Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies Supports Sy Syms School of Business in Launch of New Program for The Digital Age The first initiative from the newly established Mordecai D. and Monique C. Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies will be supporting a new online master’s degree program offered through the Sy Syms School of Business, which starts in fall 2016. The one-year, 30-credit program will feature a special emphasis on digital and social media marketing, as well as a uniquely collaborative course structure that will offer students a multifaceted approach to real-world marketing challenges. Sy Syms is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the hallmark of excellence in business education.

Dr. Maria Blekher, visiting professor of marketing at the Sy Syms School of Business, will direct the program.

“The marketing field has transformed tremendously over the past 10 years, becoming increasingly grounded in science, technology and data,” said Dr. Paul Russo, dean of the Katz School. “Whether you’re an executive, entrepreneur, brand manager or a professional in any field looking to build your business, a master’s in marketing can accelerate your career.” “The program offers comprehensive training in everything from search engine optimization and leveraging social media to the nuts-and-bolts of consumer behavior, data analytics and advertising strategy,” said Dr. Tamar Avnet, associate professor and chair of the marketing department at Sy Syms. Dr. Maria Blekher will serve as director of the MS in Marketing. Courses in the program will be led by accomplished YU faculty and seasoned practitioners, including Dr. Avi Giloni, associate dean and chair of the information and decisions sciences department at Sy Syms, who will co-teach Data Mining for Business Analytics; Avnet, who will teach two courses, Research Methods and Advertising and Social Media; Dr. Steve Chan, assistant professor of marketing at Sy Syms, who will teach Applied Social Media and Marketing Management; and Dr. Jesse Itzkowitz, assistant professor of marketing at Sy Syms, who will teach Consumers’ Choice and Behaviors, Brand Management and the program’s Marketing Capstone course. Each course will ask students to apply the skills they learn to a distinct aspect of several case-based studies that will be analyzed in every class, forming a shared framework for them to examine and experiment with problems in marketing as they would in the workplace. “Our energetic marketing faculty have put together a course of study which is relevant, practical, and grounded in state-of-the-art thinking,” said Dr. Moses Pava, dean of Sy Syms and the Alvin Einbender Professor of Business Ethics. “The Katz School team brings excitement and years of experience in online education to Yeshiva University.” To learn more about the MS in Marketing, visit marketing.yu.edu.