B.S. Hospitality Administration
A degree in Hospitality Administration prepares students to begin their careers in a variety of industry sectors: hotel operations, sales and revenue, marketing, human resources, food and beverage management, real estate development, event management – even entrepreneurial ventures.
Degree Requirements
All BU undergraduates complete coursework in the BU Hub
BU students who enter as freshmen are required to take 26 units of Hub units. All BU students who externally transfer from another institution are required to complete 10 hub units. Students majoring in Hospitality Administration will be able to complete more than half of their Hub requirements through their required major coursework. The remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, co-curricular experiences.
A candidate for the degree must earn 128 credits/units in BU Hub, major, and elective courses. In addition, 600 hours of on-the-job experience are required. This experience, monitored and supervised by staff, is divided equally between two separate 300-hour experiences and may be completed at any time during the degree program. An international and/or intercultural experience is also required.
The Hospitality Administration major curriculum includes the following requirements:
Requirement Credits
Foundational Courses
20 cr.
SHA Core Courses
48 cr.
SHA Elective Courses
12 cr.
General Electives (includes 26 Hub requirements)
48 cr.
2 Field Experiences 0 cr.
1 International Experience 0 cr.
Total Credits 128 CR.
Sample Schedule
What might your educational path at SHA be like? Here’s a sample lineup to give you an idea. But the possibilities don’t end here. Take a look at the different specialization, distribution, and elective courses to imagine all the ways you can mix it up to make an experience all your own.
These are the 12 required 4-credit courses for SHA students. In addition to these, students will still be required to complete 12 credits of SHA elective courses and a total of 128 credits in order to be eligible for graduation. The required work experiences may be completed during the summer or school year. Students typically enroll in 16-18 credits each semester.
Foundational Courses
You can’t beat a broad foundation. These courses develop your analytical thinking skills, advance your mathematical comprehension, hone your knowledge of another language, and prepare you for the breadth of your hospitality coursework.
Foundational Courses: 20 credits
FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT: Two semesters of the same modern foreign language (proficiency through level two)
CAS PS 101 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Basic introduction to field of psychology; topics include theories and findings governing learning, memory, perception, development, personality, social and abnormal psychology. Three hours large lecture and one hour discussion section or three hours of small lecture class with no discussion sections. Students are required to participate as subjects in psychology studies. 4 cr. either sem. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2019, this course will fulfill a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning.
* Can be fulfilled with a 4 or 5 on AP Psychology Exam
CAS MA 113 4 credits. Fall and Spring
CAS MA 113 may not be taken for credit by any student who has completed any MA course numbered 300 or higher. Students may receive credit for not more than one of the following courses: CAS MA 113, MA 115, or MA 213. Basic concepts of estimation and tests of hypotheses, ideas from probability; one-, two-, and multiple-sample problems. Applications will be in social sciences and students will be able to understand the basics of using a sample to predict uncertainty. Carries MCS divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Quantitative Reasoning II. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.
CAS MA 119 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Applications of mathematics for personal financial decision-making. Systems of equations, exponential functions, logarithms, probability, descriptive statistics, and numerical simulation, for modeling saving, borrowing, inflation, purchasing power, taxation, government benefits, risk management, insurance, annuities, and investments. Carries MCS divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I. This course also fulfills the learning outcomes for Life Skills. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
SHA Core Courses
These are the courses that introduce you to the amazing breadth of the hospitality industry. Seminars, discussions, and lectures help you think critically and advance your knowledge base, while the Field Experience components give you a real-world understanding of what it’s like outside the classroom.
SHA Core Courses: 48 credits
SHA HF 100 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Digital/Multimedia Expression Historical Consciousness Teamwork/Collaboration
This introductory course is open to all BU students and is the prerequisite for School of Hospitality courses. Students gain an historical perspective and identify current events and trends in lodging, restaurants and event management. It provides an overview of the global hospitality/tourism industry including the critical elements of managing services. The Boston market, multimedia assignments and team-based projects are integrated into the learning environment. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Teamwork/Collaboration. 4 cr. Offered in the Fall and Spring.
