Miami University Brewing Industry Field Study
J-Term 2022

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FAQ

This is a capstone-level, experiential, study-away program geared specifically for FSB students (although it may 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.

We will be traveling to the Denver, CO; Tampa, FL; 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 three 3 credit hour, 400-level business courses. You will choose any combination of two of these courses that meets your interests and needs (for a total of 6 credit hours).

MGT495/ESP490– Prof Conger teaches this course which is cross-listed as MGT495 which is the strategy capstone and ESP401 which is the entrepreneurship capstone.

  • The MGT495 version can satisfy the capstone requirement for most students.
  • The ESP490 version can count as a 300 or 400 level elective for students in the Entrepreneurship program (co-major/minor/certificate/thematic sequence)

MKT415 â€“ Prof Stenstrom teaches this course which is the “Marketing to Organizations” course.

  • This can satisfy a 400-level elective for Marketing students

MGT490 – Prof Salzarulo teaches this course which is the “Special Topics in Supply Chain” course.

  • This can satisfy a 400-level elective and substitute for MKT412 for Supply Chain majors/minors.

IMPORTANT:

Acceptance to the program is a prerequisite to enroll in any of these courses. All other prerequisite requirements apply for each individual course.

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, Ben Palmer (palmerba@miamioh.edu), who is an advisor in the main FSB advising office is very familiar with the program and is available to help you (and/or help your advisor help you).

We will meet for 1-2hr pre-program sessions roughly one evening per week between Oct-Dec 2021.

The J-Term program will kick off on the evening of Sun, Jan 2, 2022.  All students must be IN OXFORD at that time.

We will be traveling together, and working all day, every day Jan 3-23.  Every day will be VERY full.  You should not plan on taking other 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).

You can consult OneStop to find out the details…

  1. Go to OneStop: https://www.miamioh.edu/onestop/paying-for-college/costs/oxford-campus/undergrad-fall-2016
  2. Choose your cohort from the menu on the left
  3. Choose “Winter/Summer Term Per Credit Hour)

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 (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.)

The program budget is being reviewed for final approval right now, so we do not have a specific number for the program fee as of the last time this webpage was updated (Mar 19, 2021).  We will share this information as soon as it is available.

You will need to put down a 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.

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

Here are the relevant dates you need to know…

PLEASE NOTE: This program tends to be very popular and fills up quickly. Although the application window will be open for quite a while, we strongly suggest you apply sooner rather than later if you are interested.

  • It is our expectation that we WILL be able to travel together as a group in the 2022 J-Term. HOWEVER, it is possible that ongoing restrictions will force us to make unforeseen changes. We will do our best to keep all prospective participants informed of any possibilities of change to the program as soon as possible if and when they become necessary. We have built in alternative plans to run the program with travel restrictions if needed… Students can expect a well-planned and high-quality experience regardless of the format.
  • Our first and overriding priority is and always will be to keep all students, staff, and faculty as well as people at the businesses we visit safe. We will be following the guidelines of public health agencies (CDC, Butler/Hamilton County Health, etc.) to determine whether we are able to do any/all program activities in-person. We will follow Miami’s Healthy Together guidelines for an activities we do in-person.

Get in touch with the program director, Prof. Michael Conger (michael.conger@miamioh.edu)