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Hospitality & Tourism
What you'll do in college
Hospitality and tourism majors study how hotels, restaurants, resorts, events, and travel services are run. Coursework covers hospitality operations, food and beverage management, event planning, tourism marketing, hospitality law, and revenue management, alongside core business classes.
Many programs require extensive internships at hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, or theme parks, and some campuses operate student-run hotels or restaurants. Culinary tracks add kitchen labs and food-science coursework.
What you'll do after college
Grads work at hotel chains, restaurant groups, cruise lines, casinos, event-planning companies, theme parks, and destination marketing organizations. Common early roles are management trainee, front-office manager, food and beverage supervisor, event coordinator, and revenue analyst.
The work is people-intensive, often includes nights, weekends, and peak-season hours, and rewards those who enjoy service and operations. Pay starts modest but rises into comfortable senior-management salaries at global hotel and restaurant brands.
Famous graduates
- Guy Fieri — Restaurateur and TV host; B.S. in Hospitality Management from UNLV
Selectivity vs. earnings
By acceptance rate
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings
By SAT median
Median SAT · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | 5yr Earn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality & Tourism | 332 | 10,582 | 39% / 61% | 10% | $52,947 |
| Hospitality Management | 165 | 4,926 | 31% / 69% | 18% | $53,410 |
| Recreation Management | 78 | 1,071 | 49% / 51% | 2% | $48,003 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | 26 | 497 | 47% / 53% | 0% | $51,944 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management | 19 | 399 | 55% / 45% | 1% | $48,946 |
| Hotel Administration | 4 | 298 | 45% / 55% | 10% | $68,590 |
| Food Service Management | 3 | 286 | 52% / 48% | 11% | $41,924 |
| Event Management | 2 | 219 | 13% / 87% | 12% | $53,564 |
| Hospitality and Tourism Management | 8 | 216 | 31% / 69% | 5% | $55,158 |
| Tourism and Travel Services Management | 8 | 195 | 41% / 59% | 11% | $48,338 |
| Meeting and Event Planning | 10 | 132 | 6% / 94% | 0% | $53,333 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management | 2 | 119 | 47% / 53% | 1% | $52,716 |
| Therapeutic Recreation | 9 | 118 | 11% / 89% | 0% | $69,177 |
| Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences | 1 | 111 | 34% / 66% | 1% | |
| Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management | 2 | 104 | 70% / 30% | 1% | $57,234 |
| Recreation and Leisure Studies | 4 | 101 | 64% / 36% | 0% | $48,784 |
| Recreation Administration | 4 | 96 | 43% / 57% | 1% | $52,346 |
| Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration | 1 | 93 | 38% / 62% | 1% | |
| Hospitality Administration/Management | 4 | 90 | 31% / 69% | 8% | $58,662 |
| Parks, Recreation and Leisure | 1 | 83 | 73% / 27% | 5% | $56,246 |
| Recreation, Sport and Tourism | 1 | 83 | 72% / 28% | 2% | $63,440 |
| Recreation | 3 | 82 | 57% / 43% | 1% | $60,578 |
| Hospitality Administration | 19 | 74 | 47% / 53% | 1% | $52,886 |
| Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management | 2 | 70 | 24% / 76% | 9% | $53,537 |
| Recreation and Sport Management | 1 | 68 | 78% / 22% | 3% | $50,307 |
| Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management | 1 | 66 | 18% / 82% | 5% | $50,762 |
| Hotel/Motel Administration/Management | 4 | 65 | 23% / 77% | 0% | $56,618 |
| Recreation and Park Administration | 2 | 65 | 62% / 38% | 3% | $43,882 |
| Resort Management | 2 | 53 | 51% / 49% | 2% | $49,489 |
| Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management | 1 | 53 | 40% / 60% | 0% | $51,806 |
| Tourism Management | 4 | 49 | 39% / 61% | 16% | $51,640 |
| Recreation and Event Management | 1 | 49 | 84% / 16% | 0% | $57,332 |
| Restaurant/Food Services Management | 2 | 44 | 27% / 73% | 0% | $52,354 |
| Hotel and Restaurant Management | 3 | 42 | 31% / 69% | 7% | $47,849 |
| Recreation and Tourism Management | 3 | 38 | 55% / 45% | 3% | $42,957 |
| Culinary Management | 1 | 38 | 53% / 47% | 0% | |
| Tourism Development and Management | 1 | 37 | 22% / 78% | 8% | $51,427 |
| Hospitality, Sport, and Tourism Management | 1 | 36 | 58% / 42% | 8% | |
| Customer Service Management | 3 | 32 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $89,627 |
| Restaurant and Foodservice Management | 1 | 32 | 38% / 62% | 3% | $47,768 |
| Leisure Studies | 3 | 28 | 71% / 29% | 0% | |
| Recreation, Tourism and Events | 1 | 28 | 57% / 43% | 0% | $33,639 |
| Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management | 1 | 28 | 54% / 46% | 7% | $69,339 |
| Hotel and Resort Management | 1 | 24 | 25% / 75% | 4% | $55,138 |
| Parks, Recreation and Tourism | 1 | 18 | 56% / 44% | 6% | |
| Recreation Marketing | 1 | 18 | 78% / 22% | 0% | $65,235 |
| Recreation, Tourism, and Nonprofit Leadership | 1 | 18 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $54,990 |
| Recreation and Tourism | 2 | 17 | 65% / 35% | 0% | |
| Hospitality, Recreation, and Resort Management | 1 | 17 | 12% / 88% | 6% | $39,647 |
| Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management | 1 | 17 | 71% / 29% | 0% | |
| Park Management and Tourism | 1 | 15 | 87% / 13% | 0% | $56,422 |
| Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resources | 1 | 14 | 43% / 57% | 0% | |
| Entertainment and Media Management | 3 | 13 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $54,975 |
| Tourism Marketing | 1 | 13 | 38% / 62% | 0% | |
| Nutrition and Food Management | 1 | 12 | 17% / 83% | 0% | |
| Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management | 1 | 9 | 56% / 44% | 11% | |
| Food Business Management | 1 | 8 | 25% / 75% | 12% | $65,170 |
| Recreation and Leisure Services | 2 | 7 | 43% / 57% | 0% | |
| Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations | 2 | 7 | 29% / 71% | 29% | |
| Event Planning | 2 | 5 | 40% / 60% | 0% | $49,692 |
| Foodservice Systems Administration/Management | 2 | 4 | 25% / 75% | 0% | $46,416 |
| Hospitality Marketing | 2 | 4 | 100% / 0% | 25% | $47,861 |
| Restaurant Management | 2 | 4 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $42,618 |
| Environmental Recreation and Tourism | 1 | 4 | 50% / 50% | 0% | |
| Lodging and Restaurant Management | 1 | 4 | 25% / 75% | 0% | $47,768 |
| Outdoor Studies | 1 | 4 | 75% / 25% | 0% | |
| Hospitality Management (Food Service) | 1 | 3 | 67% / 33% | 0% | $64,224 |
| Outdoor Leadership | 1 | 3 | 67% / 33% | 0% | |
| Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management | 1 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 0% | |
| Restaurant, Culinary, and Catering Management/Manager | 1 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 0% | |
| Casino Management | 1 | 1 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $56,386 |
| Travel and Tourism | 1 | 1 | 0% / 100% | 0% |