The graduate programme in tourism and hospitality provides training geared towards preparing senior managers who have responsibility for strategic planning and decision making. These managers will be capable of managing a hotel property or tourism facility. The program provides students with tourism management practices needed to make effective leaders in a culturally diverse and competitive environment. Graduates from our programme are qualitatively different from those of other institutions as they are trained with a focus on sustainable tourism. Again this focus does not limit the student’s exposure to the broader body of knowledge in tourism and hospitality.
Available at the graduate level is the M.Sc. Tourism & Hospitality Management.

This Master of Science Degree Programme had its inception in the academic partnership between the European Union, under LOME IV, and the University of the West Indies. The programme provides an excellent education in hospitality and tourism and seeks to train CARIFORUM nationals for high level participation in the management of the region’s tourism and hospitality industry. The programme was designed to respond to the demands of industry for well qualified and capable managers in a dynamic, complex, changing and growing environment. The programme will provide a balance between:

• General Education requirements
• Business Administration courses and

Technical courses relating the fundamentals within the tourism and hospitality industry

This programme provides students with the opportunity through a mix of taught, and research elements to:

• Develop and improve their analytical and research capacities through rigorous graduate level courses.
• Gain a thorough knowledge of the operating characteristics of the international and Caribbean tourism business.
• Appreciate the importance of the strategic approach in ensuring the long term sustainability of tourism in the Caribbean region.
• Understand the processes through which tourism and hospitality organizations become internationally competitive and thereby enhance the national standards of living and levels of development.
• Gain an in-depth knowledge of the functional activities of tourism and hospitality operations in an International and Caribbean context.
• Learn practical, efficient and professional methods of solving industry problems through a series of case study analyses with the guidance of academic staff and industry experts who will share a wealth of knowledge and experience with the students.
• Be exposed to the “psychology” of tourism and the dynamics affecting the Caribbean tourism worker due to socio-historical and cultural variables.
• Improve the understanding of the vital role of tourism in the context of the macro economic development of the whole Caribbean region.

Matriculants are normally expected to have the equivalent of at least an upper-second class honours degree in Tourism or Hospitality Management. Students will be accepted from other disciplines if they have more than one year’s post graduate experience in a Tourism industry sector.

Managers and executives with over 10 years experience in the tourism and hospitality industry may be accepted to the programme. A first degree qualification will not be a compulsory entry requirement for such an applicant provided he/she has an equivalent professional qualification such as MHCIMA (Member of the Hotel & Catering International Management Association) – or CHA, (Certified Hotel Administrator awarded by the American Hotel & Motel Association).

The programme commences in September and is offered as follows:

• Full-time – 15 months duration
• Part-time – 27 months duration
• Distance – 15 months duration (online) - January 2007

The programme carries 45 credit hours consisting of 11 three credit, 3 four credit and 1 not for credit courses. With the exception of the research course, there are 36 class room hours per course and an average of 12 hours per week. Full-time and part-time students attend the same classes.

In addition to taught class sessions, students will be exposed to periodic workshops and/or conferences based on topical, relevant and emerging issues as they impact on the industry. Students will be given an opportunity of specializing either in:

• Tourism Management or
• Hospitality Management