experienced students can offer industry insight from their time in the workforce.”

The program attracted a wide range of students. Some working professionals with a decade or more of experience enrolled to build technical skills. Recent graduates joined to strengthen their credentials before entering the job market. Fewer than half of MMA students hold an undergraduate degree in business or marketing.

“The mix of working professionals and fresh graduates has blended really well in class,” Rishika says. “We notice that our younger students are bringing tech fluency, and our more experienced students can offer industry insight from their time in the workforce.”

The program grew faster than leaders initially expected. In 2025–26, it welcomed its largest class yet, with 36 students—over 30% larger than its inaugural class. 

Recognition has followed the program’s growth. Forbes Advisor recently named NC State’s program the top master’s in marketing analytics and ranked MMA No. 7 among online master’s programs in marketing for 2026.

Keeping Pace With AI

The marketing analytics landscape has changed dramatically since the program launched five years ago. Analytics systems now help companies predict customer churn, personalize journeys and create targeted materials. Poole College faculty have responded to changes by adding AI courses and updating existing classes with substantial AI components. Many MMA students also pursue the college’s Business AI graduate certificate.

Bill Rand, McLauchlan Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Goodnight Executive Director for the Institute of Advanced Analytics, says the program does not treat AI as an isolated subject. Instead, faculty include machine learning and generative AI throughout the curriculum. Students use the technology for tasks such as data cleaning, code generation and early-stage ideation, freeing more time for strategy, ethics and executive communication.

“We aren’t just teaching a tool,” Rand says. “We are changing how our students approach marketing problem-solving from day one.”

“We aren’t just teaching a tool. We are changing how our students approach marketing problem-solving from day one.”

This approach requires students to understand the work behind the output. They must frame the business problem, question the results and decide if a recommendation makes sense for a company and its customers.

“AI is incredible at answering questions, but it is entirely incapable of knowing which questions are worth asking,” Rand says.

That distinction is now central to the program. Technical competence matters, but so do critical thinking, emotional intelligence and communication. Rand calls them “durable skills,” the abilities students will still need as analytical tools continue to improve.

Anthony, associate director of admissions and recruitment for the Master of Management programs, hears the same message from employers and industry partners.

“Being able to decipher the data, make a story from the data and communicate with leadership is still highly sought after,” she says.

People at the Center

MMA’s online format attracts students managing work, family and other responsibilities. But while the program is based online, its approach is personal.

When a prospective student requests information, Anthony responds from her personal email rather than depending solely on an automated message.

“I want them to know I’m here, personally, if they have any questions,” she tells them.

Prospective students have the opportunity to meet Anthony and Rishika at monthly information sessions. After enrolling, students work closely with Megan Van Hook, assistant director of advising and student affairs, who meets with each student every semester. 

Community starts before classes begin. Annual summer welcome events have brought incoming students together alongside current students, faculty and staff. PACKed Saturday courses have given online students opportunities to meet one another in person. Graduate Student Advisory Board events, including Durham Bulls games and fall outings, have created informal connections across Jenkins Graduate Programs.

Students have served as MMA ambassadors, spoken with prospective applicants and taken on visible leadership roles. During the program’s first five years, 10 students have served as ambassadors, five as McLauchlan Leadership Fellows and seven as Graduate Student Advisory Board members. Two have received Jenkins Graduate Student Impact Awards, and nine have pursued MMA-MBA dual degrees.

Others have participated in career sector summits, speaker events and Business Analytics and AI Initiative roundtables.

Industry partnerships have expanded the network. A partnership with AMA Triangle has supported three regional events, including two CMO panels and a luncheon. Six MMA Speaker Series events have connected students with professionals in analytics, marketing, supply chain and AI.

Additionally, study abroad programs have taken MMA students to Germany, Brazil and Switzerland.

“Our study abroad option adds another dimension to the online program, giving students face-to-face instruction and closer connections with classmates in a different country,” Rishika says.

Proof in the Next Move

Career advancement was one of the program’s first measures of success.

The Poole leadership team envisioned a degree for experienced professionals whose technical skills had fallen behind changes in the market. They also wanted to support early-career students seeking a stronger entry point. MMA alumni Grant Gibson and Andrew Baker represent both paths.

Gibson entered the MMA program right after earning his NC State undergraduate degree in operations and supply chain management. He saw analytics becoming central to supply chain work and believed a graduate degree would strengthen his career prospects.

Now a senior sourcing analyst for Foodbuy USA, a subsidiary of Compass Group USA, Gibson says the degree helped him dive deeper into marketing trends and predict where certain markets are trending.

“It has given me the knowledge and confidence to be able to confidently discuss that with my managers,” he says.

The relationships lasted, too. Four years after graduation, Gibson still keeps in touch with Anthony. When she organized an MMA and MBA alumni gathering in Charlotte, he saw how many graduates shared similar stories about her impact.

Baker came to the program with an established career in digital marketing at Autobell Car Wash. With an undergraduate degree in communication studies, he knew that to continue advancing his career, he would need to add a formalized degree in marketing. 

“I knew going into this program that I had set career growth goals with my manager. So as I progressed through the program, I’d have benchmarks and would start getting opportunities to put my learnings into my real life at work,” he says. “After proving myself both in and out of the classroom, I was rewarded with a formal promotion to management right before graduation.”

“After proving myself both in and out of the classroom, I was rewarded with a formal promotion to management right before graduation.”

He now uses his analytics background to guide strategy and coach colleagues developing similar skills.

“This program taught me to question data and build an inquisitive mind,” Baker says. “Taking numbers and turning them into business stories that help a company succeed is an important skill.”

Baker also became the first MMA student selected as a McLauchlan Leadership Fellow. The experience strengthened his confidence in his leadership abilities and showed him his influence could extend beyond the classroom.

Together, their stories reflect the range for which the program was designed. One graduate used the program to launch his career. Another used it to earn a promotion and move into management. Both left ready to turn data into decisions and communicate those decisions to others.

A Program of Think and Do

Hands-on work has been central to the MMA program from the start. Recognizing that many students start with limited analytics experience, the curriculum begins with foundational courses that introduce technical methods and pair them with consistent faculty support through office hours, Zoom sessions and direct feedback.

Every student also completes a practicum course built around a real business problem. Teams work with an organization, analyze data and deliver recommendations with practical value.

“The practicum gives students the chance to tackle real problems with actual company partners,” Anthony says. Starting in spring 2027, students will have the opportunity to choose a practicum focused specifically on marketing analytics.

Faculty involvement extends beyond the classroom, with instructors attending welcome events, participating in student programs and revising courses in response to employer needs. Rishika and Anthony are the program’s most visible leaders, but both credit a wider group for the results: faculty, advisers, career coaches, alumni, industry partners and students who have contributed to shaping a young program.

No Fixed Formula

Rishika sees potential for another 30 to 40 percent growth in the next five years. Still, enrollment is only part of the story.

The bigger question is how analytics work will change. AI already handles tasks that once took more time and technical effort. Future tools will likely take on more routine analysis. Marketing professionals will still need to ask the right questions, assess the quality of an answer and turn findings into action.

The program’s next phase will require the same adaptability shown in its first five years.

“We will evolve with curriculum changes and train our students in different ways,” Rishika says. “We want them in step with AI, not behind AI.”

Five years after launch, the MMA program has grown while keeping pace with a fast-changing field and staying focused on the student experience. As analytics and AI reshape marketing, its next chapter will build on the same strengths that shaped the first: strong relationships, practical learning and a willingness to adjust alongside the industry.

Learn more

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