SDSU Launches Meeting and Event Management Master’s Program
San Diego State University’s L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is launching the first Meeting and Event Management master’s program in all of North America.
The program is being launched in collaboration with Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest meeting and event planner industry association in the world. The 18-month program will feature mostly online classes except for two weeks of in-person instruction on SDSU’s campus, designed to allow students to continue their work in the field while pursuing their degree.
“We could not be more excited about co-creating this first of its kind master’s degree,” said Carl Winston, the director of the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “This master’s degree will assist mid to senior-level professionals in developing their skills while still employed, benefitting both themselves and their organizations.”
MPI and SDSU began their collaboration in 2015 when they partnered with Event Model Generation to present the Event Design Certificate (EDC) program, a three-day course covering a 10-step visual approach to event design.
“MPI has been an industry leader dedicated to enhancing the skills and career success of its core constituency, meeting professionals. The leadership and faculty at the SDSU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management are equally committed to excellence and innovative approaches in delivering a graduate level educational experience of the very highest caliber. This collaboration is the genesis of what could very well become a game changer in the meeting and event industry,” said Vince LaRuffa, senior vice president of Resort Sales and Marketing at Universal Orlando Resort, SDSU School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Master’s Program alumnus, and previous member of the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees and MPI Board of Directors.
The Meeting and Event Management master’s program was officially approved in May 2019 and the first cohort is set to begin on August 1 of this year. The group of up to 30 students will spend six days on campus in early August before continuing on to the online portion of the program. Applications are still being accepted to fill the limited number of remaining spots.
The Meetings and Events Program is made possible with generous support from Patti Roscoe, who supports the Patti Roscoe Professorship in Meetings and Events.
More information about the program can be found at https://mastershtm.sdsu.edu/masters-degree-meeting-and-event-management/.
