School of Hospitality Business Management
A bachelor of arts in Hospitality Business Management provides you with specialized instruction in the operation of hospitality-industry businesses.
Learning from faculty members with vast industry experience, you’ll master the fundamentals of operating hotels, restaurants, managed services venues, and tourist destinations—whether they’re located in the US or around the world. Top industry leaders speak in your classes. Hands-on instruction and real-world experiences build the skills you need to launch a successful career.
The program will prepare you to succeed in the management of:
- operations
- revenues
- sales
- service
- event planning
- consulting
The School of Hospitality Business Management consistently ranks among the top 5 percent of the 170 similar programs in the nation. Alumni live and work in nations around the world.
View Current Opportunities
Real-world learning
By the time you graduate, you will have achieved the following:
- Worked 1,000 hours in the hospitality industry, earning employer evaluation scores of 80% or higher.
- Applied hospitality business leadership skills to solve problems.
- Identified service issues and proposed solutions, considering the interests of stakeholders.
- Worked with a team to evaluate a hospitality operation, present findings, and propose solutions to perceived problems, considering implications for stakeholders.
- Deepened your understanding of different cultures and their associated business operations, preferably through studying abroad.
International learning opportunities
Since 1984, nearly 1,000 WSU students have studied at or received their WSU degree through César Ritz Colleges in Switzerland—a traditional Swiss hospitality school. The Brig campus of César Ritz is the site of the Carson College Switzerland International Center.
Work experience/internship requirement
You will apply the theories you learn in the classroom by working in hospitality businesses. As a major in hospitality business management or wine business management, you must complete an industry internship or work experience requirement: 1,000 hours for a major and 400 hours for a minor. Searching for jobs is made easy by the fact that industry partners regularly visit campus to recruit interns and graduates.
Scholarships
Apply for the SHBM Scholarship in early Spring. More info to come.
The School of Hospitality Business Management awards over $125,000 in scholarships each year. Watch your student email for application information and deadlines.
Be sure to also explore availability of scholarships at the college and university levels.
Careers
The School hosts two events specifically designed to connect hospitality business management students with employers in the hospitality industry.
- The Burtenshaw Hospitality Career Night is a hospitality-company-only career fair.
- Hospitality Career Previews let you learn about career opportunities in various companies.
Facilities
In the Marriott Hospitality Culinary Innovation Center, you’ll learn in a state-of-the-art teaching/production kitchen, an elegant dining room, and a wine-tasting area. This extraordinary learning environment was made possible through a generous donation from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
Locations
In addition to the Pullman campus, the School offers degree programs at these locations:
WSU Everett
For transfer students. You must complete a set of prerequisite courses to apply.
Vancouver
The only hospitality bachelor’s degree program in the Southwest Washington and Portland metropolitan area
Tri-Cities
Wine Beverage Business Management
Global Campus
Switzerland
Study at César Ritz Colleges in Switzerland—a traditional Swiss hospitality school.
Programs of study
Undergraduate
Hospitality business management major
Hospitality business management minor
Aging business management major
Wine and beverage business management major
Graduate
PhD in business administration with a concentration in hospitality and tourism
Online MBA with a concentration in Hospitality Business Management
Give to SHBM
Events
Monday, February 5, 2024
- Career Networking Night – Presented by the Burtenshaw Family
4 – 6:30 p.m. PST
CUB Senior Ballroom
2024 Hospitality Week Schedule
Monday February 26, 2024
- Free coffee give-a-way in Todd atrium by SHBM students/ambassadors
Tuesday February 27, 2024
- Industry Expert Panel: 12 – 1 p.m.
CUB Jr Ballroom/Zoom
“Selling a City: How destination management organizations drive tourism and support hospitality” - Women in Hospitality: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Zoom webinar
ForWard Thinking
Learn More
Wednesday February 28, 2024
- Industry Expert Panel: 12:10-1 p.m.
CUB Jr Ballroom/Zoom
“Innovation in the Beverage Industry“ - Granger Cobb Speaker: 3:30-5 p.m.
CUB Jr Ballroom/Zoom
Learn More
Thursday February 29, 2024
- Burtenshaw Lecture: 1:30-2:45 p.m.
CUB Auditorium/Zoom
Learn more - Etiquette Dinner: 5-7 p.m.
Todd 268
Friday March 1, 2024
- SHBM Board Meeting
Research
Washington Sports Betting Poised for Rapid Growth
Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living Earns Mather Institute Promising Practices Award
Food Safety Crises at Smaller Restaurant Chains Can Hurt Giants
Layoffs Pushed Hospitality Workers to Leave Industry
Restaurant Customers Frown on Automatic Gratuities
Students Craft Plans to Increase Tri‑Cities Millennial Tourism
New ‘Experience Audit’ Guides Wineries in Boosting Sales for Re‑opening Amid COVID‑19
Americans Expect Safety Precautions in Hospitality Industry
WSU Survey Shows Americans Unsure About travel, Staying at Hotels
Business Professor Develops Guidelines for Wineries Returning to Business
Hospitality Professor Recognized for Chinese Tourism Research
Message from the Director
Welcome to the School of Hospitality Business Management. Having the opportunity to become the director is an honor. The school has been one of the top programs and continues to push the envelope in quality research insights and the student experience. I am eager to enhance the SHBM’s reputation and assist in expanding our programs that will strengthen this legacy. Because WSU and SHBM provided a way for me to complete my PhD, the ability to give back and contribute to something larger than myself is deeply exciting and meaningful to me.
Using the mission, vision and goals of the Carson College of Business as a guide, my hope is to take our programs to new heights. I see our mission as being the “go to” institution for the study of hospitality business through our unique relationships with the hospitality industry and the strength of our faculty and students.
Our key goals will focus on ensuring the quality of our undergraduate programs, growing our research reputation and collaboration opportunities, and strategically differentiating our programs to meet the needs of students and industry.
We will accomplish this in part through greater integration of unique experiential learning opportunities such as our Crimson Confections project, industry immersion programs, project-based internships, and more access to study abroad activities.
You’ll discover, if you haven’t already, there is something special in the DNA of the WSU student population—they are just great people! This lends itself to an underlying feeling of “hospitality,” which in part explains the success of our graduates.
In the research arena, we will ensure SHBM faculty are seen as leaders in providing research-based insights to the hospitality, wine business, and senior living business sectors. We plan to address timely questions as well as provide a platform for top scholars and industry leaders in these fields to collaborate on workshops, panels, and presentations.
With a rapidly changing environment, we need to continually look at alternative ways to offer hospitality business education to fit the needs of students and industry. The WSU HBM online degree program is consistently ranked among the top programs in the nation, thus, we will continue to innovate in this area for both degree programs and certificate programs such as our current certificates in wine business management, culinary arts, and senior living.
As we continue to expand the quality and reputation of the School of Hospitality Business Management, we need to attract and retain the best and brightest students, faculty, and staff. There are many opportunities for involvement—both big and small. Our shared vision will be one where we are globally engaged, creating an amazing educational experience, developing outstanding business leaders and scholars, and producing impactful research.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrington, director
Director: Bob Harrington
rharrington@wsu.edu
509-372-7487
Fax: 509-335-7736
Facebook
Contact
The School of Hospitality Business Management
Todd Hall 342
PO Box 644736
Washington State University
Pullman, WA USA 99164-4736
shbm@wsu.edu
509-335-5766
Internships and recruiting: Amy Alonzo
Support the Don Smith Distinguished Professorship
Your contributions will enable Professor Emeritus Don Smith’s extraordinary legacy of inspiration and leadership to live on.