MBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management
This Program is accredited by the MFHEA
Degree Overview for MBA in Tourism & Hospitality Management
The overall objective of the MBA in Tourism and Hospitality Management is to instill the necessary knowledge, skills and competences required to successfully lead a tourism and hospitality business in a global economy. Successful managers assume responsibility to design and implement strategy consistent with an industry’s long-term goals, manage tourism and hospitality service operations, and supervise employees. They are responsible for solving applied problems that involve financial management issues, business analysis and strategy, sales and marketing, legal issues, strategic management, marketing, communication strategy, e-commerce and management. The environment in which successful managers operate is frequently uncertain and subject to difficult constraints. Graduates of the American University of Malta will have the critical thinking abilities and analytical framework to make difficult business decisions that affect multiple constituencies.
The course provides a rigorous business education based on a solid foundation in the functional areas of business in tourism and hospitality enhanced with skills in analysis and critical thinking. The curriculum builds on foundational knowledge with the findings of current research, leading to the multi-disciplinary perspective needed to lead a successful business in tourism and hospitality industry.
This course is designed for those who would like to work in a managerial role in Tourism and Hospitality industry, dealing with tourism and hospitality business, services and management in the field. This course is also aimed for those who have some work experience in the field and would like to improve their efficiency and competence.
Entry Requirements for this Program
As per AUM Admissions Criteria: https://aum.edu.mt/admissions/entry-requirements/#GD
Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree (e.g. US Bachelor or European 3-yr initial degree, equivalent to MQF level 6) in any discipline. Admissions standards follow the MFHEA Guidelines for Accreditation of MQF Level 7 Courses minimum entry requirements.
Applicants for this program need to submit the following:
- Official AUM application: to be submitted online.
- Scanned copies of qualifications and transcripts in the original language, as well as certified English translations, if necessary. If admitted to AUM, all original documents must be presented to the Admissions Office in order to be permitted to officially enrol.
- Proof of English Proficiency.
The English language proficiency requirement may be waived if students are a native speaker of English and they have completed their secondary education in an English medium institution in a country where English is the official language.
AUM reserves the right to request English test results from any applicant.
Examining Boards recognized by AUM and minimum scores required:
| IELTS | TOEFL | PTE | iTEP Academic Plus | iTEP – EAP Institutional | (CEFRL) |
| 6.5 | 79 | 55 | 4.0 | 4.9 | B2 |
*Note that all score reports will only be valid if issued within 2 years from the date of matriculation at AUM.
All applicants to any graduate program of study (MQF 7) at the American University of Malta must satisfy the following entry requirements:
- A baccalaureate degree (comparable to EQF level 6) with a minimum or 180 ECTS or equivalent.
- An average GPA of 2. 2
Conditional admission is offered to all applicants who are still waiting for their degree results. These results must be submitted by the student to the Admissions Office within 1 week of receipt.
- The language of instruction of the course(s) taken at the university must be English, unless otherwise approved by AUM.
This course does not require any specific previous work experience as prerequisite. This makes this executive MBA highly advisable for those candidates that wish to undertake a high-quality Executive Master of Business Administration in Tourism and Hospitality Management at AUM. Part-time time learners can also benefit through their workplace (for case studies, experiential learning, and projects and research activities).
Additional entry requirement
To apply to this programme applicants may also have the following prior learning, such as:
- postgraduate qualifications PGCert 30 ECTS or PGDip 60 ECTS with two years of experience
- Undergraduate Higher Diploma 120 ECTS with three years of work experience
This course does not require any specific previous work experience as prerequisite. This makes this executive MBA highly advisable for those candidates that wish to undertake a high-quality Executive Master of Business Administration in Tourism and Hospitality Management at AUM. Part-time time learners can also benefit through their workplace (for case studies, experiential learning, and projects and research activities).
