ABOUT SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
The School
The School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University has maintained a consistent ranking as one of the top hospitality management schools in the United States and has won international recognition. Each year, over 1150 undergraduate and graduate students from every state in the United States and 70 countries choose FIU for its outstanding reputation, advantageous locations, impressive faculty, rich curriculum, and fast-track career advantages in the international hotel, foodservice and tourism industries. Our faculty members combine strong academic credentials with excellent teaching skills and extensive executive-level industry experience.
Industry recruiters view the FIU degree as identifying a proficient employment candidate with significant management potential. Each year, more than 100 hospitality and tourism companies, including many global industry leaders, visit FIU to interview and hire new graduates for key management-track positions. Over eighty courses and 35-plus faculty members focus exclusively on hospitality and tourism management courses. FIU students get the advantage of a deeper and broader business education in starting, managing, and growing successful hospitality and tourism organizations, and many other benefits. 
The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Hospitality Management and Certificate Programs that combine practical experience with classroom theory to assist the student to gain the understanding, skills, and techniques needed to qualify for job opportunities, and to achieve his or her career goals in the hospitality/tourism industry.
With the cooperation of industry executives, the School has created an internship program which literally utilizes the hotels, resorts, restaurants, clubs, airlines, travel agencies, and cruise lines as practice labs for students. The advanced
phase of the internship program provides each student a structured training experience normally not available to a student until he or she has entered the industry after graduation.
An Industry Advisory Board - which includes outstanding executives in the lodging, foodservice, and tourism industries - works regularly with the faculty, staff, and students of the School to formulate and update a curriculum that is current, flexible, and related to the needs of the hospitality and tourism industries.
Mission Statement
The mission of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is to educate students to achieve their full potential and to meet the management needs of an ever-changing global hospitality and tourism industry. This will be accomplished through excellence in teaching which utilizes the multicultural community and abundant industry experiences found in South Florida's vibrant hospitality, travel and tourism market.
The School seeks to provide an environment where the diverse background of its students and faculty enriches the unique learning experience, and is committed to fostering applied research and active service to the university, its alumni and the community.
Location
North Miami, Florida
The School is located on 200 tropical acres in a resort-like setting at the scenic Biscayne Bay Campus at Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 151 Street, in North Miami, Florida.
Tianjin, China
As a result of the School’s strong international reputation for excellence, the government of the People’s Republic of China selected Florida International University from a group of elite hospitality 
schools in the U.S. and Europe as its partner in establishing a hospitality and tourism management campus in Tianjin, the third largest city in China which serves as the seaport for the capital, Beijing. The $100 million center, which was fully funded by the Chinese government, sits on 80 acres of land and contains more than 450,000 square feet of air conditioned space, including a dormitory tower 20 stories high, which can accommodate 1,000 students. The center, however, has total capacity for 2,000 students. The Marriott Tianjin China Program opened in September 2006.
The FIU undergraduate degree program in Hospitality Management is also available at St. Petersburg College, Florida (via distance) in conjunction with the University Partnership center.
The FIU undergraduate degree program in Travel and Tourism Management is also available in the evenings. Selected courses in Hospitality and Travel Industry Management are presented at the FIU University Park Campus.
The graduate degree programs in Hospitality Management are available via distance on compact discs and the Internet.
Quality
The integral elements of the School's rise to prominence include industry-experienced faculty, a unique location, quality curriculum, outstanding state-of-the-art instructional facilities, and an unsurpassed network of support for students and graduates. Of note:
The School has been designated a 'Program of Distinction' by the former Florida Board of Regents.
In 2002, a national study of the nation's hospitality management programs ranked our School Number 1 in Student ratings. This took into account SAT/ACT scores, average class size, sponsorships, student organizations, retention/attrition rates, student recognition, student organizations, career fairs, and other attributes.
The School ranks in the top six in the nation for faculty members publishing in the four top tier industry journals.
Our FIU Hospitality Review is considered one of the four top tier journals in the industry.
Four faculty members were recognized among the "85 Most Prolific Authors", and,
Dean Joseph J. West has been listed among the "100 Most Influential Hospitality Management Education Scholars."
An Industry Advisory Board - which includes outstanding executives in the hotel, food and travel industries - works regularly with the faculty, staff, and students of the School to formulate and update a curriculum that is current, flexible, and related to the needs of the hospitality industry.
The School's location in South Florida, one of the nation's leading centers of international tourism, has been an important factor in the School's successes. The city serves as a living laboratory, providing students with unmatched experiential learning opportunities in a region where international travel and tourism drives the economy.
The curriculum blends academic instruction with hands-on experience. For graduation, each student must have worked a minimum of 1,000 hours in the industry and completed an advanced internship of an additional 300 hours.
With a 100 percent placement rate for graduates, the School's alumni hold prominent positions throughout the hotel, travel, food service, and related industries. Thanks to the success of our alumni in management positions, the School has earned international recognition for academic excellence.