Experiential Learning in the Entertainment Industry
Entertainment Industry Internships
Erin Coughenour interned at RCA and Ultra Records during her time in the program.
You will complete a summer internship between the first and second years. During your year in Los Angeles, you will work 30-plus hours per week at an internship (or a minimum of 300 hours during each semester) alongside a full-time course load. This constitutes a total immersion in the entertainment industry, providing you with a critical platform for showcasing your knowledge and skills while building your professional network.
Recent Internship Placements
- Creative Artists Agency
- Atlantic Records
- NBCUniversal
- MTV
- ABC Productions
- Epic Records
- AEG Presents
- BBC Worldwide
- Fullscreen Media
- Saturday Night Live
- National Research Group
- Starz
- Blur Studios
- Viacom
- Film Nation
- The Today Show (NBC)
- MGM Studios
- CNN
- William Morris Endeavor
- Sony Pictures Interactive
- Electronic Arts
- ESPN
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Zynga Music
- The Walt Disney Company
- Fox Entertainment
- Steiner Studios
- Marketcast
- Lionsgate
- Variety
- AwesomenessTV
- IMAX
- USA Network
- United Artists
- Focus Features
- 13 Films
- Atlas Talent Agency
- Blumhouse
- ClaraTone Records
- Clear Talent Group
- Hulu
- Legendary Entertainment
- National Association of Latino Independent Producers
- Paramount Pictures
- Select Management Group
- Tencent
- Troika
- Silverline Entertainment
- Sony Music Entertainment
- Voltage Pictures
- CBS Films
- Dreamworks Animation
- Focus Features
- Berlanti Productions
- Fox Sports
- TBS
- HBO
- Activision
- Legendary Entertainment
- Illumination Entertainment
- Lionsgate
- The Gersh Agency
- MGM Studios
- Blizzard Entertainment
- Dick Clark Productions
- IM Global
- Miramax
- Live Nation
- Sony Pictures
- Paramount Studios
- Bruckheimer Television
- Showtime
- Warner Music Group
- Plan B Productions (Brad Pitt)
- Scott Free Productions (Ridley Scott)
- Marvel
- That's Wonderful Productions (Jim Parsons)
- Fox Television
- Fox Media
- Nickelodeon
- SyFy Channel
- Shoe Money Productions
- Telemundo
- Warner Bros.
- Skydance
- Concord Bicycle Music
- William Morris Endeavor
- Variety
- Paradigm Agency
- The Walt Disney Company
- New Line
- Confluential Films
- Conner Literary
- Epitome Media Group
- Indigenous Media
- FilmNation Entertainment
- NBCUniversal
- Prodigal TV
- Solstice Studios
- The Jackson Agency
- Bold Films
- Blur Studio
- Luminous Blue Limited
- Myriad Pictures
- Return Records
- Soulshine Projects
- ViacomCBS
- Paramount
- California Film Commission
- George A. Romero Foundation
- The Voice
- Thunder Road Films
- Sony Music Entertainment
- Live Nation Entertainment
- Bally Sports
- Cannes Film Festival
- Blumhouse Productions
- LA Clippers
- SiriusXM
- United Talent Agency
- Ubisoft
- Pittsburgh Knights
- Warner Music Nashville
- Wasserman Media Group
- National Association of Latino Independent Producers
- RCA Records
- Disney General Entertainment
- Treefort Media
Impact Before You Graduate
As an Entertainment Industry Management student, you will complete a team-based Capstone project, working in collaboration with a real-world client. Heinz College solicits these clients to find projects that benefit both you and client. The ideal project forces you to expand beyond your comfort zone, work with imperfect data, learn to work in a group setting, and apply the skills you learned in class to an actual business challenge. It also provides something of value to the client.
Recent Capstone Clients
- Sega
- Roku
- Adult Swim
- Disney/ABC
- NBCUniversal Television
- Paramount
- Playstation
- Bally Sports Networks
- SonyStudios
- The Les Paul Foundation
- XRM Media
- Warner Bros.
- John Wells Productions
- Sundance Film Festival
- Omelet/Cheat Code
- Ayzenberg Group
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Village Roadshow Entertainment
Begin Your Path to Impact
Networking and Industry Trips
Our students travel to major film festivals as a group to experience that aspect of the industry first-hand. Our alumni have a growing presence on the festival circuit, whether as content producers or presenters/panelists. MEIM alumni regularly organize special events for current students as well. In recent years, alumni and students have even had work shown at festivals around the world.
South By Southwest (SXSW)
All students in the Entertainment Industry Management program attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film, TV, and Music Festival. Program leadership organizes special seminars with executives from leading entertainment companies who are actively engaged in doing business at the festival. Because these conversations happen while deals are being made and announcements are unfolding, students gain firsthand insight into the business decisions shaping the entertainment industry, often before those developments become headline news.
Cannes International Film Festival
The program sponsors a limited number of students to attend Le Festival International du Film De Cannes through a partnership with the American Pavilion.
