Masters Degree (MS) in Tourism and Hospitality Management
Best Universities in the world for Tourism and Hospitality Management
Travel, tourism, and enjoying the benefits of paid hospitality, at hotels and restaurants, has become one the hottest passtimes of modern life. In fact, according to industry trends, published in BBC, in 2010 the tourism industry made a total business of $919 billion dollars, worldwide, making it one of the largest growing industries in the world.
Its popularity has spawned a growing need for individuals academically trained in the field, leading to a professional degree of Masters in Tourism and Hospitality Management.
What is Tourism and Hospitality Management?
Professionals involved in the field of Tourism, and Hospitality Management, are responsible for the sustenance, growth, marketing, and research, involved in the industry. The courses are designed so students can specialize in one of the many management roles that they can take on – Tourism Management, Event Management, Hospitality Marketing, Public Relations Management, and more.
The exact nature of, the work function, may depend on the specialization but the purpose is inherently business oriented. Professionals are often involved in various analytical aspects of running hotels, restaurants, cruise liners, sports venues, convention centers, to name a few.
They are responsible for following indicators such as investment patterns, sales, accounts, and issues facing the industry at the personnel, regional, and community levels. For the same, these professionals should have sufficient skills to perform market research, and the ability to collect, analyze, interpret, and present data pertinent to the industry.
Public relations is often a part of their job description, requiring them to be adept at written, communication, and interpersonal skills. They are required to exhibit leadership skills, excel at team work, and possess the ability to appreciate the demands of their clients, and customers, often spanning a multicultural variety of requirements.
This course can be offered in the Masters in Science (MS/MSc) format, the more tailored version of Masters in Tourism and Hospitality Management (MTHM), Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH), MBA in Hospitality Management, or other forms of similar training curriculum.
Typical curriculum usually contains the following courses (based on Cornell SC Johnson College of Business MMH Program), besides the more specialized niches mentioned above:
- Corporate Finance: Training in financial accounting, reporting, tracking expenditures, risk analysis, investment evaluations, and other financial decision making related to running an establishment.
- Accounting: Cost behavior, performance measurement, budgeting, and more.
- Operations Management: Decision making based on data oriented information of business operations.
- Marketing: Familiarizing with marketing tools to stay relevant and above other competitors.
- Organizational Behavior: Learning the intricacies of personnel, group, and other higher level interactions, and how they can become successful decision making instruments, within the capacity of an organization.
- Property Development and Planning: Learning management of space, construction, and design, to make efficient, and functional, businesses.
- Communication: Enhancing your skills of communication needed to lead, and interact, with your team and clients.
- Strategy in Hospitality Industry: Learning analytical tools needed to formulate business strategies.
- Human Resource Management: Understanding the need to hire, and retain, highly skilled employees.
What is the current, and future, demand of Masters in Tourism and Hospitality?
According to Lodging Econometrics, a leading provider of Global Hotel Real Estate Intelligence, there were 569,848 rooms in construction pipeline in the US, in 2016, 175, 662 in other Americas, 337,135 in Europe and the Middle East, and 836,725 in the Asia Pacific.
The global pipeline exceeded well over 1.3 million guestrooms, in 2016, with no signs of slowing down. According to an EY study, US hotel investments exceeded $54.5 billion dollars in 2014, showing a nearly 5% increase since the last year. Global hospitality and leisure transactions increased by 8% within 2014.
Clearly, these are all indications of a burgeoning, and unstoppable force, in need for a constant supply of trained professionals.
In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in the US, the future of some of the popular Hospitality Management careers are listed below.
| Career | Median Salary/Year
(Entry Level) |
Job Growth Outlook (2014 – 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging Managers | $52,000 | 8% from 48,400 |
| Food and Service Managers | $51,000 | 5% from 305,000 |
| Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners | $47,500 | 10% from 100,000 |
| Chef and Catering Managers | $43,200 | 9% from 127,500 |
Besides the above career options, graduates are often employed as Airline Operations Manager, Country Club Manager, Restaurant Owner and Manager, Corporate Travel Manager, Hotel Operations Director, and so on.
Popular industries that hire such graduates are Airlines, Convention Centers, Staffing Agencies, Wineries, Country Clubs, Foodservice Distributors, Cruise Ships, Luxury Resorts, large corporations, and so on.
What are the top institutes that offer Masters in Tourism and Hospitality Management?
Based on rankings obtained from ceoworld.biz, the following table shows the top 10 institutes for Hospitality Management, in 2015-2016. We have listed only the Masters programs here.
| School | Country | Name of the Program |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University | USA | Master of Management in Hospitality |
| William F.Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada Las Vegas | USA | Master of Science in Hotel Administration |
| The School of Hospitality Business, Michigan State University | USA | Masters in Hospitality Business |
| Ecole Hoteliere Lausanne | Switzerland | Master of Science HES-SO in Global Hospitality Business |
| Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida | USA | MS in Hospitality and Tourism Management |
| Les Roches Global Hospitality Education | Switzerland | Postgraduate in Hospitality Management,
Master in Hospitality Leadership |
| Conrad N.Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston | USA | MS in Hospitality Management,
Dual MS/MBA, |
| Glion Institute of Higher Education | Switzerland | MSc in International Hospitality Business, Dual MBA and MSc in International Hospitality Business |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University | USA | MS in Hospitality Management Studies |
| Oxford School of Hospitality Management,
Oxford Brookes University |
UK | MSc International Hospitality Events and Tourism Management, MSc International Hotel and Tourism Management, MSc International Tourism Management |
The above list is clearly not exhaustive and many other well known universities, like Purdue University, are now establishing academic ties with the hospitality industry, setting up internship opportunities, and placement possibilities with hotel, tourism, and restaurant businesses.
We advise you to research your interest and explore the worldwide options for a scholastic training in the most sure thing of the future – leisure!
Also read about other Specialized Masters Programs
Meanwhile here is an useful link for all international MS applicants – Guide to a Masters degree for International Students
Sources:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9