Disney World Learning Experiences

To qualify for the Disney College Program, Rowland School of Business students must have the following course requirments:

• Sports, Arts, Entertainment and Music (SAEM) Business majors: students must have completed the courses Intro to SAE Business (SAEM 101) and Career Preparation (SAEM 250). 
• All other undergraduate business majors: students must have completed Career Preparation (BMGT 280).

All students are also required to meet the following criteria:

• Students must be at least 18 years old at the time of application.
• Students enrolling in the program must have at least a 3.0 grade point average. 
• All students must possess unrestricted U.S. work authorization for the duration of the program. (Disney does not sponsor visas for the College Program.)
• Former Disney College Program participants must wait four months after their last departure before applying for the program again.

If interested, students should first speak with their academic advisor to determine the best timing and to map out appropriate coursework. Students can then apply to the Disney College Program online.

If you have been offered an internship, you can then register for your internship with Point Park University and select your Point Park University course offerings.

You will spend the entire semester on location at the Disney World theme parks and resorts in Orlando. For the fall semester, students are typically scheduled to work on both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Example Schedule

• Six credits - BMGT 295 or SAEM 350 and 460 (SAEM Internship I & II)
  • Paid internships generally run more than 400 hours.
• Six credits - Two courses taken online from Point Park University. Typical courses students take during the program have included Business Law I (BMGT 201), Ethical Leadership (BMGT 234) or The Money Thing: Life and Finances During and After College (BMGT 271).
• One course (maximum) taken at the Disney College:
  
  • Course(s) taken at Disney are not counted as part of your financial aid package. Thus, in order to be eligible for financial aid, you must be enrolled in 12 credits at Point Park to receive a full financial aid package.
  • Students must complete the "Request to Take Classes at Another Institution" form from the Registrar's Office prior to leaving for Disney.
  • College courses at Disney are accredited by the American Council on Education.

Financial Aid and Housing

• If students take less than 12 credits they will lose their University scholarships/grants and will only be eligible for federal and state aid.
• Students are responsible for coordinating housing and notifying the financial aid department about their Disney Semester.

Disney Weekly Housing Payment

• Housing costs range from $103 to $200 (costs subject to change) per week depending on the size of the apartment and which apartment complex a participant is assigned to live in during his or her program.
• Housing costs are automatically deducted weekly from cast members’ paychecks, so they don’t have to worry about turning in a check at the beginning of the month. This cost includes all utilities such as electricity, cable hookup, waste disposal and local phone service, as well as the various resort-style amenities featured at each complex.

Fees due upon accepting Disney College Program invitation

A total of $390 (the program participation fee and housing fee) are due at the time a participant accepts his/her invitation to participate in the program. Please note that this fee must be paid by credit card/debit card as a single payment.

Once the payment is received and the online acceptance process is completed, Disney will officially reserve the participant's place in the program.

• Program Participation Fee ($240)

  This one-time, non-refundable fee helps support the administration, events and activities scheduled in the housing complexes throughout the program.
  
  

• Housing Fee ($150)

  This required non-refundable fee will be applied to the participant’s housing costs during the first week of the program.

To begin the registration process, contact your academic advisor. For more information about the Disney College Program, contact SAEM Associate Professor Teresa Gregory.