SHA HF 150 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Digital/Multimedia Expression Social Inquiry II
Central to the hospitality industry is the provision of memorable, high-quality customer experiences across digital and physical touchpoints. This allows hospitality and other service organizations to turn satisfied customers into brand evangelists. This course introduces the emerging domain of customer experience management (CEM)--the discipline of understanding and managing customer interactions with the organization to improve satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. CEM is a unique domain that draws on practices from the fields of marketing, marketing research, technology and data science, and operations and service science, with the aim of understanding and improving customer experiences with the organization. The course will cover the definitions and basic requirements of customer experience management, and also provide detailed frameworks and tools and techniques to allow students to gain proficiency in the language and practice of customer experience design and improvement. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Social Inquiry II, Creativity/Innovation.
SHA HF 210 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 100, CAS MA 119 - An introductory course in Accounting designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the language of business. This course examines the basic accounting processes of recording, classifying, and summarizing business transactions. It also provides an opportunity to study elements of financial statements such as assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses. 4 credits, offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 222 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course provides an advanced overview of the revenue management function in hotels. Revenue management is an integrated approach to maximizing revenue that includes capacity analysis, demand forecasting, variable pricing, and distribution technology.
SHA HF 231 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 100 - This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of human resource management, especially for consumer services such as hotels, restaurants, tourism and events. Explores contemporary human resource management relative to the hospitality industry, with emphasis on planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, hiring, placement, and ethnic diversity in the workplace. Specifically, the course examines employee motivation, leadership, training, team building, employee performance and retention. Management philosophies of work compensation, discipline, and labor relations are discussed as they affect current hospitality industry strategies to attract and retain a quality workforce. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 4 credits. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 260 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHAHF 100; Undergraduate Corequisites: SHAHF 220. Note: Students must take SHAHF 220 and HF 260 concurrently in the same section (e.g., A1/A1). Contact your academic advisor with any questions. - This course provides an understanding of the role & function of marketing in the hospitality industry. It offers an overview of generic principles of marketing for any industry (including consumer products & manufacturing) and introduces specialized principles for the hospitality industry. For all topics, it uses examples taken primarily from the hospitality industry. Subjects covered include marketing strategy, marketing research, consumer behavior, segmentation, positioning, product and concept development, pricing, distribution, & marketing communications (including advertising & PR). Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 4 cr. Offered Fall and Spring.
SHA HF 278 4 credits. Fall and Spring
This course will provide students with fundamental knowledge of business analytics and information visualization combined with extensive opportunities for developing hands-on skills for applying hospitality business analytics to managerial decision-making. Students will learn fundamental mathematical and statistical concepts as well as statistical modeling techniques to solve operational, financial and marketing issues that hospitality organizations face today. Students will also learn how to leverage widely used Microsoft Excel to build out data-driven insights and craft story telling visualization around the data-driven insights. 4 cr. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 282 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Oral and/or Signed Communication Research and Information Literacy Writing, Research, and Inquiry
This course is intended as a 'practicum' in hospitality communications. This course is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. The focus is on the development of those communication skills that are critical to being effective managers. There will be readings on communication, but the majority of the course will focus on skills development. Each week students will be required to deliver presentations to the class. These presentations will be videotaped and critiqued. By the end of this course students will be much more comfortable, clear, and confident speakers in any situation. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU HUB areas: Oral/Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy, Writing, Research, and Inquiry.
