Studies & Degrees in Events Management
Events Management Study Programs
Events management is the study of how to plan, organise and run events: congresses and trade fairs, corporate meetings and product launches, festivals and concerts, sports competitions, weddings and official ceremonies. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the job simply: event planners arrange all aspects of events and professional gatherings, starting with the scope of the event, including its time, location and cost.
Students learn project planning and budgeting, how to choose venues and negotiate with suppliers, logistics, marketing and sponsorship, health and safety rules, protocol and customer service. Most programmes are practical: students organise real events and complete work placements. The subject is often taught in schools of tourism, hospitality, marketing or public relations.
Qualifications and levels
- Vocational training in Spain. The official higher vocational qualification is Técnico Superior en Agencias de Viajes y Gestión de Eventos, in the hospitality and tourism family. It lasts 2,000 hours and trains students, among other things, to plan and offer services for congresses, conventions, trade fairs and other events. Entry normally requires the Bachiller or an equivalent qualification, or passing an entrance test.
- Bachelor's degrees. In the United Kingdom, events management is a degree title of its own; London Metropolitan University, for example, offers Events Management BA (Hons). In Spain, where an official bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits, event organisation is usually studied inside a degree in tourism, marketing, or advertising and public relations. The Grado en Turismo of the Universidad de La Laguna is one such official 240-credit degree.
- School's own qualifications. Specialised private schools award their own titles. The Escuela Internacional de Protocolo y Eventos (EIP) teaches a programme in protocol and event organisation that lasts three years in Spain and leads to the school's own Título Superior; an optional fourth year abroad leads to a bachelor's degree from a partner university.
- Master's and short courses. Official Spanish master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. Many event programmes are instead a school's own master's or a short course. ESDEN Business School offers a master's programme in communication, events and public relations that lasts one academic year and is taught in Spanish. The online school ESAH lists a master's programme in event management, protocol and business tourism and a short course in event planning.
Official and school-own qualifications are not equivalent. Before enrolling in Spain, check whether a programme is an official degree, an official vocational qualification or a private certificate.
Where to study events management
SpainExchange lists 26 active schools for events management. Sixteen are in Spain, three in the United Kingdom, three in Australia and two in the United States; Switzerland and Ireland have one each.
In Spain most are in Barcelona and Madrid. In Barcelona the list includes CETT, a tourism, hospitality and gastronomy school whose university degrees are awarded by the Universitat de Barcelona and which has a marketing and events area; EU Mediterrani, a school affiliated with the Universitat de Girona; LCI Barcelona; and the Universitat Abat Oliba CEU. In Madrid it includes EIP, ESDEN Business School, IED Madrid and the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria. Elsewhere in Spain it includes the Universidad de La Laguna on Tenerife, the Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes in Valladolid and the online school ESAH.
Abroad, the list includes London Metropolitan University, the University of Sunderland and the University of Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom; Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia; the University of New Haven and Auburn University at Montgomery in the United States; SHMS – Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland; and the Irish Academy of Public Relations in Dublin.
Spanish schools teach mainly in Spanish, and in Catalan and Spanish in some Barcelona programmes. Schools in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Ireland teach in English.
Careers
Graduates work for event and congress organisers, destination and incentive agencies, hotels and conference venues, trade fair organisers, the marketing and communication departments of companies, and public institutions. Spain's vocational training portal lists event organiser among the jobs for holders of the higher vocational qualification, in travel agencies and in agencies specialised in reception and events.
The work is tied to dates and deadlines. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that planners may work many more hours than usual during meetings or conventions. It projects employment of meeting, convention and event planners in the United States to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings each year.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official events management qualification in Spain?
Yes, in vocational training: Técnico Superior en Agencias de Viajes y Gestión de Eventos, a higher vocational qualification of 2,000 hours. At university level, events are usually part of an official degree in tourism, marketing or public relations.
Do I need a degree to work as an event planner?
Not always. In the United States, planners typically need a bachelor's degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but it can be in business or communications. Experience in organising events also counts.
How long does it take to study events management?
It depends on the route. The Spanish higher vocational qualification lasts 2,000 hours, an official Spanish bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits, and private master's programmes often last one academic year.
In which language is events management taught?
Mainly in Spanish at schools in Spain and in English at schools in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Ireland.