Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management

Undergraduate Students / 4+1+1 MBA Program

Students in this 4 + 1 + 1 program enroll in more business electives and alternative mathematics classes compared to their counterparts in the four-year HRIM Program. As a consequence, these students will have very strong business management skills to complement their knowledge of operations and best practices in the hospitality industry. Their enhanced business skills will result in an accelerated opportunity for growth into executive-level positions with comparable financial incentives.

The four-year curriculum for the HRIM degree contains required courses, and allows for electives that qualify as the basis for waiving core courses in the MBA curriculum. With the possibility of waiving selected MBA courses, and the proper scheduling of MBA classes, the MBA degree can be completed in one additional year of study.

The traditional HRIM program is a four-year major with a curriculum based in liberal arts, sciences, business, and hospitality courses focusing on the hotel, restaurant and allied industries. In addition to the 120 credits necessary for degree completion, students are required to participate in 800 hours of hospitality-related paid work that prepares students for the increasingly challenging and complex hospitality industry. A planning guide which lays out the sequence of courses to be taken is available to all students; if followed, it ensures that students may complete their undergraduate HRIM program of study in four years.

The MBA degree consists of sixteen courses, or 48 credits. Students may waive up to four of the six courses listed in the table, HRIM 4 + 1 + 1 MBA Program Matrix, by fulfilling the requirements as follows:

For a course to be waived, a student must earn a grade of B or better in two courses in that subject area. After the four-course waiver, 12 courses, or 36 credits, can be completed during a one-year period with proper planning.

Admission to the MBA program may be obtained in the first semester of the senior year. Students are admitted on a provisional basis by the Office of Graduate Studies. Once the bachelor's degree is earned, the provisional status is removed. Admission is based on the results of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), GPA, work experience, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and, in some cases, a personal interview. Students enrolled in the 4 +1+1 Program should take the GMAT in their junior year. Those accepted into the MBA program may be eligible to be considered for graduate assistantships and graduate fellowships upon earning their bachelor's degree.

HRIM candidates who are admitted are required to complete at least one year of relevant and substantive full-time management-level work experience in a corporation, prior to the start of their graduate studies. Their graduate course enrollment will thus be deferred for one year.

Applicable fees are those for matriculated undergraduate students for the first four years. During the fifth year of study, and any subsequent period if it becomes necessary, applicable fees are those for matriculated graduate students. The MBA degree is granted upon completing all requirements with a grade point average of at least 3.0 in courses to be applied toward the MBA degree. The work toward the MBA degree may be pursued part-time over a longer period.

For more information regarding this program, please contact Dr. Francis Kwansa, HRIM contact for the MBA 4+1+1 Program (302/831-6077) or the MBA Office (302/831-2221).