At NLU students will earn a B.A. degree in Hospitality Management with the opportunity to focus in various concentration areas. Chicago's leading hotels rank the program the No. 1 Chicago program for preparing students for hospitality management careers. The program's focus is on the combination of theory and application. The core curriculum includes traditional classroom learning combined with immersive, practical and hands-on projects while connecting with hospitality industry experts. The culmination of coursework and experience is the Senior Integrative Project, where students from across the college collaborate on a complex project within multidisciplinary teams.
Students may complete course requirements on campus, fully online, or thought a combination of on-campus and online instruction; or in the co-op education model, for which they must be approved based on specific criteria.
The B.A. in Hospitality Management also offers the Hospitality Pathways (HOSP) track, details are provided below.
PLO1. Management: Students will be able to relate principles of teamwork, communication, leadership and motivation to hospitality business situations.
PLO2. Experience Delivery: Students will be able to evaluate, design and implement superior services to produce a competitive guest experience.
PLO3. Operations: Students will be able to evaluate a hospitality business’s facilities, systems, staffing, technology, legal and financial condition.
PLO4. Marketing: Students will be able to apply marketing and sales principles, tools and techniques to solve hospitality business problems.
PLO5. Finance: Students will be able to analyze, interpret and generate budgets and financial statements within a hospitality business.
PLO6. Ethics: Students will be able to apply ethical standards to make responsible decisions in personal and professional situations.
General Education Requirements
Communications
The following courses are recommended:
| ENG 101 | Beginning English Composition | 5 |
| ENG 201 | Intermediate English | 5 |
| ENG 203 | Effective Speaking for the Undergraduate | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines: academic writing, oral communications, and any course in the area of communications.
Humanities and Fine Arts
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ART 105 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art | 5 |
| ART 106 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art I | 2 |
| ART 107 | Race, Identity and Experience in American Art II | 3 |
| HIS 103 | History Across the Globe | 5 |
| PHI 107 | Introduction to Ethics and Social Critique | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Humanities: foreign language, history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, interdisciplinary humanities and fine arts, interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences
- Fine Arts: visual arts (including art history, art appreciation, and studio arts, such as drawing, painting, digital art, or film), film and cinema studies, and performing arts (including music appreciation, music theory, and music performance, theatre appreciation and performance, and dance)
Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Choose three courses from the list below (one must be math and one must be a natural science):
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any three general education courses in the following disciplines:
- Mathematics: college-level and not developmental in nature
- Natural Sciences: physics, chemistry, earth science, astronomy, geology, physical geography, biology, human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, botany and zoology; and interdisciplinary fields such as environmental science, and ecology and conservation
- Mathematics or Natural Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Choose two courses from the list below:
| ECO 200 | Macroeconomics for Today’s Professional | 5 |
| HIS 102 | Civics and American Government | 5 |
| HIS 212 | Think Global: Movements in US History and its Impact on Society and School | 5 |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | 5 |
| SOC 101 | Foundational Sociology | 5 |
| SOC 204 | Contemporary Chicago | 5 |
| SOC 222 | Culture and Identity | 5 |
| SOC 250 | Cultural and Ethnic Movements in the United States | 5 |
Note: Students transferring credit from other institutions or applying coursework previously completed at NLU may use any two general education courses in the area of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the following disciplines: anthropology, economics, geography, history, human geography, political science, psychology, sociology, interdisciplinary social/behavioral science, interdisciplinary humanities and social and behavioral science.
General Education Electives
This area may be satisfied by two courses in any general education category listed above or other courses consistent with integrated general education competencies.
Hospitality Management Core - 60 QH
Required Courses - 30 QH
| HOS 101 | Exploring the Hospitality Industry | 5 |
| HOS 107 | Hospitality Career Exploration | 0 |
| HOS 120 | Principles of Management for Hospitality | 5 |
| HOS 196 | Leading the Service Experience | 5 |
| HOS 320 | Hospitality Financial Management | 5 |
| HOS 344 | Hospitality Sales and Marketing | 5 |
| HOS 480 | Senior Integrative Project (Capstone) | 5 |
Internship and Professional Development - 15 QH
| CPL 400 | Credit Portfolio Assessment in the Discipline | 0 |
| or | |
| HOS 213 | Sophomore Internship | 6 |
| and | |
| HOS 409 | Hospitality Professional | 2 |
| HOS 417 | Senior Internship | 6 |
| HOS 197 | Hospitality Professional Development I | 1 |
Note: Students are required to have a certain amount of practical work experience which can be earned through
CPL 400 with the program director approval. Also, students who choose to extend their internship can complete
HOS 208 and/or
HOS 416.
