Hospitality Business Management (M.S.)

As a working professional in the hospitality industry, you recognize the need to sharpen your analytical skills and gain a wider strategic view so that you’re ready for a larger managerial role.

Established brands in the hospitality industry are seeking more market share while emerging brands are trying to identify and claim niche markets. Our intensive program will help you predict future change and lead with confidence.

*Total cost and time to complete the program varies, depending on curriculum choices, personal schedules and program fees.

Program Options

• Non-thesis: 1 year, 30 credits. Immediately applicable practical, analytical and operational skills.
• Thesis: 2 years, 39 credits. Focus on research skills for those who wish to pursue an academic career and enter a Ph.D. program.

Program Highlights

Hospitality Facilities

Apply the skills you’re gaining in our two learning labs: the Marriott Center for Tourism and Hospitality, in which you’ll learn and work in a Marriott hotel, and the student-operated gourmet restaurant Vita Nova.

Among the Nation’s Best

The Lerner master’s degree in hospitality business management is ranked #5 on the collegefactual.com 2023 list of the 10 top schools in the nation for a master’s in hospitality.

Program Requirements

All students are expected to have at least two years of work experience, including internships.

For the most accurate and up-to-date degree requirements, visit UD’s course catalog. Under the Department of Hospitality and Sport Business Management, select “Display Programs” to find your degree and view course options and sequencing.

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities are everywhere in the hospitality industry. In the United States, travel and tourism are among the nation’s largest services export industries, and one of America’s largest employers.

News

• Lerner Career Lab Prepares Students for Real-World Careers - Lerner Career Services introduces Career Lab, a monthly workshop using employer-designed job simulations to help undergraduate and graduate business students gain hands-on experience, explore career paths and build job-ready skills.
• Lerner Offers Grad Scholarships, AI Programs for Fall 2025 - The Lerner College now offers new scholarships and AI programs for Fall 2025, creating flexible, future-ready options for UD students, alumni and professionals navigating career or life transitions.
• $71.5 Million Gift to UD Will Transform Lerner College - UD announces largest gift in University's history which will help create Lerner College's Siegfried Hall.
• Lerner Graduate Student Stories: Ami Nagase - Ami Nagase is a candidate for the master’s of science in hospitality business management at UD’s Lerner College. Nagase shared how this program has impacted her and what she plans to do next.
• 2021 Summer Travel Outlook: Cautiously Optimistic - With COVID-19 restrictions easing up, UD Hospitality Professors Sheryl Kline, Sri Beldona and Robert Nelson predict a “cautiously optimistic" 2021 Summer Travel Season outlook.

Contact Us

Zvi Schwartz
Professor and graduate director
zvi@udel.edu
+1-302-831-6077

Jennifer Riegner
Academic program coordinator
jriegner@udel.edu

Admissions and Scholarship Information

Learn more about master of science in hospitality business management admissions requirements, deadlines, tuition, scholarships and fellowships available to you.