PROGRAM DETAILS
Program length:
18 Months.
GPA needed to earn the degree:
3.0 or higher
Credits needed to earn the degree:
46US credists / 92ECTS
Degree level:
MQF Level 7
Pass Rate:
80%
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
The learner will be able to:
- a) Clearly transmit the vision, mission, objectives, strategic direction and business action plan to all stakeholders
- b) Interpret research outcomes in applied terms
- c) Analyse and interpret business market, strategic, operational, legal and financial issues
- d) Explain the impact of different business and services design on efficiency of services, income and further development
- e) Critically discuss methods of business transformation and introduction of innovative approaches and technologies
- f) Critically discuss the impact of business ethics and culture on employee performance
Learning outcomes for skills obtained at the end of the programme
- Apply the necessary knowledge, skills and competences required to successfully lead a business in Tourism and Hospitality industry and demonstrate skills of using effective strategic and operational management
- Assume responsibility to design and implement marketing strategy consistent with goals, manage quality, costs and profitability, information technology.
- Responsible for solving complex problems that involve financial issues, business strategy, business and services design, research findings, legal guidelines and management of employees.
- Have the critical thinking abilities and analytical framework to make difficult business decisions that affect multiple constituencies.
- Ability to use information systems and digital technology as a communication tool.
Knowledge
Knowledge:
Graduates will acquire knowledge of the following fields needed to manage a business or non-profit organization:
- Formulate and appraise wide range of accounting, economics and financial practical tools and data.
- Analyse and interpret comprehensive legal business policies and theoretical frameworks
- Estimate and justify multi-disciplinary organisational structure and implement tasks and projects
- Construct and prove the efficiency of marketing strategies.
- Model consumer behaviour and business advertising.
- Conclude and apply research and statistics methods (i.e., qualitative, and quantitative).
- Select and interpret different ICT approaches of a digital society-based framework.
Skills
Graduates will develop the following skills used in managing tourism and hospitality business and services:
- Classify, apply and analyse competitive threats, differentiate between the complexities of external influences on business activity.
- Apply appropriate statistical and financial investment techniques and tools to business data in order to make successful business decisions.
- Practice performant operation management, including cost management.
- Measure and predict the impact of macroeconomics’ indicators movements, including but not limited to financial systems, business cycles, labour markets, monetary and fiscal policy
- implement understanding of the legal issues relevant to business, including contracts, liability, fraud and dispute resolution.
Competencies
Graduates will develop the following competences:
- Determine innovative solutions to complex business problems.
- Appraise and evaluate activities that affect business outcomes, including but not limited to financial management and reporting, strategy development and implementation, operations, marketing and employee management.
- Defend unbiased decisions that are supported by data rather than gut feelings.
- Comply with professional standards and laws and demonstrate the highest business and professional ethics.
- Transform business plans that will create value for the organization and its stakeholders.
- Select and implement digital technology to take the business decisions
General Pedagogical Methods
The MBA comprises 3 semesters of full-time coursework plus a fourth semester in which a major independent research project is completed (in accordance with MFHE Guidelines for Accreditation of MQF Level 7 Courses:
“Any Master’s degree must include a dissertation, research project or research component/s of equivalent standard to which not less than 20 ECTS are assigned.”)
The courses are sequenced such that later courses leverage material learned in earlier courses.
In general, the pedagogical approach of the Introductory and Major Modules comprise lectures, frequent homework and exams.
The Advanced Modules incorporate case studies and group projects.
The Research Methods module requires students to develop a proposal for the research project in the last semester. Students must complete a course in Research Methods for Business module in the third semester with a proposal for the fourth semester independent research project before beginning the project.
The coursework comprises 62 ECTS and the research project is assigned 30 credits, for a total of 92 ECTS.
For the online programme, teaching will occur via online meeting/lecture software to deliver real time lectures.
A VLE will be used to deliver asynchronous learning which enables students to reach learning content (e.g. PDFs, eBooks, videos etc..) when it is the most convenient time for them.
Faculty will deliver online video lectures that are identical in content as face-to-face classes. Educational videos will be liked from academic resources licensed through the AUM Library (e.g. Business Source Complete, and other databases). If appropriate, faculty can also utilize selected VOD such as Netflix, or Apple TV to incorporate in lectures.
