MEIM Curriculum

MEIM instructors strive to develop your management and business skills to support your entrepreneurial vision. Our first-year classroom experiences establish theoretical foundations and key management skills and techniques. The second-year curriculum complements the first year by providing courses specifically related to TV, film, and gaming production, finance and business affairs, branding and marketing in the entertainment sector, new media, business development and the creative process of storytelling in all forms. The second-year courses support the practical application of the first-year’s fundamental management theory and practice within the context of the film, gaming and television industries.

We offer the following types of courses:

• Core courses that cover management, technology, financial, quantitative and communication skills;
• A second year Capstone Project that serves the same role as a traditional Thesis, but goes further by allowing you to work on a topical research project in partnership with a marquee entertainment business client.
• Practicum assignments (including internships), both in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, that supplement your classroom work and expand  your professional experience and personal network.
• Seminars and special presentations that are scheduled throughout the two years featuring key national and international figures in the arts, entertainment and related policy areas;  

The program maintains active relationships with  alumni from the program who stay connected via workshops, panels, invitations to events and provide mentorship and coaching, as well as leads for internships or potential jobs.

As two years of graduate study are but a small part of a student's life-long learning process, the MEIM curriculum has been designed within a broader educational vision. Graduate school should build on the more rounded undergraduate experience, and prepare a student for the more focused professional environment they will face after earning their advanced degree.

The MEIM program was designed to answer the following question: “How can the program best prepare students for the entertainment industry, providing both the skills and understanding of the business as it has been in the past, coupled with the critical thinking and awareness needed to grow with the business as it will be in the future?”

Accordingly, the program is continually evolving to keep current and to stay relevant. The extensive and long-held relationships that the MEIM program has developed with entertainment industry professionals – both on its faculty and in the business at large (including its alumni), insure that the program remains fresh, and dynamic.

MEIM graduates are prepared to not only land their first job out of school, but, in many cases, to advance rapidly within the business, and to successfully negotiate the ongoing challenges of building their careers in the new 21st century screen-based entertainment industry.