graduate program

The master of science degree is offered through the College of Human Environmental Science. Students may specialize in the Hospitality Management (HM) program, located within the Department of Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management.

Two plans are available for graduate work in HM. Plan I is a thesis option and Plan II is a non-thesis option. For Plan I, the student must earn a minimum of 24 semester hours of credit, including HES 509, one course in statistics, and 18 hours in courses in an area of specialization in areas supporting the specialization. Plan I students must complete at least 6 semester hours of thesis research and write a thesis. A final oral examination is required upon completion of the thesis, and a manuscript of publishable quality based on the thesis research is expected of each Phase I degree candidate.

For Plan II, students must complete 30 hours of coursework and a final evaluation as determined by departmental guidelines. For both options, a grade of “B” or higher must be earned in all courses taken in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Suggested Plan of study for the hospitality management specialization
30 credit hours

A student will need to have taken the following classes prior to taking graduate courses: 1) Food and Beverage, 2) Hotel Operations, and 3) Statistical Data Analysis (ST 260 offered each semester).
Fall Semester (choose 9-12 hours)
  • RHM 596 Seminar in Hospitality Mgt (3hrs) (F)
  • RHM 576 Strategic Mgt in the Hospitality Industry (3hrs) (F)
  • RHM 521 Hospitality Law (3hrs) (F)
  • Elective (3hrs) or Pre-requisite*

Spring Semester (choose 9-12 hours)
  • HES 509 Research Methods (3hrs) (F/SP/SU) (statistics required as pre-requisite)
  • RHM 575 Financial Mgt and Hospitality Operations (3hrs) (SP)
  • RHM 570 Leadership in the Hospitality Industry (3hrs) (SP)
  • Elective (3hrs) for non-thesis and RHM 599 Research Hours for thesis track

Summer (choose 6-10 hours)
  • RHM 592 Special Problems in Hospitality Mgt (1-6 hrs) (F/SP/SU)**
  • Elective (3hrs) for non-thesis and RHM 599 Research Hours for thesis track

*Students who have not completed an undergraduate course in Statistics within the past 3 years are required to take either an undergraduate or graduate course in Statistics (undergraduate course will not count toward graduate credit).

**Students must schedule an appointment with their advisor to begin discussing special problem topics during the first 10 weeks of their first semester in graduate school.

Thesis Track - Student must schedule an appointment with his/her advisor to discuss thesis topic within the first 4 weeks of your first semester in graduate school if you are on the thesis track.

If you make below a "C" in any course, the class credit hours will not be counted toward the 30 required credit hours. For both thesis and non-thesis options, a grade of "B" or higher must be earned in all courses taken in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Recommended Graduate Course Electives
  • CSM 500 Personal Insurance Planning and Mgt (3hr)
  • CSM 508 Consumer Quality Management Systems (3 hr)
  • CSM 515 Customer Service (3 hr)
  • CSM 521 Consumer Communications (3 hr)
  • CSM 545 Microcomputers in Consumer Science (3 hr)
  • CSM 575 Entrepreneurship in HES (3 hr)
  • CSM 580 E-Commerce at CHES (3 hr)
  • CSM 586 Consumer Mgt of Human Capital (3 hr)
  • MKT 510 Product Design and Marketing (3 hr)
  • MKT 518 Survey of Marketing (3 hr)
  • MGT 517 Organizational Theory (3 hr)
  • MGT 527 Human Resources Management (3 hr)
  • MGT 511 Employee Recruitment, Selection, & Placement (3 hr)
  • MGT 532 Employee Relations (3 hr)
  • NHM 560 Nutrition in the Life Cycle (3 hr)​

NOTE: Students entering the GHES Graduate Program with an emphasis in Hospitality Management must have completed the following courses as part of their undergraduate program or they will be required to take these courses for undergraduate credit as part of their graduate program:
  • RHM 325 Lodging Operations & Mgt
  • RHM 241 or 377 Mgt of Food & Beverage Operations or Restaurant Management & Service
  • *RHM 468 Practicum in Hospitality (A minimum of 250 hours of work in a hospitality organization – restaurant, on-site foodservice operation, hotel, club, convention and meeting facility)
*Previous work experience in the hospitality industry may be used to meet this requirement. If students have no hospitality related work experience, they must meet the requirement as part of their graduate program.

Comprehensive Exam
Hospitality Management graduate students must successfully complete a written comprehensive exam and an oral exam over course content within the College of Human Environmental Sciences to fulfill requirements for the degree.

The comprehensive written and oral exam must be scheduled with the faculty advisor a minimum of six weeks prior to the end of the semester in which the student plans to complete his/her requirements for the degree.

Additional information
To request further information regarding the Hospitality Management Program, contact Dr. Kimberly Severt at ksevert@ches.ua.edu or at (205) 348-8169.