Hospitality Degrees Available Through Florida International University
Florida International University appears in our ranking of the 10 Best Online Colleges for a Master’s Degree in Hospitality.
Florida International University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the hospitality field. Students who study hospitality attend FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
An undergraduate student can earn a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management. Majors in this degree field are Hospitality Management, Beverage Management, Culinary Management, Event Management, Hotel/Lodging Management, Restaurant/Food Service Management, and Travel and Tourism Management.
Students who study hospitality at FIU are required to take 60 hours of lower division preparation courses. Some of these required courses include Accounting for the Hospitality Industry, Macroeconomics, and Public Speaking. Students must also take 29 credit hours of core hospitality requirements. Some of these classes are Financial Analysis in the Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Industry Law and Introductory Commercial Food Preparation. Students will then take 18 to 30 credit hours in electives and an optional 18 credit hours in a chosen major.
Undergraduate hospitality students must complete 1,300 hours of industry experience. FIU requires that students have a minimum of 500 hours of hospitality or tourism work experience, 300 to 500 hours of internship. Students with previous hospitality work experience can apply for a waiver.
FIU offers four minor programs in the hospitality field. These are Beverage Management, Hotel/Lodging Management, Restaurant/Food Service Management, and Travel and Tourism Management. Students do not have to be hospitality majors to minor in one of these fields.
Those students who are interested in pursuing a graduate degree in hospitality can seek an M.S. in Hospitality Management. It is a 12-month program that is available in a traditional setting or online. Students do not have to complete a thesis or have industry experience to earn this degree. The school also offers an M.S. in Hospitality Management with specialization in either Hospitality Real Estate Development or Revenue Management.
Those who have a significant amount of industry experience can pursue an Executive M.S. in Hospitality Management. This accelerated program is online only and can be completed in 10 months.
FIU does offer a Ph.D. in the hospitality field. Those interested in pursuing a doctorate degree can complete a Ph.D. in Business Administration with a specialization in Hospitality Management. FIU students who wish to continue to the Ph.D. program will need to take the thesis level master’s degree.
About Florida International University
Florida International University is a public research university located in Miami. The school was founded in 1965. The current enrollment has about 56,000 students in the undergraduate, graduate and online programs. Notable alumni from FIU include actor Andy Garcia and novelist and screenwriter Dennis Lehane.
FIU has been ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the country by U.S. News and World Report. The school was named the number two university in the state of Florida, number one in the nation for Hispanic students and number 87 in faculty research productivity.
Florida International University Accreditation
Florida International University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The SACSCOC accredits the university to supply undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as well as the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration.
Florida International University Application Requirements
Students may apply to Florida International University by completing the school’s online application. Undergraduate students must pay a $30 application fee. Along with the application, students must supply high school transcripts, college entrance test scores, and exams from any AP courses that may have been taken. Florida students will also need to provide proof of residency.
Graduate students must also pay a $30 application fee when completing the online application. They must also provide transcripts from all previous institutions, TOEFL scores, GRE or GMAT scores, a letter of intent, letters of recommendation and a resume.
Students who wish to attend FIU online complete their applications in the same manner as traditional undergraduate and graduate applicants.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Florida International University estimates that the cost for an undergraduate student who is a Florida resident is about $23,500 per year. This covers the cost of tuition, room and board, books and miscellaneous expenses. Tuition is about $3,000 per semester. Non-Florida residents have a total cost of about $36,000. Tuition for non-Florida residents is approximately $9,000 per semester.
Graduate tuition is about $4,000 per semester for Florida residents. It is roughly $9,000 per semester for students who are not Florida residents. FIU estimates that the full cost for attending graduate school is about $22,000 to $32,000 per year.
Those undergraduate students who wish to enroll in FIU online will pay about $3,000 per semester if they are residents of Florida. Graduate rates are about $4,100 for tuition only. Non-residents will pay about $5,000 for online undergraduate tuition. Their cost for online graduate studies is almost double that at roughly $9,000 per semester.
Students who need to offset the cost of tuition can do so by applying for loans, grants, and scholarships. All students, regardless of residency or which campus they choose, are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA helps the federal government to determine if students are eligible for grants that do not need to be repaid. The FAFSA is also used by other organizations offering need-based grants and scholarships.
FIU offers merit-based scholarships for undergraduates who qualify. Students can receive up to 100 percent tuition paid through these scholarships if they graduate from high school with a 4.0 GPA and score a 30 or higher on the ACT. The Hospitality and Tourism department offers a number of scholarships that are only available to students majoring in a hospitality field. Some of these include the BHI Hospitality Minority Scholarship, which covers the cost of tuition; the $1,000 Cameron G. Scholderer Scholarship and the Irv Zeldman HM Scholarship which offers varying amounts of awards.
Students who wish to learn more about a hospitality degree from Florida International University should visit the school’s website or directly contact the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.