SHA HF 303 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Hospitality leaders need to know how to be the disruptors in the industry, as well as learn how to survive and capitalize when the industry is disrupted. In both situations, effective innovation is key to staying relevant and succeeding. Each week the class will meet to discuss different challenges that businesses have faced and approaches that entrepreneurs have taken to manage them. 4cr. Offering Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 310 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 119, SHA HF 210 or QST AC 221, SHA HF 220, and SHA HF 270 - After a review of financial-accounting principles, this course examines how financial information is assembled and presented according to the Uniform Systems Accounts for hospitality enterprises. The primary emphasis of the course is on analytical and decision-making uses of financial information, including such topics as cost behavior, leverage, cost-volume-profit analysis, contribution-margin pricing, and budgeting. The course concludes with a review of hotel operating forms, including franchising and management contracts and assessing their impact on financial performance and risk. 4 cr. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 432 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 231, Seniors only - This course will focus on leadership and management for the hospitality industry. Using a leadership continuum as a framework, we will explore several different levels of leadership, from a "traditional" leadership role as the head of a major corporation to the more personal aspect of self- leadership. Several different leadership models will be analyzed and applied to the hospitality industry. Leadership tools will be explored - hands-on, realistic tools that you will be able to use in your personal lives, while in school and in the business world upon graduation. 4 cr. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 460 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHAHF 100, and (SHAHF 260 or QSTMK 323), and (CASWR 150/151/152 or CGSRH 104); First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - This is an advanced course focusing on hospitality marketing strategies for hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions or other related events and experiences. In this course we will build upon and integrate basic marketing principles into complex marketing strategies designed to capture market share. All projects are for real situations with real "clients" to be delivered in real time, enabling us to work with industry professionals. Special attention will be placed on market research, targeted marketing, digital marketing, and presentation skills. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Creativity/Innovation. 4 cr. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA Elective Courses
Our electives are your chance to explore the industry or dive deeper into an area of interest. Students are required to complete a total of 12 credits of hospitality electives.
SHA Elective Courses: 12 credits
SHA HF 220 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHAHF 100; Undergraduate Corequisites: SHAHF 260. Note: Students must take SHAHF 220 and HF 260 concurrently in the same section (e.g., A1/A1). Contact your academic advisor with any questions. - This course focuses on principal operating problems facing managers in the restaurant industry. Topics such as concept development and entrepreneurship, menu analysis, cost control, operational analysis, and customer service processes are addressed. 4 credits, offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 250 2 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 100 - A look at the laws that apply to hotels, food-service establishments, and the travel industry. Consideration of innkeepers' duties to guests. Concepts of liability and negligence, contract and property practices, and miscellaneous statutes applicable to the hospitality industry. 2 credits, offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 270 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 100 - This course provides an introduction to the operations and technology of the room division within hotel properties. Explores theoretical principles and operational tactics for management of front office, reservations, housekeeping and engineering functions. 4 credits, offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 295 2 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 100 - Provide students with an introduction to the hospitality management specialization of Club Management. Lecture topics will include: what clubs are, organizational structure of clubs, service in the club environment, profit or non-profit, and professionals in club management. There will also be guest speakers, classroom case studies and field trips. 2 cr. Offered Fall Semester.
SHA HF 302 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: None - The dynamic nature of the hospitality and tourism industry requires leaders who are adept in the art and science of management. One of the objectives of the SHA program is to prepare you for leadership roles throughout the industry by "honing your abilities for critical thinking, clear expression, and problem- solving - all vital skills for success in the business world". One of these skills is the ability to interpret and conduct research. There are two factors that make this skill ever more critical in today's world. First, as members of a rapidly evolving society, we are exposed to the results of research on a regular basis -- polls and surveys, newspaper and magazine interviews, business research reports, findings from academic research, among others. An understanding of the process that was utilized in producing such research, interpreting its findings and appreciating the implications of relevant findings for our industry has become increasingly important in a media-saturated environment. Second, the dynamic nature of our business often requires leaders to initiate research that helps their businesses stay ahead of the game. This can range from small ad hoc research projects at a unit level to large, multi- million dollar exercises at the level of the corporation. It is important to understand how such research can be implemented and its findings utilized to improve firm performance. This course consists of three sections that are fundamental to the research endeavor. In the first section, we briefly explore what research is all about and the skills needed to prepare oneself for a research endeavor -- how research works, research philosophies and approaches, ethical considerations, and how to develop literature review skills. In the second section, we focus on different approaches to data collection -- quantitative and qualitative. We explore the implications surrounding the use of these different approaches for study design. The third section examines the tools and techniques involved in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. While the course emphasizes primary research methods, we will also briefly discuss the role and value of secondary data in the research endeavor.
