Program Requirements
| 0625-750 | Elements of Service Management: A Systems Approach |
| 0624-825 | Strategic Process of Service Firms |
| 625-849 | Service Performance Metrics |
| 0626-891 | Workforce Development or 0626-780 Human Resource Management I |
| 0624 770 | Service Leadership: Examining and Implementing Change |
Each course not only introduces the service philosophy, but also examines the real differences in hospitality-service management outcomes necessitated by the adoption of the new paradigm. In so doing, these courses set the stage for the professional "cluster" courses.
The Foundations of Applied Social and Managerial Research core course provides a logical path for the student who is developing a research proposal. Among the elements discussed are problem statement, purpose and significance, hypothesis and assumptions, scope and limitations, methodology and the nature of research, procedures (sampling, developing research instruments, analysis), and literature review. These concepts are applicable to both hospitality-tourism and service management.
Each of the seven professional "cluster" courses focuses on specific industry issues and applications:
0624-826 Tourism Policy Analysis
0625-844 Breakthrough Thinking
0624-846 Travel Marketing Systems
0624-867 Tourism Planning and Development
0625-842 Customer Relationship Management
0625-846 Service Leadership Futures
Elective courses provide students with an opportunity to individualize their graduate programs in line with their career and professional interests. Students are allowed to take a selection of elective courses, upon approval from the department chairperson. Courses may be taken from the colleges of Business and Engineering, and from the programs of hospitality and service management, human resource development, and instructional technology. However, students are cautioned to observe course prerequisites in their selections.
Of the 8 to 12 hours of electives, students are relatively free to select courses that they feel best meet their needs. The only limitations are:
Master's Thesis/Project
A thesis or project is required of all candidates. Thesis topics should complement the candidate's undergraduate training, career experiences, and graduate interests. The thesis is, by nature, a formal document that reflects the candidate's professional preparation. Projects are, by nature of an applied research genre, a reflection of the student's ability to utilize professional modeling and other techniques to explain decision making within the hospitality-tourism industry.
The graduate faculty, in addition to the chair of the program, can aid the candidate in selecting a relevant thesis topic.