Major: Hospitality Administration and Management
As a train traveler headed out West in 1875, you would have had trouble finding a decent meal or a place to rest your head. But Fred Harvey changed all that. He started a chain of restaurants and hotels where clean and polite waitresses served tired travelers everything from oysters to duck and olives to ice cream.
You might say that Harvey tamed the Wild West, making it more hospitable (welcoming and pleasant) to travelers. If you study hospitality management, you'll prepare to follow in his footsteps.
Hospitality majors learn to run hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other businesses that serve business travelers and vacationers.
Did You Know?
- The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the top three employers in the United States.
Are You Ready To...?
- Design your dream resort
- Work with a group of other students to plan a formal event
- Join a campus hospitality association
- Complete an internship
- Consider studying abroad
- Practice interacting with customers and guests
- Join Eta Sigma Delta, the national honorary society for students of hospitality and tourism management
It Helps to Be...
An outgoing person with great communication skills. You'll need to be good at solving problems quickly and keeping track of details. You'll enjoy this major if you like learning about a variety of topics, from law to geography to marketing.
College Checklist
- Is the program accredited by the Accreditation Commision for Programs in Hospitality Administration (for four-year programs) or the Commssion on Accreditation of Hospitality Management Programs (for two-year programs)? Check out the ACPHA-CAHM website.
- Do professors have experience and contacts in the hospitality industry?
- Does the program operate student-run hotels, restaurants, or other hospitality businesses?
- Does the program feature other hands-on learning activities such as computer simulations?
- Does the program encourage study abroad?
- Is there an on-campus hospitality association?
- Will the program help you find work after graduation?
- What are recent grads doing now?
Did You Know?
- Ninety percent of restaurant owners surveyed in April 2000 said that they had made or planned to make donations to the community that year.
Course Spotlight
Can you see yourself organizing an elegant wedding at a private mansion? Or maybe a business conference at a downtown convention center? You’ll need to think of everything, from ordering decorations to hiring caterers to installing ramps for wheelchair access.
In a class on event management, you'll learn how to plan events like these from start to finish. By the end of the semester, you'll be prepared to take charge of any function that comes your way.
