Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration launched a new year-long Master of Management in Hospitality program this summer with a “robust enrollment” of 35 students, according to SHA Dean Arun Upneja.
Associate Dean Peter Szende said the new master’s program would “add value to the school’s vision to become a global leading hospitality management school.”
“We believe after talking to so many hospitality companies, many of them are increasingly interested in graduate education,” Szende said.
Only the second program of its kind, the Master of Management in Hospitality brings together students from various backgrounds. Szende said the new master’s program aims to enroll students who hold bachelor’s degrees outside the hospitality field, international students who want exposure to the U.S. employment market and current hospitality professionals who want to widen their career prospects with an additional degree.
The new program, which will run each year from the Summer II semester through spring, begins with an intense 6-week semester with 12 credits, Upneja explained. It continues in the fall with students taking one, four-credit class and a full-time internship. Students then finish the program in the spring semester with another 16 credits worth of classes.
“We had a very robust response,” Upneja said of the first entering class. “[The school’s long-term goal] was to enroll 35 students, so now we are rethinking how to accommodate more students as they come in.”
SHA lecturer Suzanne Bagnera, who co-taught Hospitality Operations Analysis with Szende this past summer, said “it made sense to use BU’s stellar undergraduate reputation in hospitality administration to develop a master’s level program.”
Over the summer, Bangera taught the Lodging Operations and Technology class in the morning, while Szende taught a food and beverage operations course in the afternoon.
Many students enrolled in the program said they are satisfied with the way it has been running.
SHA graduate student Pauline Fiegel said she is pleased with the program so far.
“In my opinion, having an internship within the one-year program is a real plus,” Fiegel wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press. “It allows us (and especially for international students) to gather some experience in the U.S. market.”
The program will allow Fiegel, a France native, to have her first hospitality working experience in the U.S. Although she holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations, Fiegel said she hopes to use this program to eventually become a general manager for a hotel.
SHA graduate student Kealoha Pomerantz said the program has exceeded her expectations.
“The class size is perfect, and we are given ample one-on-one time with faculty and staff,” Pomerantz said. “The professors are industry veterans and people who are truly passionate about ensuring our success and adding to the quality of the industry.”
Pomerantz said she hopes to use her 10 years of experience in the food and beverage industry and master’s degree in education to own a restaurant someday.
SHA graduate student Daniel Seifer, who is new to the field of hospitality, said he is looking forward to his internship in the hotel industry.
While he plans to work for a hotel consulting firm, he said he is open to other career possibilities in the future, which the program can open him up to.
“[My] plans may change as the program progresses,” Seifer said. “I feel that the hospitality industry is the right place for me. Who knows, maybe I can open my own hotel one day.”