For the academic support, the VLE and SIS system will be the main channels of the communication for student-tutor engagement. Technical support -ticketing system- will be available 24/7 in both platforms.
In addition work-based learning will also be used as a method of learning. Students will be suported by industry mentors that will facilitate learning at the place of work. Knowledge and underpining principles will be delivered also by means of traditional methods.
Work-based experience is encouraged, but not mandatory, through educational field trips followed by internships, university-private sector agreements for practical sessions, and short-term part-time work-placement. Students are also encouraged to select a company to build their practical competences and skills, and observation of the real process on site. Work-based learning opportunities which involve field work will follow the university partnership agreements. Work-based learning can be part of the course work project or other assessment according to the course instructor.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT METHODS
Successful Progress Requirement:
Students must maintain a 3.0/4 grade point average throughout the program. Students whose performance fails to maintain this standard will be required to repeat modules with the lowest grades until they regain the required minimum GPA. Should scheduling constraints prevent students from retaking a module within two semesters after falling below the acceptable GPA threshold, students may be allowed to enrol in new modules in a probationary state in order to raise their GPA.
Under no circumstances students with GPA below 3.0 will be allowed to enrol in Research Methods and to enter the final semester to conduct the final Research Project.
Assessment Methods:
Assessment methods and policies vary according to each module. They are specified in the description of each module. In general, foundation and core modules are assessed by written examinations and homework assignments. Advanced modules are assessed by written examinations, homework assignments and case studies.
Sponsoring Faculty
The final Research Project will be conducted under the guidance of a sponsoring faculty member. The sponsoring faculty member is the instructor of record of the module and is responsible for all administrative duties and record keeping of the module.
The faculty member in charge to supervise the thesis research will act as advisor for the thesis and he/she will enable students to make a research on a chosen topic and prepare a thesis report on the study conducted and its main results. Thesis should stem from students’ original work that involves field study, laboratory work, or laboratory research. Emphasis will be given on the methods of data collection and analysis, conclusions, and recommendations on the basis of the findings of the study, and proper presentation of the research in a desired format. The thesis topic should be related to contemporary business and management practices.
The student has the responsibility to identify potential supervisor from AUM business faculty members and get his/her approval however, in case the student is not choosing his/her supervisor, or the faculty chosen did not give his/her acceptance, then the supervisors will be assigned by the faculty dean for each student. The student has to identify the Final Research topic as well as his/her supervisor any time after 1st semester ending, but no later than beginning of the last semester of the program.
Research Project Assessment Committee:
The research project conducted in the final semester will be assessed by a faculty committee. The faculty committee will include 2 major faculty members from the tourism and hospitality related area (e.g., Finance, Economics, Management, Accounting, etc.) and the student’s supervisor should nominate three names and the faculty dean assigns two of them. The assembling of the research project assessment committee is the responsibility of the faculty dean or whoever delegated by him/her to chair the committee and manage all communications and record keeping. The committee will come to a consensus on the final grade of the student in the Research Project.
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate with an MBA a student must have completed all modules listed above, with a cumulative GPA+ of 3.0/4. Students who complete the programme with a cumulative GPA of 3.6/4 or above, will graduate “with distinction”.
The research project conducted in the final semester will be assessed by a faculty committee. The faculty committee will include 2 major faculty members from the topic area of the project (e.g., Finance, Marketing, Accounting, etc.) and one major faculty member from a different topic area. One of the committee members may be the sponsoring faculty member of the student. The assembling of the research project assessment committee is the responsibility of the sponsoring faculty member, who chairs the committee and manages all communications and record keeping. The committee will come to a consensus on the final grade of the student in the Research Project. (See module B13 for further details)
Graduation Requirements
In order to graduate with an MBA a student must have completed all modules listed above, with a cumulative GPA+ of 3.0/4. Students who complete the programme with a cumulative GPA of 3.6/4 or above, will graduate “with distinction”.
RELATIONSHIP TO OCCUPATION/S
Notwithstanding the inflation of MBA programs on the international market, it is still true that graduates of quality MBA programs acquire knowledge, skills, and competences that positions them already a step ahead in career paths of graduates of bachelor programs or of other master’s degrees.
