undergradly.
Major - Business, Management, Marketing

A specialized hospitality track for the MICE industry - with real entry-level pay friction and a clear cert that breaks it

Meeting and Event Planning (CIP 52.0907) prepares students to plan, budget, and run conferences, conventions, weddings, trade shows, corporate events, and special events. About 391 degrees are awarded annually across 34 colleges, with the largest bachelor's pipelines at the University of Central Florida (159), Iowa State (60), and Central Michigan (32). Five-year median earnings sit near $53,772, with bachelor's completers at $56,191 and associate's completers at $42,850. The tracked BLS career - meeting, convention, and event planners - reports a $59,440 median wage with 4.8% projected growth.

Schools offering
34
Annual completions
391
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$54k

About this major

Meeting and Event Planning (CIP 52.0907) is a specialized track within the broader hospitality CIP family (52.09). The official IPEDS definition describes a program that 'prepares individuals to plan, budget, and implement conferences, meetings, and other special events in the public or private sectors,' covering site selection, contracts and vendor negotiations, marketing, food and beverage management, audio-visual basics, and hospitality law. About 391 degrees are awarded annually across 34 colleges - a small, focused major compared to the 5,942 completions in general hospitality (52.0901) or the 1,103 in hotel/motel administration (52.0904).

The major sits within what the events industry calls MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions. That framing matters because it maps directly onto the four destination lanes graduates enter. Corporate meetings include in-house events teams at Fortune 500 companies (Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Bank of America) running sales kickoffs, board offsites, and customer summits. Incentive travel is the lane handled by Maritz Travel, BCD Travel M&I, and Direct Travel, who design and execute reward trips for high-performing salespeople. Conferences include the annual industry conventions run by trade associations and convention bureaus - destinations include ASM Global, Oak View Group, and the major convention centers in Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, and Anaheim. Exhibitions cover trade-show production at firms like Reed Exhibitions, Informa Markets, and Emerald.

Beyond the MICE core, graduates also flow into hotel banquet and catering operations at major brands, destination management companies (Hello! DMC, Hosts Global, BCD M&E), wedding planning at boutique to celebrity-tier shops (David Tutera, Colin Cowie), nonprofit fundraising-event management (galas, walks, benefit events run by hospitals, foundations, and universities), sports event production (Super Bowl host committees, Olympics, college bowl games), and entertainment-industry events (red-carpet premieres, awards shows at IMG, CAA Events, Endeavor).

The top program landscape reflects a mix of dedicated event management departments and broader hospitality schools that house event tracks. The University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management produces 159 bachelor's completions annually - more than the next four schools combined - and feeds directly into the Orlando convention and theme-park events market. Iowa State's Apparel/Events/Hospitality Management department produces 60 bachelor's completers, Central Michigan 32, High Point 30, and University of North Texas 28. Beyond the volume leaders, the recognized event-management programs include George Washington University's Tourism and Hospitality Management, Penn State Smeal, Cornell SHA, FIU Chaplin, JWU Johnson & Wales, NYU Tisch Hospitality, Florida State Dedman, University of Houston Conrad, San Diego State HTM, UNLV Harrah, Drexel LeBow, and James Madison.

The industry credential stack is well-defined and matters more than in many business majors. The CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) from the Events Industry Council is the gold standard, requiring three years of qualifying experience plus a written exam. Adjacent credentials include the CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional, ILEA), CEM (Certified Event Manager, IAEE - the trade-show specialty), DES (Digital Event Strategist, PCMA - hybrid and virtual events), and HMCC (Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate, for the pharma/medical events lane). Industry associations - MPI, PCMA, ILEA, SITE, IAEE, and ASAE for the nonprofit-association event lane - run the major industry conferences and recruiting pipelines.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Meeting, convention, and event planners $59k +4.8% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$54k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$43k

Bachelor's

$56k

Who this major is for

This major fits students who already know they want to enter the events industry and are willing to commit to that specialty rather than a broader hospitality umbrella. It is a strong fit if you have already worked event-related student jobs - alumni events office, conference services on campus, sorority/fraternity event chair, residence-life programming, student government event planning, or any campus role that involves running real events on a real budget - because that on-the-ground experience is what employers screen for at the entry level. It also fits students who are willing to take internships in convention bureaus, hotel banquet departments, DMCs, or corporate in-house events teams during summers, because those internships convert to full-time offers at a meaningfully higher rate than cold-applying after graduation.

