Park and Rec, Tourism/ hospitality management degrees?

[Anonymous]

The University of South Carolina has a sports management and hospitality major. If you live in Maryland you can pay in-state tuition. It’s a really fun major and the student all work the masters tournament in the spring.

Many kids go into event management like running events like the masters tournament. Other kids I’ve heard go into jobs like running places like Merriweather Post, Wolf trap, etc.

Obviously you can get into hotel management.

You can minor in business if you want and if you’re not worried about the in-state tuition you can major in business and minor in sports management.

People are wrong with these are majors created for athletes … that’s communications. And I only say that because my other son is at a top 25 school doing communications because he’s an athlete and it was too hard to manage business and his sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was going to suggest UMass Amherst as well. When we toured they have a big hotel on campus that I believe was run by hospitality majors.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m asking more if folks think there is value in such a degree. Normally I would agree with the “blunt” poster but my daughter really, really wants to go to college and her learning style is more hands on, practical. Every career assessment she does points her to a people career and hospitality has come up a few times. For me, her getting a college degree is more about checking the box because w/out it, she’ll be shut out of the job market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD loves sports and to travel, is a good planner and is looking to study something more hands on. Anyone have a student majoring in this field? We’re looking NC State, ECU, ASU, Colorado State and a few CA state schools that are probably impossible to get into. We’re in DC and will utilize DC-TAG.
If you don’t have anything constructive to say, remember silence is always an option.

At the risk of being blunt, those degrees are a total sham. They exist largely so athletes unwilling or incapable of doing college level work have something to major in and maintain their eligibility. Your daughter would be much better off majoring in econ, business, finance, accounting, etc. All of those degrees would still offer a pipeline into the hospitality/tourism/recreation industries and she would at least have a solid foundation to build her career on.

+1 Or double major in those or minor in the "hospitality" and major in econ/business/finance/etc. But definately get a stronger degree.

[Anonymous]

I work in parks and rec (government) with a lot of people with these degrees. My advice is to avoid or minimize debt because the pay is low and with a bachelor's she will start at the bottom. Name brands aren't as important as being able to afford to live after graduation.

[Anonymous]

U of Tennessee has a sports management program.

NC State, and other schools, too, also have Forestry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was going to suggest UMass Amherst as well. When we toured they have a big hotel on campus that I believe was run by hospitality majors.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m asking more if folks think there is value in such a degree. Normally I would agree with the “blunt” poster but my daughter really, really wants to go to college and her learning style is more hands on, practical. Every career assessment she does points her to a people career and hospitality has come up a few times. For me, her getting a college degree is more about checking the box because w/out it, she’ll be shut out of the job market.

Yes, there is absolute value in a degree like this. All the big hospitality brands recruit from these schools both for internships and for jobs. Coming out of a hospitality school vs just having a high school degree and working the front desk at a hotel is like going to officer training school -vs- being enlisted. The degree will enable her to move up, give her more opportunities in other areas within the business and will most definitely give her a leg up. Most of the large hospitality companies will have some type of management training program which would introduce her to all aspects of the business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:U of Tennessee has a sports management program.

NC State, and other schools, too, also have Forestry.

They also have a retail, hospitality, and tourism management degree: https://rhtm.utk.edu/.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was going to suggest UMass Amherst as well. When we toured they have a big hotel on campus that I believe was run by hospitality majors.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m asking more if folks think there is value in such a degree. Normally I would agree with the “blunt” poster but my daughter really, really wants to go to college and her learning style is more hands on, practical. Every career assessment she does points her to a people career and hospitality has come up a few times. For me, her getting a college degree is more about checking the box because w/out it, she’ll be shut out of the job market.

Maybe a college like Drexel that emphasizes coops? Not sure about all their majors, but I wonder if looking forward to coop time would help her get through the degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U of Tennessee has a sports management program.

NC State, and other schools, too, also have Forestry.

They also have a retail, hospitality, and tourism management degree: https://rhtm.utk.edu/.

They also have in state for md residents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U of Tennessee has a sports management program.

NC State, and other schools, too, also have Forestry.

They also have a retail, hospitality, and tourism management degree: https://rhtm.utk.edu/.

They also have in state for md residents

Thank you. Is there a special partnership with Maryland? We’re in DC.

Same question for poster who said MD residents can get In State in SC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was going to suggest UMass Amherst as well. When we toured they have a big hotel on campus that I believe was run by hospitality majors.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’m asking more if folks think there is value in such a degree. Normally I would agree with the “blunt” poster but my daughter really, really wants to go to college and her learning style is more hands on, practical. Every career assessment she does points her to a people career and hospitality has come up a few times. For me, her getting a college degree is more about checking the box because w/out it, she’ll be shut out of the job market.

Maybe a college like Drexel that emphasizes coops? Not sure about all their majors, but I wonder if looking forward to coop time would help her get through the degree.

Thanks! We haven’t looked at co-op schools because they are usually private and/or her grades aren’t stellar. But we will!

[Anonymous]

What about Cornell for hospitality? When I was young, that was a really prestigious program. I don't know if they still do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Cornell for hospitality? When I was young, that was a really prestigious program. I don't know if they still do.

It’s the top program in the country. Highly competitive. And expensive. OP was asking about state public school programs where DC TAG could be applied. Cornell is not one of them.

[Anonymous]

The SERB website lets you see what colleges/majors are available as in-state tuition if you live in a different state within SERB. MD and VA are in; DC is not.

https://home.sreb.org/acm/choosestate.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter graduated from the Hospitality Management program at Michigan State and has nothing but good things to say about the program. She's in the Voyage program with Marriott now- https://university.marriott.com/post-graduates/

I was just coming on to say this. My sister is in the hotel management industry and while she came at it in a circuitous way, she told me there are a lot of people in the industry who went here. https://broad.msu.edu/hospitality-business/