MPI and San Diego State University (SDSU) announced they will collaborate to create the first graduate-level degree program in the United States focused on meeting and event management.
The program, hosted through the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at SDSU, will be tailored toward mid- and senior-level professionals. MPI and SDSU also plan on creating an academic certificate program for nontraditional students. Both initiatives are scheduled to launch in 2019.
“We are thrilled about this opportunity to co-create unique and rigorous educational programming with the globally-recognized L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality,” said MPI CEO Paul Van Deventer. “MPI continuously strives to bring more visibility and credibility to the meeting and event industry, and the new master’s degree and academic certificate programs are stellar examples of how we fulfill our mission.”
MPI revealed that the master’s degree program will incorporate experiential learning, simulations and industry partner mentoring, and will be delivered online with meet-ups on the SDSU campus to accommodate work schedules of students. The master's degree program will be taught by faculty who have worked in the meeting and event industry, and feature guest lecturers from the industry. After successful completion of the program, students will be awarded a Master of Science degree in meeting and event management from SDSU.
Meanwhile, the academic certificate program’s curriculum will cover select core content from the master’s degree program, and it will be administered online with meet-ups on SDSU’s campus. The MPI/SDSU academic certificate will be presented to participants upon successful completion of the program.
Participants will also earn college credits, which can be applied toward the master’s degree program.
This academic partnership is not the first for MPI and SDSU, who have worked together since 2015, in partnership with Event Model Generation, to present the Event Design Certificate (EDC) Program, an immersive three-day training course that teaches a systematic 10-step visual approach to event design. The next EDC Program course is scheduled for Jan. 11-13, 2018, on the SDSU campus, and registration is open until Jan. 1.
