The CIM is an internationally recognised awarding body of marketing and digital marketing qualifications. They are a global authority on marketing training and industry best practice. 

Founded in 1911, the CIM is committed to delivering the very best marketing training and was granted a royal charter for the field of marketing, meaning they are the only awarding body able to bestow the coveted chartered marketer status.

They work with the world’s top marketers and industry experts to develop the very best marketing training containing the most up to date industry thinking and findings.

As well as awarding their qualifications directly, they also accredit marketing courses delivered by approved CIM study centres. They will closely scrutinise the course content and delivery of these approved centres to make sure they meet their standards.

CIM study centres have to pass rigorous annual tests and reviews to remain a CIM partner, ensuring whichever centre you decide to study a CIM qualification with, you’ll be receiving the best quality learning experience.

Yes! There are many study centres like us at MMC Learning that offer part-time online CIM courses. This more flexible study option can often be perfect for busy working professionals already in a career in marketing wishing to hone their skills or someone looking to make a career change into marketing. 

Studying online often allows you more control over your study schedule so you can balance your education with work and family commitments and work through the content at your own pace. If you’re already in the marketing field a more self-directed online course can be a better option as you’ll be able to spend less time on the learning you already know and focus on those areas you feel you need to improve on or are most interested in.

Online courses can be a lot cheaper than a more formal postgraduate or degree course and any in person courses as you won’t have to pay for the course space or physical learning materials. In fact counterintuitvely you can actually get more resources for your money with an online course as the course fees often include benefits such as access to a library of video resources and ebooks as well as marketing templates and more.

Generally a CIM qualification will take anything from 6-18 months to complete but this can vary greatly.

The course length of a CIM qualification can be very different depending whether you study online or in person, and full or part time.

The length of time it takes to study a CIM qualification can also vary depending on which learning provider you study with and what level and type of CIM qualification.

The CIM offers Qualifications from Level 3- equivalent to 6 form or A-level study, all the way through to level 7, equivalent to a Master’s degree or post-graduate study.

A qualification at a higher level such as level 7, will inevitably probably have a slightly longer study time.

CIM qualifications can also often be studied as Awards, Certificates or Diplomas (these are just different forms a qualification can take). Awards typically take the least time to study (around 2-4 months as they cover less content in less detail, while a Certificate can take around 6-months to a year and a diploma, the most in-depth and comprehensive qualification can take anywhere from 12-18 months.

The highest level of CIM Marketing qualification is a CIM level 7 diploma, equivalent to post-graduate or masters level study. This option can be great for senior marketers with experience in the field looking to build on their existing marketing knowledge and skills. It has become a popular option amongst graduates looking to qualify in marketing as it is a much cheaper and often quicker option than a masters degree.

Check out our further reading detailing course content, teaching, benefits and much more!