VCU Topics Courses

• Fall 2026
• Online / Synchronous
• Thursdays 4:00-6:40 pm 
• CRN: TBD, 3 credits
• Open to undergraduate and graduate students 

Please note that this course is open and accessible to all students regardless of major or academic level or skill.

Course Description and Overview

In a world drowning in data, knowing how to ask sharp questions and turn insights into strategy is a competitive advantage. This course teaches students to be smarter consumers and potential creators of marketing research. Data, in all its forms, are becoming an increasingly necessary input in making business decisions. This course will help you understand how consumer insights can be leveraged to inform marketing and advertising and related business functions such as new product development/innovation, customer satisfaction, and brand positioning. This practitioner-led Topics course demystifies marketing research for the next generation of marketers, strategists, and brand leaders. Students learn to ask powerful questions, evaluate research quality, and work effectively with insights teams whether they aspire to become researchers themselves or will commission research throughout their careers.

Learning Objectives

• Collaborate with research teams and translate data into strategic action.
• Evaluate research quality and distinguish between well-designed and poorly designed studies.
• Understand how to ask questions better and what makes questions powerful versus leading, vague, or biased in research and business strategy contexts.
• Evaluate effective research strategies and determine when research is needed and when it’s not.

• Fall 2026
• Brandcenter 103 S. Jefferson St. / Room 1019
• Wednesdays, 4-6:40 PM
• CRN: 51137, 3 credits
• Open to undergraduate and graduate students 

Please note that this course is open and accessible to all students regardless of major or academic level or skill.

Course Description and Overview

Creativity is the essential skill for success in the 21st century. This course is about learning practices and developing habits to activate and strengthen the creative capacity that lies within everyone. This experiential learning class features hands-on activities and knowledge sharing from real-world experts from the realms of both art and business. This is not about learning how to “get out of the box”; this is about gaining the ability to consistently innovate in an era of constant change and unpredictability.

Learning Objectives

• Evidence-based strategies to manage uncertainty and change
• How to activate and develop your personal creative confidence
• Practical tools to embed creativity into your life and work
• Fresh perspectives on the future of work and the value of human creativity with it

• Spring 2026
• Taught by Alana Gleason
• Brandcenter, 103 S. Jefferson St. / Room 2001
• Mondays 4 – 6:40 pm
• 3 Credits
• Open to undergraduate and graduate students

Join Alana Gleason, Director of Planning for Social at The Martin Agency, to create content for your favorite brand! 

You’ll re-envision strategy, aesthetics, tone of voice, and influencer partnerships for your chosen brand, while also being able to articulate the value of social for businesses. Discover what a career in social media could look like for you by sampling every role within a social team all while building a robust, social-only portfolio piece.

Alana is one of the strategic minds on the Martin team behind Miracle-Gro’s recent social campaigns, including Full Bush Summer with Gabby Windey, Edible Gardening with Action Bronson, and tapping into subcultures like goth gardening and cottagecore. She also leads teams for work on Solo Stove, Papa Johns, AXE, and more.

The course is open to both VCU undergraduate and graduate students—meet with your advisor to discuss eligibility and register.