This program does not prepare students by the National Occupation Standards as it is stablished as MQF Level 7. Therefore, this program is highly specialized in business management, and it is at the forefront of knowledge in the field of Business Administration.
Graduates of a quality MBA program not only enter the workforce with higher salaries that other master’s graduates, but also have higher chances of obtaining and holding a high-level management position in their companies. Given the entry requirement of at least three years of working experience, an MBA student finds himself or herself surrounded by professionals who already have established themselves in the working world, and thus enjoy a significant level of networking and connection making. The MBA experience offers professionals who had the opportunity to establish certain routines in their current positions to take a fresh look at their skill sets and dispositions, and to move out of their comfort zone. For all these reasons, AUM considers the MBA as a strategic degree program to offer at the outset, to serve the population working at professional level in Malta, who are looking for the opportunity to obtain a proficient qualification that will significantly enhance their careers at the national and international level.
Graduate students may apply for the following positions in any field such as but not limited to: .
- Tourism and Hospitality Manager
- Tourism and Hospitality Startups
- Marketing Manager in Tourism and Hospitality
- Tourism and Hospitality Services Manager
- Tourism and Hospitality Management Consultant
- Tourism Business Development Consultant
- Hotel Management
- Entrepreneur in Tourism and Hospitality
- Event Manager
- Tourism Business Operations Manager
- Real Estate Development for Hospitality
COURSE STRUCTURE SAMPLE
Structure of programme for full-time attendance:
Semester 1
Economics for Managers
Financial Accounting
Financial Management
Writing and Presenting Academic Research
Semester 2
Operation Management
Sustainability for Tourism and Hospitality Management
Human Resources Management /Information Systems in Tourism and Hospitality /Entrepreneurship for Tourism and Hospitality
Research Methods for Business
Semester 3
Marketing Strategies and Management for Tourism and Hospitality
Quality Management in Tourism and Hospitality
Research Thesis in Tourism and Hospitality
Structure of programme for part-time attendance:
Semester 1
Economics for Managers
Financial Accounting
Semester 2
Financial Management
Writing and Presenting Academic Research
Semester 3
Operation Management
Sustainability for Tourism and Hospitality Management
Semester 4
Human Resources Management /Information Systems in Tourism and Hospitality /Entrepreneurship for Tourism and Hospitality
Research Methods for Business
Semester 5
Marketing Strategies and Management for Tourism and Hospitality
Quality Management in Tourism and Hospitality
Semester 6
Research Thesis in Tourism and Hospitality Management
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
Post-Graduate Certificate in Finance and Accounting
Number of Credits: 30 ECTS
Qualification: MQF 7
Duration: 16 weeks
List of courses:
- Business Statistics (6 ECTS)
- Financial Accounting (6 ECTS)
- Economics for Managers (6 ECTS)
- Business Law (6 ECTS)
- Managerial Accounting (6 ECTS)
Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration
Number of Credits: 60 ECTS
Qualification: MQF 7
Duration: 32 weeks
List of courses:
- Business Statistics (6 ECTS)
- Operations Management (6 ECTS)
- Economics for Managers (6 ECTS)
- Business Law (6 ECTS)
- Managerial Accounting (6 ECTS)
- Organisational Design, Culture and Structure (6 ECTS)
- Marketing Management (6 ECTS)
- Strategic Management (6 ECTS)
- Financial Management (6 ECTS)
- Research Methods for Business (6 ECTS)
Exit Awards
Exit Awards are considered for each Module as follows:
- Award in Business Statistics (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Financial Accounting (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Economics for Managers (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Business Law (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Managerial Accounting (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Organizational Design, Culture and Structure (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Marketing Management (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Money and Banking (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Business Ethics (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Strategic Management (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Financial Management (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Operations Management (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)
- Award in Writing and Presenting Academic Research (Business Administration) (6ECTS)
- Award in Research Methods for Business (Business Administration) (6 ECTS)