Event and Recreation Management
Major
Program Overview
CMU’s event and recreation management major 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.
Program Snapshot
Why This Program & What You'll Learn
The event and recreation management (ERM) program prepares you to work in both the for- and non-profit event and recreation management industries. Our students go on to work in places such as amusement or theme parks, community centers, festivals, non-profit organizations, university recreation and activities, sports and entertainment venues, military recreation, corporate and private special events, city and county parks and recreation, convention centers, and faith-based recreation.
Before you go into the real world, you'll get hands-on practical experience. Lots of it. Finish up your academic career with a 30-week internship, the longest of any recreation program in the nation.
Our Center for Leisure Services can help you find a perfect match. You might even earn your mouse ears at Disney World, through the Disney College Program.
Our programs are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Related Professions (COAPRT).
Program Highlights
- Awarded the Gold Pinnacle Award in 2019 as the "Best Event Management Bachelor's Degree" by the International Festivals and Events Association.
- Learn from faculty, all of whom have professional, industry experience in event and recreation management settings.
- Engage in classes that emphasize hands-on, service-learning based projects and assignments.
- Finish up your academic career with a professional 30-week internship - the only 30-week internship in the nation.
- Two specific pre-internship classes to assist with the internship search and placement process.
- Accredited since 1982 by the Council of Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism or Related Professions (COAPRT).
Careers & Outcomes
Our recreation graduates work for many types of organizations across the country including amusement or theme parks, community centers, festivals, non-profit organizations, university recreation and activities, sports and entertainment venues, and many more.
| Career | Projected Salary |
|---|---|
| Event Marketing Manager | $62,608 |
| Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner | $49,470 |
| Event Planner | $52,560 |
| Entertainment and Recreation Manager | $67,220 |
| Entertainment and Recreation Supervisor | $44,660 |
| Sports Coordinator | $50,615 |
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