Online Master’s Programs in Hospitality Management

One of Florida's major public colleges, Orlando-based UCF offers a top-ranked master's in hospitality management. Available fully online, the program emphasizes industry knowledge, management skills, and experiential learning opportunities. The program also offers a dual-degree option for students enrolled in UCF's medical program.

Enrollees complete a minimum of 33 credits, with both thesis and non-thesis options available. The thesis track serves learners interested in academic and research perspectives on hospitality management, while the non-thesis track offers a managerial focus. Common courses in both tracks include lodging management operations and data analysis in hospitality and tourism.

Applicants of all academic backgrounds may apply. However, students without a hospitality or business administration background may need to complete several prerequisite courses before beginning the graduate curriculum. Typical prerequisites include guest services management, hospitality industry managerial accounting, and strategic management in the hospitality industry. UCF may not offer all prerequisite courses online.

Miami-based FIU hosts one of Florida's best hospitality management master's degrees. Offered through the esteemed Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, FIU's master of science in hospitality management functions like a master of business administration for the hospitality industry. Students benefit from FIU's proximity and close connections to the hospitality and tourism industry in Florida, the Carribean, and Latin America.

The program's 33-credit curriculum includes courses such as hospitality enterprise technology, contemporary global issues in hospitality, and organizational behavior in the hospitality industry. Students also complete a three-credit practicum that applies course learning to professional hospitality practice.

FIU's hospitality management program offers a flexible, fully online format that enables enrollees to learn at their own pace. The program features multiple annual start dates. Most full-time students graduate in 12 months. Learners do not need a background in hospitality to apply.

Located in Denton (about 45 miles northwest of Dallas), UNT offers a master of science in hospitality management available fully online. This integrated program focuses on management strategies for hospitality experiences, products, and services in an increasingly global market. Students gain broadly applicable knowledge of the hospitality industry, including strategic planning, growth and competitive strategies, and research methods.

The master's in hospitality management includes a minimum of 36 credits, with both thesis and non-thesis options available. Both program tracks include core business courses, hospitality management courses, electives, and research courses. Thesis candidates complete fewer hospitality management courses along with six credits of independent thesis work, where they research a contemporary issue in hospitality management.

Students can pursue several funding sources, including academic scholarships and student assistant positions. Enrollees who receive student assistantships also qualify for out-of-state tuition waivers, enabling them to pay the reduced in-state tuition rate.

One of Nevada's top public colleges, UNLV offers an executive master of hospitality administration available entirely online. This flexible, self-paced program serves working professionals with at least three years of hospitality industry management experience. UNLV offers two concentration options: hospitality management and gaming management.

Candidates in either track complete a minimum of 30 credits, divided among core courses, electives, and a culminating experience. Core courses emphasize broad knowledge in human resources, financial analysis, and marketing. Enrollees also complete electives that build specialized knowledge in topics such as casino operations, food services management, and tourism dynamics.

Learners complete a capstone project for the gaming track and either a capstone or hospitality entrepreneurship project for the hospitality track. The capstone project takes the form of a research paper into a current problem or issue in hospitality management, while the entrepreneurship project explores strategies for starting a new business venture.

A private college based in Providence, Rhode Island, JWU offers a top-ranked, fully online master's in hospitality management. Highlighting the global dimensions of tourism and hospitality management, the program prepares students to lead organizations, address operational challenges, and apply research to strategic planning. Most candidates complete the program in two years.

JWU's 33-credit master of science in hospitality management includes 24 credits of core courses and nine credits of electives. The program core builds basic knowledge of the hospitality industry, including organizational behavior, competitive strategies, and hospitality and tourism global issues. Electives explore specialized topics such as franchising and licensing, event leadership and planning, and experience and adventure tourism.

As part of the general curriculum, all candidates complete a culminating capstone project. Applying course learning to real-life management practice, the capstone requires students to complete an independent research project that addresses a significant issue in hospitality management and tourism.