Master of Science in Hospitality Management Application Requirements

Applicants who have not submitted their application and attend a graduate admissions event will be eligible for an application fee waiver. You can register for an upcoming event here.

• Domestic Transcripts: Unofficial copies of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts, if applicable, are a required part of your admissions portfolio. If you are admitted and decide to enroll, we will ask for an official copy of your undergraduate transcript at that time. 

• International Transcripts: Unofficial copies of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts, if applicable, are required as part of your admissions portfolio. For the purpose of application review, transcripts may be submitted in English in either unofficial or official format. If your transcripts are already issued in English, no additional evaluation is required at this stage.
  • If available, we encourage applicants to include a grading scale or any information that helps contextualize your academic performance, such as how your grades compare to a U.S. 4.0 GPA scale.
  • If your transcripts are not in English, you may still upload them as part of your application and email shagrad@bu.edu to notify our office. Our team will follow up with next steps and work with you directly to determine what additional documentation, if any, may be needed.
  • At this time, third-party transcript evaluations (e.g., NACES) are not required for initial application review. If you are admitted and choose to enroll, we will provide guidance on submitting official final documents at that time.

We accept academic and professional Letters of Recommendation. All MS in Hospitality Management applicants are required to have ONE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FROM AN ACADEMIC SOURCE (professor or academic advisor) who can speak to their success as a student.

We require the most up-to-date resume or CV for all applicants.

• Describe your career and/or academic goals. In what ways will the MS in Hospitality Management (MSHM) program contribute to your attainment of these career and/or academic goals (200 – 250 words)?
• The Master of Science in Hospitality Management (MSHM) program is designed for those new to research as well as those with experience employing research academically or professionally. If you are new to research, please explain what interests you most about quantitative and qualitative research. What skills are you hoping to learn from the MSHM program? If you have conducted research previously, please describe your understanding of quantitative and qualitative research. Please share a brief description of your work, and identify which research methodologies you employed in your work. (200 – 250 words)
• Please explain why you are interested in conducting graduate-level research in the area of hospitality. Identify one or two of your research interests and explain how these interests fit well with the Master of Science in Hospitality Management (MSHM) program.

Communication and presentation skills are an instrumental part of hospitality. In this video, we encourage students to be creative in their responses and presentation style. You are also asked to refrain from reading a script or your personal statement.

Instructions for Fall 2026:

• Please post your video on Vimeo, YouTube or Google Drive, and ensure the URL provided is viewable. Applications will not be reviewed without a video essay.
• We prefer if you do not use a password to protect your video. If you must use a password, please use SHAGrad2025.

Instructions for Fall 2027:

• Please record and submit your video directly through the application portal. You may pause your recording and return to complete it at a later time. There is no limit on the number of attempts, and you may re-record your video as many times as needed before final submission.

Prompt:

In one to three minutes, please address the following:

• Why do you want to join the Master of Science in Hospitality Management (MSHM) program?
• How will completing a master’s thesis through the MSHM program benefit your professional aspirations?
• What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
• What aspects of the hospitality industry are hoping to explore through your research?

Please share a recent academic or professional research paper. If you do not have previous research experience, please share an academic writing sample that is at least 1,000 words. Please include citations and references where applicable.

The GRE or GMAT is NOT required for admission to any of our graduate programs at SHA.  

If your first language is not English, you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or the Duolingo English Test (DET). International students who have completed or will complete their undergraduate degree in the United States or at a university where the main language of instruction is English do not need to submit language proficiency scores.

• Minimum TOEFL Score – 4.5 (New Score Scale – 90 on Old Score Scale) Please self-report your TOEFL scores in the “Standardized Tests” section of the application. The ETS TOEFL institution code for all Boston University Graduate Programs is 3087.
  • On January 21, 2026, TOEFL has introduced an updated score scale (from 1 – 6 in increments of 0.5)
  • Comparing TOEFL Scores Across the 1 – 6 and 0 – 120 Scales
    To help you interpret scores from TOEFL exams taken before January 21, 2026 – and since TOEFL scores stay active for two years, you may still have the old score range through late 2027 – the chart here compares the two sets of scores.
• Minimum IELTS Score – 7.0 Please self-report your IELTS scores in the “Standardized Tests” section of the application. Please include your IELTS Test Report Form (TRF) number (15–18 digits) located in the bottom right-hand corner of your score report. You can submit your official scores through the IELTS website by selecting “Boston University Graduate Programs.”
• Minimum Duolingo Score – 125 BU accepts results for the Duolingo English Test (DET) as evidence of English proficiency, which combines an English proficiency test with a brief video interview. Please submit your scores through the Duolingo Dashboard by selecting “Boston University School of Hospitality Administration” as your institution of choice. We require a minimum overall score of 125.