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Hospitality Management

Types of Degrees Hospitality Management Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Hospitality Management may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	679
Associate’s Degree	1,657
Bachelor’s Degree	7,448
Master’s Degree	3,229
Doctor’s Degree	53

What Hospitality Management Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Hospitality Management develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Hospitality Management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Hospitality Management emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Personnel and Human Resources — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Hospitality Management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Hospitality Management careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Hospitality Management graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.9 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	3.9 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Hospitality Management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Project	Project management software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Visio	Process mapping and design software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Hospitality Management graduates include:

• Shift Manager
• Hospitality Manager
• Catering Director
• Catering Coordinator
• Camp Director
• Dietary Supervisor
• Dining Room Manager
• Restaurant GM (Restaurant General Manager)
• Cook Manager
• Chef Manager
• Front of House Manager (FOH Manager)
• Cafeteria Operator
• Lunchroom Operator
• Food GM (Food General Manager)
• Food Service Supervisor

What Can You Do With a Hospitality Management Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Hospitality Management commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Food Service Managers	7.7%	$165,782	$138,706–$192,858

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Hospitality Management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	41.9%
High school diploma or equivalent	13.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10.1%
Master’s degree	9.2%
Postsecondary certificate	9.0%
Some college courses	7.9%
Less than a high school diploma	5.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.1%
Doctoral degree	1.2%
Post-master’s certificate	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Hospitality Management?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 68.1% of Hospitality Management degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	9,079	68.1%
Men	4,254	31.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Hospitality Management graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	6,231	46.7%
Asian	902	6.8%
Hispanic or Latino	2,196	16.5%
Black or African American	1,310	9.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	57	0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	43	0.3%
Two or More Races	458	3.4%
Race Unknown	416	3.1%
International Students	1,720	12.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Hospitality Management Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Hospitality Management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$35,616
4 years	$42,558
5 years	$47,733

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $47,733 — roughly 34% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Hospitality Management Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Hospitality Management. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	50	29
Bachelor’s	40	37
Master’s	23	11

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Hospitality Management Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Hospitality Management graduates earn a median of $42,558 four years after completion — roughly 12% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Business Administration, Management and Operations	402,942
Accounting and Related Services	81,835
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	62,236
Business/Commerce, General	57,976
Finance and Financial Management Services	57,564
Marketing	53,750
Human Resources Management and Services	25,424
Business Operations Support and Assistant Services	16,153
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	14,306
Management Information Systems and Services	12,092
Real Estate	7,906
International Business	6,933

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.