It is less appropriate as a default for students who have not narrowed their hospitality interests yet. The general hospitality major (52.0901) keeps options open across lodging, food service, tourism, and events with broader recruiting reach and 14x the annual completions. If you are early in deciding which corner of hospitality fits, the general major - with event management as a concentration - is usually the safer entry point. Most of the recognized hospitality schools (Penn State Smeal, Cornell SHA, FIU Chaplin, UNLV Harrah, NYU Tisch) offer that exact structure.

The earnings reality is honest. Entry-level event coordinator and planning assistant roles run $40K-$55K depending on city and employer. The tracked BLS median ($59,440) is realistic for the five-to-seven-year experienced planner mark. The career trajectory bends upward sharply with the CMP credential earned at year three to five, with senior planners reaching $80K-$110K and Director of Events at major hotels, resorts, convention centers, or Fortune 500 in-house teams pushing $120K-$180K. Geographic mobility to a major MICE market (Las Vegas, Orlando, NYC, DC, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston) is roughly required to access the upper tier - secondary markets pay materially less and offer slower advancement.

The AI-disruption read is bifurcated. Virtual-event platforms (Cvent, Hopin, Bizzabo, Eventbrite Premium, Zoom Events) and AI tools are compressing entry-level coordinator work focused on registration management, basic agenda building, vendor sourcing, and post-event analytics. Coordinators who only run logistics will face wage pressure. The durable lanes are in-person event production, relationship-driven sales (sponsorships, hotel and convention center contracts, speaker negotiation), and on-site crisis management. Hybrid events have actually expanded the planner skill set, and the DES credential signals hybrid capability that pays a premium.

The associate's path is workable for students targeting hotel banquet operations or boutique wedding-planning shops where a portfolio of executed events and on-the-job reputation outweigh the degree. SUNY Delhi and Sinclair Community College are the visible associate's pipelines in the data, but they are small. The tracked BLS career lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry credential, and corporate in-house events teams, major convention centers, and the larger DMCs use degree screens - which is why the earnings gap between associate's ($42,850 five-year median) and bachelor's ($56,191) is meaningful here.

Finally, if you are drawn to the events space but worried about modest entry-level pay, the lanes where the industry pays meaningfully better are clearly mapped. Corporate in-house events at Fortune 500 companies (Salesforce, Google, Apple events teams) pay 20-40% above industry average. Trade-show production at Reed Exhibitions, Informa Markets, and Emerald operates on a sponsorship-sales commission model that rewards revenue-generating planners. Incentive travel firms (Maritz, BCD M&I) cater to high-end corporate clients with corresponding compensation. And the convention-center management lane (ASM Global, Oak View Group) controls major venues with director-level compensation in the $120K-$180K range. Picking the right lane within MICE matters more than picking the right school.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Meeting and Event Planning

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Central Florida Orlando, FL 0 159 159
Iowa State University Ames, IA 0 60 60
Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 0 32 32
High Point University High Point, NC 0 30 30
University of North Texas Denton, TX 0 28 28
Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO 0 13 13
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY 1 7 8
Universidad del Sagrado Corazon Santurce, PR 0 8 8
Grace College and Theological Seminary Winona Lake, IN 0 6 6
Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH 5 0 5
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Hospitality Administration/Management, General