Students who successfully complete their first year of the program and remain in good academic standing are eligible to apply for a partial scholarship to attend the Cannes Film Festival. Scholarship recipients are selected by a jury of MEIM Advisory Committee members. At Cannes, students attend industry panels, networking events, and educational sessions while gaining firsthand exposure to the global film marketplace. Depending on their placement, students may also intern with companies conducting business at the festival, providing a unique opportunity to experience the international entertainment industry from the inside.
Network New York
New York City is one of the world's leading centers for entertainment, media, and culture, and an increasing number of MEIM students complete internships there or launch their careers in the city after graduation. Each October, just seven weeks into the program, Heinz College hosts Network New York, a two-day career development experience that introduces students to industry professionals before the internship search begins. Through executive-led seminars, company visits, and networking opportunities, students gain firsthand insight into careers across film, television, music, sports, gaming, and digital media, exploring topics such as production, distribution, finance, marketing, and emerging industry trends.
Past Network New York programs have included visits with executives at Sony Music, NBCUniversal, NFL, Take-Two Interactive, William Morris Endeavor, United Talent Agency, Major League Baseball, IFC/AMC Networks, leading creative agencies, and other influential media organizations, giving students an early opportunity to build meaningful industry connections.
The Sylvia and David Steiner Film Workshop/Film Experience Fund
The Sylvia and David Steiner Film Workshop/Film Experience Fund is an endowment to cultivate and foster creative screen-based projects involving those in the Carnegie Mellon University community. The grants may range in allotments of $250, $500, $1,000, or more if needed depending on the project and the resources requested. While the stewardship of the fund is managed via by Heinz College, any currently enrolled student of Carnegie Mellon may apply for funding.
- Student applicants must be currently enrolled in a degree-granting program at CMU and in good standing (not on probation, leave of absence, or suspension)
- Undergraduate or graduate thesis projects are eligible, including but not limited to short films, documentaries, and full-length narratives
- Screen-based art featured within a live performance of any kind are eligible
- Make an appointment to discuss the project with Senior Director of Arts and Entertainment, Dan Green at dtgreen@cmu.edu or MEIM Senior Academic Program Coordinator Mary Ryan at maryryan@andrew.cmu.edu.
- Complete the online form (student)
- Have your faculty or staff advisor complete the online form statement of recommendation form for the project.
- Email both Dan Green at dtgreen@cmu.edu and Mary Ryan at maryryan@andrew.cmu.edu after your online forms have been completed.
- Proposals will be evaluated based on the quality and vision of the project, as well as the demonstrated capabilities of the applicant(s) to complete the project as proposed. These demonstrated capabilities may include an outline or script, the completed or projected budget, past references to previously filmed projects, a projected schedule, or other supporting items.
- A faculty or staff member advisor statement of support (required for all student proposals). The statement should address the following:
- the scope of the project
- whether the advisor believes that the student is capable of their proposed project
- whether the advisor of the project endorses the proposed work
- Quality of the information submitted in the online application
The Steiner Film Funds will be distributed in one lump sum via direct deposit. We anticipate that your award will be deposited approximately one month after we have received all of the required forms for the payment. These funds are a Non-Qualified Scholarships (NQS) and are considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service.
- The university does not have an IRS reporting (ex. Form 1099 or W-2) or tax withholding obligation on non-qualified scholarship payments for students that are considered a U.S citizen, U.S. taxing resident or Resident Alien. This income is self-reported and it is your responsibility to include the income on your personal income tax return, if applicable.
- International Students: The university has an IRS reporting and tax withholding obligation on non-qualified scholarship payments for students that are considered non-resident aliens for tax purposes. 14% will be withheld from your payment and remitted to the IRS unless you qualify for tax treaty benefits. A Form 1042-S will be issued to you to assist you with your personal tax return.
- Each completed project must include an acknowledgement that the project was completed with the assistance of The Sylvia and David Steiner Film Workshop/Film Experience Fund. A Steiner logo may also be included.
- Upon completion of a funded project, the awardee must submit proof of completion (e.g. a link to view the funded project; photos or video recordings of a live performance featuring the funded project, etc.) and a one- to two-paragraph summary of the specific ways in which the awarded funds were used to support the project.
- If at any point it becomes clear to the awardee that the project is not able to be completed as outlined in the original proposal, the awardee must immediately contact Senior Director of Arts and Entertainment, dtgreen@cmu.edu or MEIM Senior Academic Program Coordinator Mary Ryan at maryryan@andrew.cmu.edu to discuss option for reallocation or return of the awarded funds.
Work Directly With Faculty
As an Entertainment Industry Management student, you have many opportunities to enrich your grad school experience by working closely with entertainment industry practitioners.
- Collaborate one-on-one with a faculty member on an independent project
- Contribute to a faculty member’s work as a research assistant
Many classes at Heinz College focus on team-based experiential projects, advised by a faculty expert, and that's especially the case in this program. These projects aim to present real entertainment management issues and provide a practical edge. Just a few of the project courses include:
- Navigating the Practical Realities of the Entertainment Industry – group projects present about agencies, management firms, entertainment lawyers, and PR firms
- TV Economics – group projects revolve around the negotiation, development, and production of scripted series based on IP
- Live Music and Revenue Streams – groups design a concert tour which includes logistics, cities, dates, and support
- TV Marketing – groups design and lunch a new marketing campaign for a current television show