SHA HF 307 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 220, SHA HF 260, SHA HF 310 - This course is intended to be a capstone experience for students seeking to understand hospitality entrepreneurship and innovation as a professional business system. Student teams will create, develop and design a concise Pro Forma Business Plan for a start-up non-profit or profit-driven hospitality enterprise. At the end of the semester teams will make a competitive presentation integrating the principles and skills mastered in previous coursework to a panel of successful hospitality entrepreneurs. 4cr. Offered Fall.
SHA HF 314 2 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 210, SHA HF 220, SHA HF 260, and SHA HF 270 - This course provides an introduction to and detailed instruction regarding the hotel market and feasibility research process including hands-on preparation of a feasibility analysis for a proposed hotel development. The course will consist of a series of lectures and possible guest lectures regarding the fundamental aspects of hotel feasibility analysis. Students will learn about and then put into the practice the analytical techniques presented, building to completion of a full feasibility analysis in a team fashion which will be presented at the end of the semester both in written and oral form. 2 cr. Offered Spring Semester.
SHA HF 315 2 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 210, SHA HF 220, SHA HF 260, and SHA HF 270 - The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to the various aspects of a Hotel Real Estate Deal. The target audience is any student who aspires to have a career involving the ownership, development and/or financing of lodging assets. 2 cr. Offered Spring Semester.
SHA HF 322 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 220 and SHA HF 270 - This course is designed to introduce students to the basic principles of facility planning, layout and design for hotel, dining, kitchen, public and service areas. At the completion of the course, students will be able to explain the design process common to all hospitality facilities, as well as the activities that occur during each phase of this process. 4 cr. Offered Fall.
SHA HF 329 2 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites. - This course, open to all BU students, offers a complete, introductory-level overview of the fine wines of the world. The purpose of the course is fourfold: 1. Ensure a thorough knowledge of the world's major wine-producing regions, their noble grape varietals, their classification systems and quality control laws. 2. Build basic understanding of the wine-making process, its variations and its pitfalls, thus aiding in the ability to appreciate a great wine and spot a flawed one. 3. Illustrate techniques of quantified sensorial assessment of wine so that the student may perform the buying function knowledgeably and confidently. 4. Acquire an understanding of how to perform job functions related to wine, such as writing a wine list, in the hospitality industry. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 2 cr. Offered Fall semester.
SHA HF 361 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 260 - In order to create and deliver value for customers, marketers must develop a deep understanding of how their consumers make decisions when purchasing and using their services. In this course those consumer behavior theories will be explored that are most applicable to different types of hospitality purchase experiences. 4 cr. Offered Spring Semester.
SHA HF 368 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 260 - This is an advanced course in hospitality marketing focused on the variety of digital marketing tools currently available for hotels and restaurants. The course is designed to follow HSMAI's CHDM (Certified Hospitality Digital Marketing) study guide to meet the industry standard for digital marketing professionals. There will be a review of the most revenue-generating internet marketing techniques and finally booking mechanisms and distribution channels. The course includes concentration on content marketing, social media and developing social campaigns; OTAs and understanding the distribution channels; as well as online reputation management and the technical tools used to monitor results. The class will be structured as a lecture; you must bring your laptops for all in class exercises. 4 cr. Offered Spring Semester.
