Entertainment Industry Management

Our unique dual-city Master of Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM) program covers everything from management skills to hands-on experience within the entertainment industry. In the first year in Pittsburgh, students develop the business management and leadership skills required to excel in a constantly changing marketplace. In the second year in Los Angeles, students’ practical learning experiences include classes with top industry professionals and almost 1000 hours of internship experience. The MEIM program positions its graduates to be leaders throughout the entertainment industry.

Unique Features & Benefits:

• Second Year in LA: Students spend their entire second year in Los Angeles taking courses taught by top entertainment industry professionals. The second year also features a professional practicum, with students supplementing their full academic course load with 4 days per week internships with leading entertainment companies, including major studios, talent agencies, management firms, game publishers, music firms, marketing and distribution companies, broadcast and cable networks, and production companies.
• Sundance, Cannes, and SXSW Festivals: Students build professional experience and relationships through participation at South by Southwest, Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals as a part of their graduate course work.
• Experiential learning: Internships, participating in film festivals, attending conferences, industry nights, speaker series, and completing capstone projects with entertainment industry clients are some of the ways that students benefit from our hands-on, practical learning approach.
• Capstone Thesis Project - The Capstone project is a year-long group-based study conducted for an industry client on a topic of current strategic interest. Past projects have been with a diverse set of clients including BBC America, Disney, Fox, IMAX, Lionsgate, Nielsen, PwC, Producers Guild of America, Sony Pictures, Stax Records, Sundance, Twitter, and Warner Bros Studios.
• Engagement in the Entertainment Community: Students receive memberships to Film Independent, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Hollywood Radio & TV Society to continue their integration into the entertainment industry.
• Industry Nights: Several times throughout the year, students travel to companies’ headquarters to hear and see first-hand from entertainment industry executives. Past Industry Night trips have included Amazon Studios, Awesomeness TV, Creative Artist Agency, Dreamworks Animation, Sony Home Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Television 
• Leadership development: Students are immersed in a variety of leadership related training opportunities ranging from academic coursework to unique workshops and guest panels to involvement in various clubs and organizations.
• Quantitative management and technology: Students gain advanced knowledge of the entertainment industry’s most highly coveted competencies, from finance to data analysis to budget reviews and marketing strategies, giving students a competitive edge.
• Exceptional alumni and employer networks: Students have access to an active professional mentorship community, including MEIM alumni, industry leaders & corporate partners.

We are continually working to enhance the MEIM’s curriculum to ensure it is evolving in order to provide the skills needed for our graduates to be competitive in the job market. The extensive and long-held relationships that the MEIM program has developed with entertainment industry professionals (including its alumni), both on the faculty and in the field at large, ensure that the program remains fresh and dynamic.

The first-year experience establishes theoretical foundations and key practical management skills and techniques in order to help the student develop leadership skills. The second-year curriculum shifts to a professional focus by providing courses specifically related to TV, film, video games, multi-channel networks, entertainment finance, business affairs, branding, music, marketing, and managing the creative process of storytelling in all forms. The second-year courses facilitate the practical application of the first year’s foundational management theory and practice within the context of the entertainment industry.

Additionally, students in the second year have the option to follow one of two curriculum tracks   focusing on either Entertainment Management for Screens or Entertainment Management for Music.

While both concentrations share the same core courses, the screen-based path focuses more on the development, production and marketing of TV, film and video game content; whereas the music-based concentration focuses more on parallel topics in the popular contemporary music industry, including A&R, publishing, live entertainment, licensing, and music supervision.  A few examples of classes offered include Artist Development, Music Economics, Music Supervision, and Music in the Media. If you are interested in this area, please reach out to MEIMAdmissions for more information.  

Our curriculum for both concentrations includes:

• Core courses that cover management, technology, financial, quantitative and communication skills.
• Quantitative management and technology: Students gain advanced knowledge of the entertainment industry's most highly coveted competencies, from finance and data analysis to budget reviews and marketing strategies, giving students a competitive edge as they begin their professional career.
• Entertainment industry-specific courses to develop comprehensive fluency in Film/TV producing practices, entertainment marketing, entertainment research, media distribution and related disciplines.
• Elective courses on topics such as film acquisitions, film exhibition, talent management, creative producing, entertainment ethics, music supervision, music economics, music artist development, video games, and multi-platform production and marketing.
• A second-year Capstone Project that serves the same role as a traditional thesis, but goes further by allowing students to work on a topical research project in partnership with a marquee entertainment business client. Past clients include BBC America, Disney, Fox, IMAX, Lionsgate, Nielsen, PwC, Producers Guild of America, Sony Pictures, Stax Records, Sundance, Twitter, and Warner Bros. Studios.
• Practicum assignments (including internships) in Pittsburgh (first year), New York (summer), and Los Angeles (summer and second year) that supplement classroom work and expand professional experiences and personal networks.
• Second Year Internships that allow students to be at an entertainment company full-time, four days a week.  This unique schedule has been instrumental in students gaining great experiences throughout the second year of the program.
• Seminars and special presentations that are scheduled throughout the program and feature key national and international figures in the arts, entertainment and related policy areas.

MEIM graduates are equipped with marketable skills that often result not only in landing their first job immediately out of school, but also in expediting their advancement within the field and allowing them to successfully negotiate the ongoing challenges of building their careers in a rapidly evolving industry.

• Online Application Form
• Transcripts
• Standardized Test Scores (GRE or GMAT)
• English Language Proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS)
• Recommendations
• Résumé
• Required Essay
• Optional essay
• Video interview or video essay (optional, but strongly recommended)
• Verification Requirement (applicable only if you are admitted!)
• Review and Sign the MEIM Enrollment Agreement (required for enrolling students)

Scholarships

MEIM students are awarded a one-time $1,200 re-location stipend to assist all students with their expenses related to moving from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles prior to their second year.

In order to offset a portion of the additional expenses incurred during the second year of the MEIM program, all MEIM students who receive a scholarship for the first two semesters in the program receive an additional $2,500/semester in scholarship support in each of their final two semesters in the program.