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.

The M.S. in hospitality business management is available as a thesis or non-thesis program. The 1-year non-thesis option is ideal for you if you’re already working in hospitality – the operational management skills you’ll gain are immediately applicable to your career. The 2-year thesis option prepares you for an academic career – its focus on research makes it the perfect step into 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 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 Requirements

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

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities are everywhere in the hospitality industry. By 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that wage and salary jobs in the hospitality industry will grow by 8 percent.

In the United States, travel and tourism are among the nation’s largest services export industries, and one of America’s largest employers. In fact, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, hospitality ranks among the top-10 largest industries in 48 states.

News

• 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.
• Lerner Graduate Student Stories: Sarah Poursaied - Sarah Poursaied is a Master of Science in Hospitality Business Management candidate at UD’s Lerner College. Poursaied shared how this program has impacted her and what she plans to do next.
• Lerner Remote Resources - The Lerner College is committed to supporting our community during this uncertain time. Please refer to this page for important resources and contact information.
• Hotel Stay? Stay Safe - Research from UD Lerner hospitality professor Sheryl Kline can help travelers to understand the cleanliness of hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn More

Timothy Webb
Assistant professor and graduate director
twebb@udel.edu
+1-302-831-6077

Admissions and Scholarship Information

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