Hospitality Management, M.S.

Offered by: Collins College of Hospitality Management

The Master of Science in Hospitality Management (MSHM) degree exposes students to advanced management concepts including accounting and finance, marketing, strategic management, human resources management, as well as qualitative and quantitative analytical skills as they pertain specifically to the hospitality industry.

The program is designed to prepare graduates with the depth of hospitality knowledge and skills that will equip them to make an immediate impact in the highly competitive hospitality industry or to provide the foundation for the pursuit of a terminal degree at an academic institution. The MSHM program is sufficiently flexible to recognize the full range of skills and knowledge needed for significant contributions in all segments of the hospitality industry.

The MSHM program is the only hospitality management degree program of its kind in California.

Admission to the Program

Questions about admission deadlines may be directed to Dr. Myong Jae (MJ) Lee, Director of Graduate Studies at mjlee@csupomona.edu or (909) 869-3158.

Admission Requirements:

1. An application http://www.csupomona.edu/~collins/MSHM.shtml
2. A bachelor’s degree in hospitality management or a closely related discipline with a minimum GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0
3. Application fee (for current fee, please visit http://www.csupomona.edu/~collins/MSHM.shtml); fees must be paid with a personal check or money order, payable to “Cal Poly Pomona”.
4. Either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), although GMAT (minimum score of 450) is highly recommended
5. International students must have either a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 550 (213 on the computer-based test) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.5. TOEFL scorees must be no more than two years old.
6. Two letters of recommendation
7. Resume and statement of purpose
8. At least one year of hospitality management experience is recommended
9. Some prerequisites may be required based on undergraduate studies

Degree Requirements

The curriculum of the Master of Science in Hospitality Management (MSHM) requires a minimum of 48 quarter units. Students will select either the thesis option or non-thesis option (professional paper). A sample study plan is available to show students a recommended flow of coursework: http://www.csupomona.edu/~collins/MSHM_requirements.shtml

Elective courses must be chosen from an approved list of hospitality elective courses. No more than 8 elective units may be transferred from another hospitality graduate institution or petitioned by an undergraduate student. A grade-point average of B (3.0) or better must be maintained in all graduate-level course work taken at the university.

The candidate must be enrolled in the university during the quarter of graduation. In addition, each MSHM candidate is responsible for satisfying all university requirements specified elsewhere in the university catalog.

Thesis Option

The thesis option provides an excellent framework for students who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. Students are required to complete 28 units of required courses, 12 units of elective courses and 8 units of master’s thesis.

For the thesis option, the thesis committee must be composed of three graduate faculty consisting of a major professor and two other committee members. The committee is selected by the student in consultation with a faculty advisor. The thesis proposal (4 units) is developed in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor and two other committee members.

An acceptable master’s thesis (4 units) must be completed and submitted in accordance with university regulations. An oral thesis defense must be successfully completed. Prior to the oral thesis defense, students with a thesis option are required to present his/her thesis in the Graduate Seminar scheduled by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Non-Thesis Option (Professional Paper)

The non-thesis option (professional paper) consists of 28 units of required courses, 16 units of elective courses and 4 units to complete a professional paper.

The professional paper must be approved by the candidate’s professional paper committee including major professor and two other graduate faculty members. The professional paper must be an exploratory, qualitative, or quantitative analysis of a management problem specific to the hospitality industry. Like the thesis option, the student electing the non-thesis option is required to present his/her professional paper in the Graduate Seminar before the final approval by his/her professional paper committee.