This is a capstone-level, experiential, study-away program geared specifically for FSB students (although it can work for non-business students as well). The idea is to do an extensive, deep dive into an industry to experience how it works and apply all the concepts you have learned during your time at Miami.

The brewing industry is an ideal context for this because it is..

• Extremely Diverse: The variety of firms in terms of size, function, place in the supply chain, markets they serve, etc is incredibly broad.
• Extremely Dynamic: This industry has been marked by constant change since the advent of the craft beer revolution in the late 80s and early 90s. Not only do new companies and products enter and leave the industry all the time, but the industry itself is constantly evolving and being shaped and reshaped.

It’s also a lot of fun. The trip is filled with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and you will discover some of the best breweries and most interesting beers being made in America today.

You must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for this program:

• You must be at least 21 years old by the first day of the J-Term trip.
• You must be in good standing academically (and in terms of disciplinary history) and have a minimum GPA of 2.5
• To get any capstone credits from this program, you must have completed at least 93 credit hours by the end of the Fall semester immediately prior to the J-Term trip.

Not old enough? Don’t have enough credits yet? Don’t worry. We run this program every year. SIGN UP TO GET PROGRAM UPDATES now you’ll be on the early notification list for future iterations of the trip.

We will be traveling to multiple locations (Cincinnati, Dayton, Denver, CO and Asheville, NC areas) to do the following activities…

• Field Work –visits to breweries, distributors, retailers, hop farms, yeast labs, malt houses, industry groups, etc. We will make planned visits to roughly 40 companies as a group, and there will also be lots of time for you to visit roughly 20 additional companies exploring on your own with your classmates.
• Discipline-specific Classroom and Project Work – roughly 30% of the program will be spent working specifically within the disciplines of the two courses you choose to take (Strategy/Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Supply Chain).
• Lab Work – we will be getting our hands dirty doing a lot of the actual work professionals in this field do (making beer, new product design, packaging, sensory analysis, etc.) Much of this lab work will happen in the Fall semester sessions before we leave for our trip.
• Having Fun! – Most evenings, you will be free for you to explore the cities we are visiting.

The program includes multiple 400-level business courses. Every student in the program will take two 3 credit hour courses (for a total of 6 credit hours).

The courses offered and what they count for can change from year to year depending on changes in the curriculum and requirements of various majors/minors/programs.

As of the most recent iteration of the program in J-Term 2025, the following courses were included.

MGT495/ESP490– Prof Conger teaches this course cross-listed as MGT495 which is the strategy capstone and ESP490 which is an entrepreneurship elective. Every student must enroll in this course choosing ONE (and only one) of these two options.

• The MGT495 version can satisfy the capstone requirement for most FSB students (NOTE: There are cases where this is NOT true, most notably, this course does NOT satisfy the capstone requirement for a major in Marketing. See the note in red below).
• The ESP 490 version can count as an elective for students in the Entrepreneurship co-major. With additional work and deliverables, students can complete their ESP 401 requirement which can apply to the ESP co-major, minor and some certificate programs.

MKT415 – Prof Stenstrom teaches this course which is the “Marketing to Organizations” course. Every student must enroll in this course.

• This can satisfy a 400-level elective for Marketing students
• This can also count as a supply chain elective for SCOM majors/minors.

IMPORTANT:

Information listed on this website is NOT comprehensive.  You should refer to Miami’s course catalog and consult with your academic advisor to make sure you have all the necessary details about these courses.

Which requirements each of these classes fulfill for you WILL vary. You should consult your academic advisor to figure out what combination of courses is best for you.

Also, Chanelle White (chanelle.white@miamioh.edu) who is the Director of the FSB Advising Office, and  Ben Palmer (palmerba@miamioh.edu), who is the Senior Academic Advisor in the advising office are very familiar with the program and is available to help you (and/or help your advisor help you).

We will meet for pre-program sessions roughly one evening per week between Oct-Nov in the Fall semester immediately prior to the J-Term trip. We can figure out how to work around other class obligations that may come up. We will also have opportunities on some weekends to have some unique brewing experiences, so you’ll want to plan for these.

We will be traveling together, and working all day, every day throughout the J-Term (roughly 3 full weeks).  Every day will be very full.  You should not plan on taking other courses (not even online courses), working part-time jobs, taking breaks/side-trips, etc during this time period.  This trip will take 100% of your time.

There are two basic costs of the program.

Tuition – this is the Winter term tuition rate for the 6 total credit hours you will get through this program. This cost varies based on cohort year and in/out of state status (in all cases, the FSB surcharge also applies).

These costs are listed on the website where you submit your application (CLICK HERE to go there and apply now.)  

Program Fee – this fee covers all the additional costs of the program including…

• All travel costs (This includes all airfare and ground transportation for the entire trip.)
• All housing costs while outside of Oxford (We will stay together in hotels for the entire trip. You will have a roommate.)
• Roughly 1/2 of Meals (Breakfast will be included every day at our hotels. Roughly half of our lunches/dinners will be at host companies on our tour – these will be paid for by the program.)
• Other program costs such as tour fees, apparel, membership to the Brewers Association, etc.

These costs are listed on the website where you submit your application and will be published when the program details are finalized for the next trip.  Historically, this cost has run somewhere between $2,200 and $2,800 (depending on fluctuating travel costs.) 

