Speciality: Political and Media Marketing
Awarded qualification: Economist-marketer
Level of qualification: Bachelor
Specific admission requirements: Successfully completed secondary/higher education and successfully passed admission exams.
Specific arrangements for recognition of prior learning :
Formal: diplomas and academic transcripts from secondary schools and accredited universities.
Informal: foreign language and computer certificates and other type of competency in line with the study plan of the specialty.
Unofficial: certification exam in foreign language, IT skills or other competency before a commission at Varna Free University.
Procedures for informal and unofficial recognition of competencies from previous study:
1. Allocation of credits on the basis of submitted papers: academic transcript or a diploma for higher degree from previous study;
- International diplomas and foreign language certificates (English- Cambridge FCE, TOEFL; GerMAN- Zertifikat Deutsch, Sprahdiplom, Zweite Stufe; Russian – ТРКИ; French- DELF; Spanish - DELE);
- International diplomas and ECDL (The European Computer Driving Licence) certificates.
2. Certification of knowledge and skills by means of taking exams in:
- foreign languages at the Department of Foreign Language Teaching;
- IT skills at the Department of Computer Studies.
Qualification requirements and regulations: In order to get their qualification students must be allocated 240 credits - 200 credits from compulsory courses, 18 from elective courses, 12 credits from optional courses, 3 credits from pre-graduation internship and 10 credits from State Examinations (Thesis defence).
Profile of the programme: Specialists, majoring "Political and media marketing", acquire profound theoretical knowledge and practical skills in marketing strategy and marketing research in the media and political sphere and public relations. Training in this major is developed in four scientific fields: economy, journalism and public relations, political sciences, informatics and computer sciences. During this widely integral, multi-functional educational process, students acquire modern marketing, media, political and communication culture; current theoretical knowledge and practical skills in political and media strategy and marketing research, necessary for their adequate and dynamic carrier development in business and other structures, in power on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, in the EU, and on more global international scale. The range of courses of fundamental and specializing character, and the opportunity to achieve high level of language and IT training, are prerequisites to learn and apprehend important national and international practices and innovation approaches in the field of media and political marketing. In the first two years subjects are taught in a general base block, but the focus is also on special subjects – theoretically, as well as by practical training provided in media structures and public relations, political and marketing and advertizing agencies.
Key learning outcomes
Graduates from "Political and media marketing" are required to have profound knowledge in the area of media knowledge, public relations and marketing, and more specifically in the following subjects: Business and political journalism; Construction and management of corporate image; European media space; Management and marketing; Creative communication; Political and business advertising in the media; Political systems and their impact on public environment; Behavior in front of a TV camera and in a radio studio. Along with that, students are required to have built knowledge how to use in practice this rich array of knowledge, as well as developed habits to use managerial technologies with computers и PCs in their future practical activity.
Occupational profiles of graduates
A graduate from "Political and media marketing"has the following basic skills:
1. To implement integrally the acquired general theoretical, special and specialized media, political, and economical knowledge for doing marketing activities;
2. To conduct successful marketing research of the media and PR market and of the political reality, to assess the situation and elaborate marketing and advertising strategies;
3. To work out alternative marketing and advertising decisions and to evaluate their efficiency;
4. To make statistic complex analyses of the results from the marketing research in order to properly interpret and use the collected and processed information;
5. To apply contemporary managerial and information technologies;
6. To be able to make management decisions;
7. To participate as an expert in business and entrepreneurship in the media, political and advertising-and-communication sphere.
Access to further studies: Successful graduates of the Bachelor’s degree program can continue in a Master’s degree in similar major as full-time or part-time students. Bachelor degree graduates from "Political and media marketing" who have broader interests can continue their education in a Master’s degree program with other professional fields at VFU, in compliance with the terms and conditions in force.
Examination regulations, assessment and grading: General requirements to the students:
• Thorough knowledge of the discipline: functions, graphs, optimization problems;
• Regular attendance of lectures and seminars. Arrival on time and discipline during the lessons. Late arrival, noise during lectures, or distraction of other students’ attention reduce the effectiveness of the learning and teaching process and shall not be tolerated;
• Carrying out of the assigned tasks on time, participation in class discussions, reviewing the material before the lesson;
• Initiative to solve problems and difficulties;
• Adherence to the principles of academic ethics and collegiality.
Continuous and Final Assessment.
Continuous assessment focuses on students’ individual work and is carried out by means of tests which check knowledge. An alternative form of continuous assessment is control work in class. Results from tests for self study are not taken into consideration when these differ dramatically from the results of tests done in class. The date of the test is announced to the students at least a week earlier.
Final assessment is carried out through an exam during the exam sessions. Students who have sat a test in class and their result is over 60% from the overall number of points for the semester can be freed from the final exam. The condition for finishing the semester is students to have at least 10 points from continuous assessment.
Mark formation:
The table below shows the weight of the continuous and final assessment in the formation of the final mark.
Type of control |
Points |
Continuous assessment |
40 |
Exam during the sessions |
60 |
Points |
Mark |
90.00 - 100.00 |
Excellent 6 |
80.00 - 89.99 |
Very good 5 |
70.00 - 79.99 |
Good 4 |
60.00 - 69.99 |
Satisfactory 3 |
0.00 - 59.99 |
Failed 2 |
Graduation requirements: Students who have successfully passed all exams from the curriculum of "Political and media marketing" for educational-and-qualification degree "Bachelor", have successfully defended the pre-graduation internship report, and have paid all required fees – for the semesters and for taking the State exam (the Diploma paper defense), are admitted to take State exam (Diploma paper defense). The total number of credits allocated at VFU, or at other universities-partners of VFU in "Erasmus" programme, before taking the State exam (Diploma paper defense), must be at least 230 credits. Successfully passed State exam gives additional 10 credits, which added to the previous 230 credits, complete the necessary 240 credits for educational-and-qualification degree "Bachelor" according to the requirements of the Higher Education Law. To defend Diploma paper only students who meet the above requirements are admitted, and who have average result from the previous 7 semesters equal to or above "Very good – 5".
Mode of study: full time, part time, distance learning
Head of Department International Economics and Politics: Assoc. Prof. Snezhanka Ovcharova
tel: +359 52 359 576
е-mail: sn.ovcharova@gmail.com
Secretary of Department International Economics and Politics: Svetla Yordanova
tel: +359 52 359 572
е-mail: katedra_mip_vfu@abv.bg