The first graduate-level program in the U.S. designed for meeting and event professionals will begin in August.

A partnership between San Diego State University’s L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and MPI, the majority of the 18-month program can be completed online, on your own time. The only portion of the program requiring travel is two on-campus weeks in San Diego. Sounds like a pretty great gig, right?

Targeted to CMPs and CMMs — as well as those already working in areas like corporate meeting planning, group sales, convention services, destination management and audiovisual production — the program is open for applications. Only 30 students will be accepted in the first cohort.

“The Master's program in meeting and event management is designed not only to elevate the careers of meeting professionals, but our industry as a whole,” said Carl Winston, director of the L. Robert Payne School.  

He added, "The program takes the meeting professional's focus off of day-to-day logistics and allows them to gain the knowledge, tools, and network to understand the value of meetings at a higher level. Our goal is for students to change the perception of their role within their organization from being the person responsible for the logistics to a strategic contributor to overall goals.”

This new program builds off the success of SDSU’s hospitality program, with a recent alumni study revealing graduate pay increases between 10-50 percent in their first year out of school.

Recognizing the needed shift in the industry to strategic meetings management, the curriculum of the meeting management master’s program will focus on strategic leadership, stakeholder management, finance fundamentals, business analytics, applied design thinking, demonstrating return on experience, leading change and innovation, modern marketing strategies and more.

Students will have the opportunity to network with industry leaders, complete flexible online assignments, participate in mentor matching, listen to TED Talk-style lectures, learn instantly applicable leadership takeaways and complete a career-changing capstone project.

For more information or to apply, go here.