Billboard’s list of top music business schools of 2022 has listed Kennesaw State University across the international ranking system.
KSU’s Joel A. Katz Music and Entertainment Business program was recognized for the fourth year in a row. Billboard’s list was described as their “most geographically diverse list to date,” according to the staff writers.
The MEBUS program was founded in 2010 as a part of the Coles College of Business. It has been recognized by Billboard previously in 2018, 2019 and 2020 for the success of the program.
“From the start, we have been dedicated to creating opportunities to prepare our students for careers in every facet of the entertainment industry,” Executive director of the MEBUS program Keith Perissi said in a KSU news release. “This recognition is an honor for our program, our university, and our program’s namesake, Joel Katz.”
The MEBUS program takes pride in its strategies to help students gather hands-on experience in the field to prepare them to enter the booming entertainment industry in the Atlanta area. The certificate requires 24 credit hours of work and is open to students of any major.
Billboard also praised MEBUS Mixers, events hosted by the program and run by students of KSU. The most recent took place on Sept. 27 at Madlife Stage and Studios. Students were given a wide range of roles to put their skills to the test as performers, stage managers, videographers and much more.
In 2019, a collaboration between the MEBUS program and the College of Computing and Software Engineering created the Disney Interactive Entertainment program for undergraduate students. An integration of several innovative components of entertainment, the four-week program customizes the learning experience for enrolled students to get an in-depth look into the entertainment giants of Pixar and Disney
A study abroad opportunity in London from May 15 to May 27, 2023, is also available to students in the program. The trip puts students in the epicenter of different facets of the entertainment industry in the home of Big Ben. The cost of the trip is $3,550, excluding airfare costs.
“As with everything we do, the goal of working with companies like Disney is to put students on the front line of entertainment industry opportunities. The focus is always on our students,” Perissi said in a KSU news release.
The program’s inclusion on the list is “based on industry recommendations, alumni information provided by honorees from our multiple power lists, information requested from each school and nearly a decade of reporting on these programs,” according to Billboard. A 2021 version of the list was not released due to implications on the industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program was funded and underwritten in 2010 by Joel Kratz, a prominent figure in the Atlanta music industry. Kratz was also named on Billboard’s 2022 Power List as a top executive in the field, working with recognizable labels like Big Machine Records. Currently, Katz is the senior counsel of Barnes & Thornburg LLP.