SHA HF 375 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 220 - This course provides an introduction to the methods and techniques utilized in planning, organizing, promoting and delivering of businesses and social events, and the role events play in generating a tourist and business market. Information will be presented that will allow the student to gain general knowledge of planning events. Specifically, the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector of the events will be examined in depth from a professional planner's perspective. Information presented will allow the student to gain knowledge of planning events from the role of a meeting professional and assist in preparing for the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) or Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) exam. 4 cr. Offered Fall & Spring.
SHA HF 376 4 credits.
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 375 - This course is designed to provide an introduction to the principles of special event management. The planning, development, and management of corporate and social events, entertainment events and festivals will be the focus of the study. Specific topics will include the foundations of planning an event, including conceptualization, event design, working with vendors/contracts, budgeting, marketing strategy, revenue generation through tickets and sponsorship, and event technology. 4 cr. Offered Spring Semester.
SHA HF 415 2 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 310 - This course is designed to introduce the student to a rapidly growing area of the lodging industry, namely, asset management. The course will define what asset management is today and examin the skills required to be a successful asset manager. There will be a special focus on the benefits to the hotel owner of hiring an asset manager and the role of the asset manager in representing the owner in deliberations about annual operating budgets and capital plans with the hotel management company. In order to effectuate this understanding, the course will also concentrate on hotel investment analysis including market analysis, benchmarking and pro forma preparation, and developing an asset management plan. 2 cr. Offered Fall Semester.
SHA HF 416 2 credits. Fall and Spring
Undergraduate Prerequisites: SHA HF 220 and SHA HF 270 - The Franchise, Management, and Independents in Hospitality class emphasizes the benefits and limitations of the franchise and management company relationship for hotels and restaurants. It addresses the key elements and financial implications associated with franchise and management agreements. A broad discussion highlighting the brand selection process will provide insight to the value creation. The course will introduce students to the recent trends in soft branding, and what it means to be a boutique and/or independent hotel or restaurant. Students will learn the competitive advantages and disadvantages of being independent. The course will address the restaurant franchise industry including quick serve (QSR), full service (FSR) and fast casual. Students will gain understanding of the value created by the restaurant franchise's processes and operations. Other topics will include brand and franchise development and outsourcing.
BU HUB Curriculum/Electives
Students are required to fulfill their remaining academic unit requirements to reach 128 credits, as well as any remaining BU Hub requirements through elective coursework at any college within the University. Elective courses should be selected by the student to complement and broaden the student’s background. Students who are considering studying abroad through any of Boston University’s Study Abroad programs should save some of their electives for the term in which they plan to study abroad. Additionally, students interested in minoring in another school or subject at the University should utilize their elective allotment for that purpose. Physical Education and ROTC courses do not count toward degree units.
Two Field Experiences—(0 Credit Hours)
In addition to regular coursework, all SHA majors complete two 300-hour, non-credit work experiences. The purpose of each work experience is to help the students make connections in the field as well as gain the kind of experience that will allow them to obtain meaningful employment after graduation. These requirements are linked to the noncredit courses SHA HF 140 and SHA HF 240.
International Experience—(0 Credit Hours)
This requirement is generally fulfilled by studying and/or working abroad, or by completing another pre-approved option with an international focus. Students typically enroll in a BU Study Abroad program, another approved study abroad program or attaining an internship abroad. Students are able to satisfy this requirement in alternative ways as well.
Concentrations
The School of Hospitality Administration offers flexibility in the Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration program. Students are not required to choose a concentration, however, concentrations allow students to focus their degree on an area of particular interest to them.
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Our Learning Outcomes
The Hospitality Administration curriculum is carefully designed in order to achieve the following learning outcomes:
Describe the segments, history, icons, market leaders, lexicon and service elements of the hospitality industry.
Apply the competencies in the core functional areas (e.g. finance/accounting, operations, human resources, and marketing) of hospitality management.
Synthesize the critical thinking of hospitality systems: financial, operational, human resource and design.
Develop interpersonal skills: communication, team building, leadership and cultural diversity awareness.