Hospitality Management Advanced Electives - 15 QH
Students are required to complete 15 QH of coursework listed below of which 7QH must be upper level:
| HOS 111 | Resilient Leadership for Hospitality | 0 TO 1 |
| HOS 112 | Virtual and Hybrid Events: Challenges and Opportunities | 0 |
| HOS 235 | Sustainable Hospitality and Tourism | 3 |
| HOS 237 | Advanced Sustainable Hospitality and Tourism | 2 |
| HOS 274 | First-Year Hospitality Co-Op Practicum and Seminar | 5 |
| HOS 318 | Spirits and Mixology | 3 |
| HOS 319 | The Craft of Beer | 2 |
| HOS 330 | Special Topics: Diversity In Hospitality | 2 |
| HOS 338 | Disruptive Innovation for Hospitality | 3 |
| HOS 358 | Thriving in The Hospitality Workplace | 3 |
| HOS 364 | Banquet and Catering Service | 3 |
| HOS 374 | Second-Year Hospitality Co-Op Practicum and Seminar | 5 |
| HOS 398 | Feasibility of Hospitality Ventures | 5 |
| HOS 399 | Topics In Hospitality Management | 2 TO 5 |
| HOS 418 | Yield and Revenue Management | 3 |
| HOS 419 | Hospitality and Tourism Law and Liability | 3 |
| HOS 420 | Responsible Technology Use in Hospitality | 2 |
| HOS 443 | Information Management for Hospitality | 3 |
| HOS 474 | Third-Year Hospitality Co-Op Practicum and Seminar | 5 |
Note: The concentration courses listed below may be also applied to the Advanced Electives if completed individually outside of the required concentration for the program.
Concentrations - 15 QH
A concentration allows students to earn specific knowledge and competencies to a career path in a particular segment of the industry. Hospitality Management, B.A. students must choose a concentration upon enrollment. Students are required to complete the declared concentration of 15 QH and can opt to earn a second hospitality concentration in place of electives for degree completion.
Hotel Management Concentration
This concentration prepares students for positions of responsibility in hotels, resorts and other forms of lodging and covers the soft skills (service ethics, teamwork, and communication) as well as the hard skills (data analysis, accounting, and operations) needed for success.
| HOS 243 | Hotel Front Office Operations | 5 |
| HOS 316 | Facilities Planning and Management | 5 |
| HOS 366 | Hotel Analytics with STR | 5 |
Note:
HOS 366 must be completed at NLU. All other concentration courses may be transferred from an accredited institution.
Food and Beverage Concentration
In this concentration, students learn how to develop and manage a profitable food service business with a focus on restaurants and bars. There is an emphasis on the role of beverages (wine, beer, spirit and mixology) as a driver of profitability in food establishments.
| HOS 203 | Foundations of the Beverage Manager | 5 |
| HOS 324 | Food and Beverage Operations | 5 |
| HOS 445 | Starting a Food or Beverage Business | 5 |
Note:
HOS 445 must be completed at NLU. All other concentration courses may be transferred from an accredited institution.
Event Planning and Management Concentration
This concentration prepares students to plan and manage various sizes and types of events for corporations, associations, nonprofits and social occasions. The competency-based curriculum helps students develop the knowledge, skills and abilities needed by event industry professionals.
| HOS 212 | Introduction to Event Planning | 5 |
| HOS 337 | Techniques of Professional Event Management | 3 |
| HOS 334 | Event Planning Practicum | 2 |
| HOS 462 | Exhibition Design and Production | 5 |
Note:
HOS 334 and
HOS 337 must be completed at NLU. All other concentration courses may be transferred from an accredited institution.
Tourism Management Concentration
This concentration prepares students for careers in the tourism industry with destination management and marketing organizations, travel and transportation providers, tour operators, attractions, hospitality businesses and their suppliers, among others.
| HOS 225 | Tourism Planning, Management and Development | 5 |
| HOS 346 | Destination Marketing, Sales and Branding | 5 |
| HOS 435 | Tourism Trends and Innovation | 3 |
| HOS 436 | Tourism Immersion | 2 |
Note:
HOS 435 must be completed at NLU before taking
HOS 436. All other concentration courses may be transferred from an accredited institution.
Additional Advanced Electives - 15 QH
Students are required to complete 15 QH of additional advanced elective coursework listed above or other coursework approved by the program director.
Electives - 30 QH
Students must complete a minimum of 30 QH of Advanced Coursework listed above restricted to Hospitality Management program or other major related coursework approved by the program director. To meet additional 30 QH of electives, students may decide to take a second concentration within the Hospitality Management program, a minor in Applied Communications and/or a concentration in Entrepreneurship, Human Resource Management, Leadership, as well as other unrestricted elective courses.