5,942 completions/yr

Hotel/Motel Administration/Management

1,103 completions/yr

Tourism and Travel Services Management

542 completions/yr

Hospitality Administration/Management, Other

427 completions/yr

Restaurant/Food Services Management

382 completions/yr

Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management

139 completions/yr

Resort Management

115 completions/yr

Casino Management

15 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Meeting and Event Planning field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Meeting and Event Planning worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What is the MICE industry and how does this major fit into it?
MICE stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions - the formal industry framing for the segment of hospitality that this major prepares you to enter. The four pillars cover corporate meetings (board offsites, sales kickoffs, training events), incentive travel (reward trips for top performers, run by firms like Maritz Travel and BCD Travel M&I), conferences (industry conventions and trade association annual meetings), and exhibitions (trade shows produced by Reed Exhibitions, Informa Markets, and Emerald). The Meeting and Event Planning major maps directly onto entry-level coordinator and assistant planner roles in each of those four lanes. The major industry associations - MPI (Meeting Professionals International), PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association), ILEA (International Live Events Association), SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence), and IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events) - run the certification programs and conferences that define the career. Joining a student chapter of MPI or PCMA before graduation is one of the most reliable ways to get into the recruiting pipeline.
How does this compare to a general hospitality management degree?
Hospitality Administration/Management, General (CIP 52.0901) is the umbrella major in this family - about 5,942 annual completions across 423 colleges, with curriculum spanning lodging, food service, tourism, marketing, and operations as a connected system. Meeting and Event Planning (52.0907) is roughly 15 times smaller (391 completions, 34 colleges) and far more focused. The general major keeps options open across the entire 52.09 family of careers; this major commits to a specific lane within it. The trade-off is real: if you decide three years in that you would rather work in hotel operations, branded restaurant management, or revenue management, a general hospitality degree gives you broader recruiting access. If you already know the events lane is what excites you - and especially if you can intern at a convention bureau, hotel banquet department, or corporate events team during school - this major signals commitment that hospitality general does not. Most large hospitality schools (Penn State Smeal, Cornell SHA, FIU Chaplin, UNLV Harrah, NYU Tisch) offer event management as a concentration within the general major, which is another reasonable path.
What jobs do graduates actually land in, and what do they pay?
The tracked BLS destination is meeting, convention, and event planners (SOC 13-1121) at a $59,440 median wage with 4.8% projected growth - decent but not high relative to other business majors. The honest career arc looks like this: entry-level event coordinator or planning assistant roles run roughly $40K-$55K depending on city and employer (lower at small DMCs and nonprofits, higher at Fortune 500 in-house events teams). Senior planners with five years of experience reach $80K-$110K. Director of Events at major hotels, resorts, and convention centers can push $120K-$180K, especially in Vegas, Orlando, NYC, DC, and Chicago. Real-world destinations span corporate in-house events (Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Bank of America), convention center management (ASM Global, Oak View Group), destination management companies (Hello! DMC, Hosts Global, BCD M&E), hotel banquet/catering operations at major brands, wedding planning (boutique to David Tutera/Colin Cowie tier), trade show production (Reed Exhibitions, Informa Markets, Emerald), nonprofit fundraising-event management at hospitals and universities, and entertainment-industry events (red-carpet, premieres, awards shows at IMG, CAA Events, Endeavor).
How important is the CMP certification, and when should I get it?
The CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) credential, administered by the Events Industry Council, is the gold-standard certification in this industry. It requires three years of meeting management experience plus a written exam, which means most planners earn it at the 3-5 year career mark rather than directly out of school. Once held, the CMP is the credential that unlocks senior planner roles, director-level promotions, and the higher-paying corporate and association event jobs. The salary jump after CMP is real - studies from the Events Industry Council and MPI consistently show CMP holders earning $15K-$25K more than non-credentialed peers in equivalent roles. Adjacent credentials worth knowing: CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional, ILEA), CEM (Certified Event Manager for trade shows, IAEE), DES (Digital Event Strategist for virtual/hybrid events, PCMA), and HMCC (Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate, for the pharma/medical events lane). The practical sequence: get the bachelor's, take any entry-level coordinator job that gets you logging meeting-management hours, sit the CMP at year three, and use the credential to negotiate the senior-planner promotion or jump to a better employer.
Where are the strongest programs and what does location mean for outcomes?
The events industry is heavily concentrated by city. The major convention markets - Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, NYC, DC, San Francisco, Boston, New Orleans - have employer density that smaller markets cannot match, and host most of the largest annual conventions and trade shows. Top program-by-completions volume runs through University of Central Florida (159 bachelor's, fed directly into the Orlando convention market via Rosen College of Hospitality Management), Iowa State (60 bachelor's, with the Apparel/Events/Hospitality Management department), Central Michigan University (32), High Point University (30), and University of North Texas (28). Beyond the volume leaders, the recognized event-management programs include George Washington University, Penn State Smeal, Cornell SHA, FIU Chaplin, JWU Johnson & Wales, NYU Tisch Hospitality, Florida State Dedman, University of Houston Conrad, San Diego State HTM, UNLV Harrah, Drexel LeBow, and James Madison. The location lesson: where you go to school matters less than which industry market you can intern in during summers and where you take your first full-time job. UCF graduates dominate Orlando theme park and convention center hiring; UNLV feeds Vegas; NYU and Cornell feed the NYC corporate event circuit; FIU feeds the Miami events market.
What does AI and virtual-event technology mean for events careers?
The honest read is bifurcated. AI and virtual-event platforms (Cvent, Hopin, Bizzabo, Eventbrite Premium, Zoom Events) are absolutely compressing some entry-level coordinator work - registration management, basic agenda building, post-event analytics reporting, and routine vendor sourcing are increasingly automated or self-service. Coordinators who only run logistics will face wage pressure. The durable side of the career is in-person event production, relationship-driven sales (selling sponsorships, negotiating with hotels and convention centers, securing high-value speakers), and crisis management when something inevitably goes wrong on-site. Hybrid events have actually expanded the planner skill set - the Digital Event Strategist (DES) credential from PCMA is the credential that signals you can run virtual and hybrid formats alongside in-person. The practical implication for students: invest in the relationship and production skills (sponsorship sales, speaker negotiation, on-site crisis management, executive client management) that automation does not touch, and pick up the virtual-events tooling as a complement rather than competing on logistics-only coordinator work.
What's a realistic earnings picture five years out?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $53,772 across degree levels - bachelor's completers near $56,191, associate's completers around $42,850. That places the major in the modest-pay tier among business majors, on par with the broader hospitality family and below business analytics, finance, or marketing analytics. The tracked BLS career (meeting/convention/event planners) shows $59,440 median wage with 4.8% projected growth, which is roughly the realistic five-to-seven-year mark for someone who stays in property-level or boutique-DMC work. The earnings ceiling moves significantly higher with the CMP credential and 5-10 years of experience: senior planners reach $80K-$110K, and Director of Events at major hotels, resorts, convention centers, or Fortune 500 in-house teams can push $120K-$180K. Geographic mobility helps - Vegas, Orlando, NYC, DC, San Francisco, and Chicago pay materially better than secondary markets. Honest framing: this is a career where the bachelor's gets you in the door, but the credential (CMP) and brand experience (working at a recognized convention center, major hotel brand, or Fortune 500 in-house team) drive the trajectory more than the degree itself.
Is the bachelor's worth it, or should I consider an associate's instead?
The earnings split tells a clearer story than usual: associate's completers report a five-year median around $42,850, while bachelor's completers report about $56,191 - a $13,300-per-year gap. The tracked BLS career (meeting, convention, and event planners) lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry credential, which is different from the broader hospitality family where high school diplomas suffice for many operations roles. The bachelor's matters more here because event planning is recognized as a credentialed profession by the Events Industry Council, and corporate in-house events teams (Salesforce, Google, Bank of America), major convention centers, and the larger DMCs use degree screens. The associate's path is reasonable for students targeting hotel banquet operations or smaller wedding-planning shops where on-the-job experience and a portfolio of executed events outweigh the degree. SUNY Delhi and Sinclair Community College are the visible associate's pipelines in the data. If your goal is to run corporate or association events, sit the CMP at year three, and reach senior planner or director roles, the bachelor's is the more credible path; the associate's is workable for hotel banquet and small-shop wedding planning where reputation builds faster than credentials.