<p>I was curious after reading another thread regarding Johnson and Wales college and after looking at their website I saw this major was offered. DD will eventually be looking for a college probably spring 07, possibly fall 06. After speaking to her tonight, she has a definite interest in this major. She has a background of professional dance (ballet/jazz/hip hop) yet does not want to pursue dance professionally (due to having to take a year off at her Emotional Growth boarding school and cannot measure up professionally now). She is uber organized and thrives on high pressure event preparation. Does anyone know any other colleges who offer this Major? I did a search on a few college websites and didn't come up with anything. Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I am guessing you have seen this thread. However, just in case i will add the link as it may or may not be of help. </p>
<p>There is always the possibility that if you cannot find the perfect course she could do a business major and then get super involved with planning extra curriculars around college which will give hands on planning experience.</p>
<p>Yes I saw the thread after I posted :) but I'm am looking for schools that have an actual Event Planning major, not just a business major and that are not too competitive to get into. My daughter is not a "normal" college undergraduate in that I am not sure when she will graduate her program although she will graduate HS in June. She is VERY outgoing and OCD (lists, upon lists cataloging everything!) It may serve her well in the field of event planning though LOL.</p>
<p>GWU has a meeting management certification and an association management major, I believe. Some hotel management programs has courses, but not really a major. As an association professional and meeting planner, it is something learned by hard experience and generally by seminars. Perhaps working for a city convention bureau or hotel would be good experience and a degreee isn't critical. Useful, yes, but could be in art or business as well as direct major.</p>
<p>What about town planning? does the US have that major? </p>
<p>sorry i am not trying to hijack your thread ... i am just trying to think of other possible avenues to get into event planning. </p>
<p>I hope you are able to find a degree your daughter will enjoy :)</p>
<p>Great ideas Weski but I would like her to have a four year college education majoring in her chosen field. She has a large tattoo of a shamrock on her forearm which may prove limiting at the city/government level :( (argh! that's enough material for another thread)</p>
<p>Sid19, I really appreciate your input but I don't want her coming back to this town :\ Too many bad influenced and old "friends". She has said that she wants to make a fresh start somewhere other than our city. She's a smart girl who scored in the 99% in PSAT and then bombed her SAT's. It does not help that we are still unclear whether she will be looking for a college in Fall 06 (not likely at this point) or in Spring 07 after taking college courses via Texas Tech through a mentor on her campus (much more likely). She has been substance free for 14 mos. so that is what really matters to me! I think she's one of those "take charge, organized beyond all belief, and able to roll with the punches" personalities that would fit well with large event planning.</p>
<p>Oh sorry i think you may have confused what i meant. Where i am from there is a course called town planning which is supposed to teach you about the organisation and planning of a community. I didnt mean that she would have to stay in your town or anything like that. I was just thinking it could be a option to show lateral thinking and organisational skills. :)</p>
<p>I like that idea/course sid19! Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>Temple U in Philadelphia also has a school of Hospitality and Tourism. My d was accepted into the program. She is interested in Sports Management but that field is also often tied into Event Planning due to events at Sports arenas. Some of the schools mentioned above seemed to have interesting programs, but my d wanted to stay closer to mid-atlantic region. The Rosen school at U Central Florida seemed intersting so you may want to key into schools that have Hotel/Hospitality Management as there are many choices. George Mason U in Fairfax Va also has some program through their Recreation and Health Dept. Good luck</p>
<p>City Planning is a course of study that involves economics, statistics, political science - nothing to do with event planning, and a more rigorous course of study than it sounds like your DS wants. Public relations includes event planning. Take a look at Emerson COllege. Event planning is really not a part of hospitality (hospitality is one part of event planning), it is a part of PR.</p>
<p>There are certain "majors" that do not fall into a specific category--Sports Management and Event Planning are two that come to mind. When we looked into Sports Management Programs, we found that some are within the Physical Ed. Dept, some Kinesoelogy, some Business, and some Travel/Hospitality. Event Planning was often linked with Sports Management type programs as the Management of Sports Arenas and Event Planning at Sports Arenas are often linked together. That is why it is harder to find specific programs at colleges because it is not clear what Dept. you find them in. The link that syd 19 gave is a good place to look.</p>
<p>Most of the event planners I know have strong marketing backgrounds, so I'd also consider schools with strong marketing and/or advertising/public relations programs.</p>
<p>A good Events Planning program will have Marketing, economics, statistics courses as a requirement. I'm not pushing the Temple Program but it may be a good place to look as a basis of comparison as they definitely have a specific Events Planning curriculum. Courses in the Temple program include Program and Special Events Planning, Financial Management in Tourism & Hospitality--Marketing and Sales in Tour. & Hosp.-- Conference and Event Management& International Tourism. My point is that there are actually programs that are keyed into Event Planning as a major. Their are many other programs like this but I am most familiar with the Temple program as my d applied there. Good luck.</p>
<p>Always a possibility that your daughter may actually dislike event planning... so why not consider a broader based degree in communications or business, supplemented by summer jobs? I have a cousin with a degree in real estate management.... took 6 months with a large developer to realize she hates real estate, and it has been an exercise in creativity to explain to employers why she wanted out of real estate (she loved her courses in college.... just hated working in her field.) If a kid hasn't spent a summer or two shadowing professionals to learn what people actually do all day, I get very nervous with these narrow, vocationally specific degree programs-- and that includes pre-med and pre-law. The on the job reality seldom jives with the perception.</p>
<p>You have a good point Blossom but alot of these programs are broad based BA/BS programs too- where you need to take basic courses in economics, writing, public speaking, communications and a practicum or internship. Most of the beginning courses would be transferable to any major so you are not locking yourself into that program. If it doesn't work for you, you can transfer into the College of Arts&Sciences. The best advice may be to find a school that you truly want to attend and if they have the Events Planning Program too, you can't go wrong. The Temple program is affiliated with the Fox School of Business at Temple, so it is probably a relatively painless transfer if they want a more broad based business experience.</p>
<p>My niece works currently in Special Events for her alma mater. However she was a Communications major, as has been suggested by other posters. I think that Communications can provide very good prep for events work. (as can Marketing)
She worked at radio stations as part of her undergrad internships and through doing promotions for the station, she realized that event planning was right up her alley. The position at her college opened up serendipitously for her.<br>
Public relations programs/majors can also be researched.</p>
<p>nyu has a great program</p>
<p>I'm wondering if part of blossom's point might be whether Events Planning as a major might be limiting on the resume? If one decided against the field IRL soon after, or even several years after, graduation, it might be desirable to have a broader-based major on the resume, while still covering all the Events Planning coursework or having it as a minor/double major.</p>
<p>Lots of great ideas here, thank you! Blossom, I agree that it might not be good to choose a program that is very narrow, especially since what D thinks she wants to do changes with the wind :P</p>