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Studies & Degrees in Event Production

Event production is the planning and delivery of live events: congresses and trade fairs, corporate meetings and product launches, institutional ceremonies, weddings, concerts and festivals. The producer turns a brief into something that happens on a given day, in a given place and within a budget. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes event planners as arranging all aspects of events and professional gatherings, from asking venues and suppliers for bids to handling logistics on the day, such as registering guests and organising audiovisual equipment.

Courses cover budgeting and supplier contracts, venue selection, scheduling, staging, sound, lighting and audiovisual resources, protocol, marketing and communication, health and safety, and evaluation after the event. Most programmes are practical and send students to work at real events during their studies.

Qualifications and levels

There is no single route into the field, and levels range from vocational diplomas to master's degrees.

  • Vocational training in Spain. Two higher vocational training (FP) qualifications of 2,000 hours touch the field. Técnico Superior en Agencias de Viajes y Gestión de Eventos, in the hospitality and tourism family, covers the planning and sale of services for congresses, conventions, fairs and other events. Técnico Superior en Producción de Audiovisuales y Espectáculos, in the image and sound family, covers planning and costing live shows and events, and leads to jobs such as head of production for live shows and events. Both are open to holders of the Spanish Bachiller, among other access routes.
  • Bachelor's degrees. Official Spanish bachelor's degrees (grados) have 240 ECTS credits. The Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC) lists a four-year, 240-credit Grado en Protocolo y Organización de Eventos taught in Spanish, whose competences include staging events in both their artistic and technical aspects; the page consulted describes a study plan being phased out and refers to the new version. IMEP in Alicante, a centre attached to the Universidad Miguel Hernández, offers an official four-year bachelor's degree in event organisation, protocol and institutional relations.
  • Master's and specialist programmes. Official Spanish master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. ISEMCO in Madrid, a collaborating centre of UCJC and the Universidad del Atlántico Medio, lists an official master's degree in protocol, production, organisation and design of events awarded by UCJC, next to lifelong-learning master's programmes and a specialist course in show production and backstage. Spanish rules require universities to distinguish lifelong-learning qualifications from official degrees.
  • A school's own programme. The Escuela Internacional de Protocolo y Eventos (EIP) teaches three years in Spain with an optional fourth year abroad, and states that these studies are different from the official Spanish grado.
  • Outside Spain. In Australia, Holmesglen lists the Diploma of Event Management (course code SIT50322) at 10 months full time, for students aged at least 17, covering festivals, corporate events and live productions. In the United States, Montgomery College in Maryland offers a Meeting, Conference, and Event Planning Certificate that can be continued towards an associate's degree in hospitality management.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 16 active schools for event production. Nine are in Spain and two in the United States; the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Ireland and Argentina have one each. In Spain the list includes ISEMCO, EIP and Aranda Formación in Madrid, UCJC in the Madrid region, the Universidad Miguel Hernández in Elche, INSA Business, Marketing & Communication School and the Escola Universitària de Turisme i Direcció Hotelera (attached to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) in Barcelona, and the Centro de Educación Superior Felipe Moreno - Nebrija in Palma. EIP also has campuses in Barcelona and Valencia. Abroad the list includes Salford Business School in Greater Manchester, Technological University Dublin, Holmesglen in Melbourne, Fondazione Campus Studi del Mediterraneo in Italy, Fundación CIEP in Argentina, and County College of Morris and Montgomery College in the United States.

Programmes in Spain are taught mainly in Spanish; those in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and the United States in English. Ask each school what recognition its qualification has before enrolling.

Careers

Graduates work for event and congress agencies, production companies, venues, hotels, festivals, and the events and communication departments of companies and public institutions. Typical first jobs are production assistant, event coordinator and congress organiser; with experience, producers lead whole projects or work for themselves. Hours are irregular: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, planners may work many more hours than usual during meetings or conventions.

In the United States, meeting, convention and event planners held about 172,100 jobs in 2025, 12 percent of them in arts, entertainment and recreation, and typically need a bachelor's degree. Employment is projected to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,800 openings a year.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between event production and event management?

The terms overlap. Production usually refers to the technical and logistical delivery of the event: staging, sound, lighting, suppliers and schedules. Management also covers the brief, the budget, marketing and the relationship with the client. Most programmes teach both.

Do I need a university degree to work in events?

Not necessarily. Vocational routes exist, such as the 2,000-hour Spanish FP qualifications or the Australian Diploma of Event Management. In the United States, planners typically need a bachelor's degree.

Are all event programmes official degrees?

No. Schools offer official degrees, universities' own lifelong-learning qualifications and their own programmes side by side. Ask the school which kind it awards.