Event and Recreation Management

Take advantage of the booming leisure industry

The events industry in the U.S. provides over 5.9 million jobs* and is expected to grow by 11% from 2019-2029**. With such demand for trained professionals in this field, our event and recreation management major — Michigan’s first — puts you on a fast track to success. As a student, you might work behind the scenes at a major campus concert, help organize the nation’s only student-run Gus Macker basketball tournament or land your dream job through a required internship. Employers at theme parks, parks and recreation departments, community/convention centers, festivals, and entertainment venues covet your energy and await your graduation.

*Oxford Economics and Events Industry Council, 2018

**U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Event and Recreation Management program (which includes the Event and Recreation Management major and Event Management minor) prepares graduates for a variety of industries. This photo montage is an example of the different types of careers available to REM graduates…and the pictures all came from actual Central Michigan University alumni!

Faculty and staff posing in a group shot at a football game — Run an Alumni Event

woman crossing the finish line at a breast cancer run — Organize a Charity Event

people watching a parade — Plan a City Parade

Wedding venue decorated with tables — Become a wedding planner

Crowd of people at a concert — Manage a Music Festival

Careers in event and recreation management

Our graduates from this program specialize in for-profit or non-profit recreation sites. Alumni work with people, manage facilities and plan events for businesses, resorts, non-profit, public agencies, entertainment, and festivals.

Our alumni are highly desired by employers and quickly advance in their careers, which is evident in the titles listed below. Click on the links to hear how the ERM program at CMU launched the careers of our alumni: