International Hotel and Tourism Management - 2012 entry

Course content

You can choose to study aspects of complementary services such as conferences, events, extended stay, and sporting activities in some of your modules – as well as learning more about the core business of accommodation, food and beverage studies. You build on your previous knowledge and learn about costs, volume and profit analysis in Strategic Management Accounting, the influential role of culture in International Human Resource Management and Marketing Across Cultures, and how complexity theory helps us understand the dynamics of strategic choices in Tourism Industry Dynamics and Strategy.

A choice of electives includes an Intercultural Skills and an Internet Strategies module and there is the opportunity to study a specific hospitality/tourism topic in depth in the Contemporary Issues and Dissertation modules. This can lead to a named award in Finance, Human Resource Management or Marketing. Our innovative learning experience includes multicultural group work, theatre role plays, live case studies, the opportunity to create your own brand and an international visiting speaker programme. You can view the course structure here.

The following modules build upon your previous learning and work experience to enable you to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of international hotel and resort management in today’s turbulent tourism environment.

Strategic Management Accounting focuses on the use of financial information for managerial decision making in the international hotel and tourism industry. The content includes an exploration of key financial issues, an appraisal of financial techniques and current developments applicable to managerial decision making. In a small group you devise a theatre role play to explain a current financial topic to your fellow students.

International Human Resource Management enables you to assess the international hotel and tourism environment so that you can make judgements about the most appropriate human resource management approaches to adopt in different situations. It aims to increase your awareness of issues that need to be considered when companies decide to expand beyond their domestic market. You learn how to develop a human resource strategy that supports your chosen market entry strategy for a hospitality company's expansion into a new country. You are also introduced to a range of practical approaches for the management of people in contemporary organisations.

Marketing Across Cultures introduces you to the concept of marketing within an international hotel and tourism context. It provides you with conceptual frameworks to analyse the strategies of international hotel and resort companies. A key feature of the module is the emphasis on the cultural differences and similarities that international hospitality/resort operators have to understand if they are to develop effective global marketing strategies. Working in groups, you carry out a non-assessed comparative research exercise into a country and market sector from a hotel/restaurant/resort marketing perspective. Your individual assignment involves a country market analysis and market entry strategy for a British hospitality brand's international expansion programme - and you design your own brand!

Tourism Industry Dynamics and Strategy aims to integrate the knowledge you have gained about the management of hotel and tourism products/services from modules taken in the first semester. The module introduces students to risk management thinking. In a team you research the historic and current business context of one company in the international hospitality industry and then individually build a case study for one of the leading companies in your sector. Finally, you make recommendations for future strategy at executive board level. It is now widely recognised that an international manager must be more than operationally driven; indeed today's international manager must also be a strategic thinker in order to achieve the best performance results for an organisation on a worldwide basis. This module helps you to develop the ability to think strategically and globally.

Contemporary Issues in International Hospitality and Tourism Management provides you with the opportunity to develop a research specialism in climate change, entrepreneurship, environmental issues, finance, human resources, marketing, revenue management or the internet as applied to the international hospitality and resort sector, or you can choose another contemporary topic from a wide range of options. In this module you will research a contemporary subject area, critically analyse the literature and theory, and write an article suitable for publication in an academic journal. In undertaking this module you will work on your own with the support of an expert tutor.

One elective
You can choose one elective from a choice of hospitality, tourism or business modules including Destination and Event Development, Interactive Skills in a Cross-Cultural Context, or Internet Strategies for Tourism Distribution. Other electives may also be available.

Research Methods provides you with an introduction to research methods so that you are aware of the approaches, methodologies and resources available for your dissertation. You will design a research project that ensures that you generate the information required to write the dissertation.

The Dissertation develops your ability to critically review literature, to identify the gaps in knowledge and practise relevant research skills to facilitate data collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation and writing. The 20,000 word dissertation provides you with the opportunity to investigate a topic in depth from multiple perspectives working independently and supervised by a specialist tutor. You choose the hospitality or tourism management topic which you wish to study - this can be the same topic as in your Contemporary Issues module or a different subject area.

