The Master's in Entertainment Industry Management (MEIM) program offered by Carnegie Mellon's Heinz School of Public Policy and Management recently established a new campus branch in North Hollywood, California. The program, established in Summer 2004, began accepting its first applications for the academic year starting fall 2005. The graduate program is designed to supplement the creative skills of students with leadership and management skills so they are able to understand the dynamics of a demanding and ever growing industry and succeed in that setup.

Dan Martin, Associate Dean for Heinz School and pioneer of the MEIM program, believes the program to be a "strongly analytical and disciplined approach…that strikes a balance between hands-on experience and study." He explained that the structure of the program has been designed to accommodate these aspects of the learning process. The two year program is now structured such that students acquire core management skills in their first year at the Carnegie Mellon base in Pittsburgh and continue their learning in California, at the heart of the entertainment industry.

The program also values the importance of ethics in a fast paced lifestyle and aims to retain modesty while giving students the impetus in creating artistically and financially successful works. Jennie Lake, first year student in MEIM and student assistant in the School of Drama, concurs with South African playwright John Conney's view when he says, "There is no room for narcissism on stage." The program aims to inculcate this humility in students as they take on the entertainment industry.

In Hollywood, the students are only expected to take classes on Fridays and Saturdays, thus giving them enough time to work on internships and explore networking opportunities within a strong Carnegie Mellon alumni pool. MEIM's presence in Hollywood allows industry veterans to share their expertise and experience with the students in Los Angeles. For example, Susan Solt, former Senior Vice President in Miramax and Dean of the School of Theatre in the California Institute of Arts, is one of the many individuals teaching the second-year MEIM students.

At present, the program has nine students in the first- and second-years each. One of the challenges presented by the logistics of the MEIM program is the limited interaction between first-year and second-year students. This is one of the tradeoffs of having the program established at two bases, and the administration continues to try and bridge this divide.

The MEIM office in Hollywood serves as an amalgamation for university contemporaries. In addition, the suite will serve as the permanent archive for the Los Angeles Alumni Clan and the West Coast Drama Clan.

For more information about the program, visit its website.

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