Travel Cruise Specialist Schools
A successful cruise experience depends on many factors: endless food choices, entertainment options, varied on-shore excursions, and the availability of required safety features like lifeboats and life jackets. The person who makes sure each of these runs smoothly is the cruise hospitality specialist. Several colleges offer travel and hospitality degree programs that prepare students for a career in all aspects of the tourism industry, including cruise specialists.
-
Arizona State University
-
Located at Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus, the College of Public Programs offers a Bachelor of Science in Tourism Development and Management. The degree program exposes students to several aspects of the tourism industry, including tourism management, sustainable tourism, resort management and other travel industry standards. Students also are required to complete an internship in the travel field, which allows them to gain real world travel industry experience and gain contacts that can be used in future employment. Phoenix's own travel industry works closely with the program to provide further hands-on education to degree students.
Bowling Green State University
-
Bowling Green State University offers a tourism major that results in a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. The major and degree are held in the university's Division of Sport Management, Recreation and Tourism, in the School of Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies. Students choose a concentration in either Tourism Studies or Tourism Administration, and pursue a course load that combines Bowling Green perspective course requirements and electives and core classes tailored to the skills necessary to succeed in the travel industry. Bowling Green offers field experiences including a practicum, international practicum (at associated colleges in Australia and Turkey) and an internship.
-
Hawaii Pacific University
-
Located in Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University offers students the chance to study the tourism industry in one of the most popular travel destinations in the United States. Hawaii Pacific offers a Travel Industry Management (TIM) major in its Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree program. The program emphasizes real-world work experiences in the pursuit of the major, and requires 600 work hours, through cooperative programs and internships, before conferring the degree on its students. The many travel work experiences and professionals on the island contribute to the education, through field studies and guest speakers. Hawaii Pacific's TIM major focuses on five core objectives: competence in communication, understanding of global systems, competence in research and epistemology, understanding of world cultures and demonstration of values and choices.
University of South Carolina
-
For students looking to pursue graduate programs in the travel field, the University of South Carolina's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management offers a Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management degree. The program emphasizes professionalism and sophistication in decision making and focuses studies on multi-national organizations. However, the exact curriculum is designed in conjunction with the student and adviser, based on the student's career goals. The degree consists of 36 semester hours of credit that culminates in either a thesis or field project. Upon completion of the degree, the student is expected to be able to compete for mid- to upper-level management positions in the tourism industry.
-
References
- Schools in the USA: Cruise Hospitality Specialist
- Arizona State University: Tourism Development and Management, BS
- Bowling Green State University: Tourism/Event Planning
- Hawaii Pacific University: BSBA in Travel Industry Management
- University of South Carolina: Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management Graduate Programs
Resources
- Photo Credit Handout/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