The sandwich mode comprises one year of full-time taught study and one year of full-time, supervised work experience. You have two options:

• You can join the programme in January and take the Professional Practice module. This provides up to 24 weeks of supervised work experience at an operative level in Oxford before starting the MSc taught component in September. You then complete your year's work experience by taking the Professional Development module after finishing the taught part of the programme.
• You can take all of your work experience after studying on the MSc taught programme. The sandwich mode of study provides paid, supervised work experience to support your academic studies with a suitable international hospitality and tourism employer, and you carry out an assessed project for the company.
• There may be opportunities for placements in international hotel and tourism companies.

• for information about the part-time mode, see part-time PDF
• for information about the sandwich mode, see sandwich PDF.

As our courses are reviewed regularly, course content and module choices may change from those listed in the course entry.

As our courses are reviewed regularly, course content and module choices may change from those listed in the course entry.

Faculty

Faculty of Business

Department

The Oxford School of Hospitality Management

Course length

Full-time: MSc: 12 months or 24 months in sandwich mode, which includes one year's full-time paid supervised work experience.
Part-time: 24 months for UK and EU students (teaching normally provided on one day or two half days each week during semesters.)

Teaching location

Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane

Start date

September 2012
January 2013

UKPASS code

P017869

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a good second-class honours degree in hotel, tourism and management (or equivalent) plus at least one year's work experience in the hotel and tourism industry. Entry will also be subject to two satisfactory references (one of these must be an academic reference). Applicants who have limited work experience in the hotel and tourism industry can join the sandwich mode and undertake the Professional Practice module, which starts in January each year. 

Scholarships and funding

For general sources of financial support, see:

• funding for students from the UK and EU
• funding for students from outside the EU

Why Oxford is a great place to study International Hotel and Tourism Management

Our students tell us they enjoy living in Oxford due to the small-city scale, the wonderful historic buildings, and the vibrant international student atmosphere. As a master's student you can benefit from the hospitality and tourism learning opportunities provided within Oxford – for example, the renovated Ashmolean Museum, Britain's oldest public museum; hotels such as the Old Bank, Malmaison and Randolph; historic pubs and ethnic restaurants. We sometimes visit these businesses and their managers talk to our students about the practise and realities of hospitality and tourism management.

In addition to the Oxford Brookes University library, students have access to the world-renowned Bodleian Library, which is an excellent resource for the dissertation.
 

Support for students studying International Hotel and Tourism Management

Students are provided with strong support mechanisms to help them in their demanding study schedule. Help and advice for students is provided by the programme director, module leaders, individual tutors, dissertation tutors, and the Oxford School of Hospitality Management administrators. The school’s careers and work placement office is in close contact with hospitality and tourism employers to help students with careers and work placement advice. 

How Brookes supports postgraduate students

Supporting your learning

From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.

Personal support services

We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.

Departmental research highlights

The Oxford School of Hospitality Management is ranked number one in Europe for hospitality research, and top in the world for research productivity (Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, March 2011). 

Research areas and clusters

The Business School has an active programme of research based around six key research areas:

• accounting, governance and information management
• economics and strategy
• hospitality, leisure and tourism management
• human resource management and organisational behaviour
• marketing and operations management
• pedagogy.

The Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management focuses its research interests on the hospitality and tourism industries and is recognised in the most recent research assessment exercise (RAE) as 'one of the leading hospitality research groups in the UK'. Our hospitality and tourism research areas include:

• consumer satisfaction
• education, careers and development
• environmental management and food studies
• entrepreneurship and small business management
• internationalisation and branding
• performance measurement and financial management decision making.

The school maintains a rigorous and dynamic doctoral programme leading to the higher degrees of MPhil and PhD. Postgraduate students join a supportive, friendly and multicultural research environment.