You will need to put down a $1500 deposit on this program fee upon acceptance to the program.  The remaining balance is due in the Fall semester (see details in the “how do I apply?” section below).  After that point, the program fee is non-refundable (but tuition is refundable) if you have to pull out of the program. The deposit is always non-refundable.

NOTE: Actual costs will vary based on program capacity, fuel costs, etc. It will never go OVER the program fee you agree to upon committing to the program, but any money we do not spend will be refunded to you.

Other Costs – Any/all costs beyond those specifically noted above are yours to cover out-of-pocket. In the past several years, students have told us they spend roughly $500-$1,000 total on these expenses. Some of these expenses are necessities (i.e. meals) but the amount you spend on this is largely discretionary, and students report spending at least half of this total cost on non-meal expenses (e.g. nightlife, off-hours recreation, etc.)  The expenses outside of tuition and program fee students typically incur include…

• Meals not covered by the program fee – This is roughly 1/2 of your meals on the trip, usually evening meals.  Also, during long tour days, often our only opportunity for lunch are quick fast-food stops. There are grocery stores within easy walking distance of all of our hotels, so this is also a very viable option for meals. Also, many students find they make more day-to-day purchases while on the road than they would in their normal routine (most notably: Starbucks.) (Students reported spending anywhere from $400-$700 on these expenses.)
• Purchasing products at host locations (beer, merchandise, etc.) – There is an opportunity to sample products at many of our tour locations.  Often our hosts will provide samples free of charge, but not always.  Also, many students choose to try additional beers which they purchase. Finally, it is important to recognize that craft beer is a premium product that ranges widely in price, and is often 2-5 times more expensive than mass-produced products from big beverage companies. Sampling beer is an acceptable and integral part of the experience of this program, but it is NEVER required, and any decision to purchase products at any tour location is entirely up to you. Also, many students enjoy buying merchandise (shirts, hats, glassware, stickers, etc) from many of the breweries we visit as mementos of the trip. This can, obviously, add up. (Students reported spending anywhere from $100-$500 on these expenses.)
• Evening recreation (nightlife, etc.)  – Each of our hotels are in vibrant cities and 5 – 40min distance from myriad restaurants, clubs, bars, music venues, sports arenas, arcades, bowling alleys, theaters, etc. All of these options are open to you on virtually every evening after our program activities for the day are complete. Obviously, the sky is the limit on how much you can spend on these activities, so this varies A LOT between students. (Students reported spending anywhere from $150-$400 on these expenses.)

UPDATED: 03/15/2025

We do not plan to run this program in J-Term 2026. 

Program plans for future years typically are announced in late February (11 months prior to the trip.)  Applications typically open in March or April (9-10 months prior to the trip), and all seats are typically filled by June or July (5-6 months prior to the trip.)

Historically, there is very high demand for this program. It tends to fill very quickly and typically has a long waitlist.  The best way to maximize your chance to participate is to get on our mailing list for updates.

Spots in this program are limited and there is frequently a long waitlist. In order to maximize the chances of your application being accepted, you need to be ready to act quickly and have a clear strategy for how to make it happen.

THE BEST STRATEGY FOR SUCCESSFULLY SECURING YOUR SPOT IN THIS PROGRAM IS…

PREPARE EVERYTHING TO APPLY – Do everything you need to make a decision RIGHT NOW so you can submit your application in its entirety right away AND be ready to lock down your seat immediately as soon as your application is accepted.

• • Assess your graduation requirements – Talk to your academic advisor. Figure out how the courses offered in this program can work for you and what boxes they can tick for you. Figure out your plan for your 2024-25 school year classes, and how these J-Term courses fit into that plan.
  • Assess your finances – Talk to your parents. Talk to the financial aid office. Review the “How much does it cost?” section above.  Make sure you have cash available to put down the $1,500 deposit immediately upon your application being accepted.
  • Write your essay: The application will include a required essay telling us why you should be in this program. This is one of the MOST important pieces of the application. I’ve made a short video explaining a bit more about what we are looking for. You can find it here – https://youtu.be/0j4o36afWig. 

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION ASAP

• MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETE THE ENTIRE APPLICATION: The application itself includes multiple steps and components.  It is easy to overlook some of the small details if you don’t pay close attention. Double (or triple) check your application, make sure it is complete, AND make sure you have absolutely clear confirmation that it was submitted successfully after submit.
• SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION RIGHT AWAY: You should complete and submit your application absolutely as soon as you have the opportunity to do so.  We consider all applications holistically, but as soon as we determine an applicant meets the requirements and is a good fit for the program, we accept their application immediately. Seats can fill up in as little as a few days. Your very best chance to get a seat is to act quickly.

THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS

• KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN: Your disciplinary record is another VERY important factor in determining whether you will be accepted to this program. We take safety, responsibility, and professionalism very, VERY seriously in this program. Anything in any person’s history that could negatively affect these things (illegal activity, alcohol/drug-related incidents, and certainly any dangerous/violent behavior would all be a major concern for us.) It is possible to be accepted with an alcohol-related incident on your record, but we will need strong evidence that part of your history is not an ongoing reason for concern that may affect this trip. Current or recent incidents on your record will make it extremely hard for us to accept you. Likewise, if you are accepted and subsequent issues arise between acceptance and when we go on the trip, it is very likely that acceptance would be withdrawn. The bottom line is… be responsible, be safe, and keep your record clean if you want to be a part of this program.

Get in touch with the program director, Prof. Eric Stenstrom (stenstep@miamioh.edu).