Ben McEwen

International Hospitality Management

"From the word go, you are immersed in the world of working hospitality and tourism. I've developed an impressive collection of international contacts, and met some of the most influential people in the industry."

"The international reputation of my department means that just because I did Hospitality at Brookes I'm already at an advantage."

"My course has a big international focus – not only through coursework, but also the international placement year and an exchange in the fourth year. For my placement, I spent the best part of a year on the QE2, cruising all over the world. It was an amazing experience."

Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism

Do you want to be involved in one of the fastest growing industries, with employment opportunities in literally every corner of the globe?

Are you looking for a course that offers practical and vocational training alongside strong and inter-disciplinary academic study?

The world of hospitality, leisure and tourism is growing as never before and is one of the UK's most important industries: the 32.7 million visitors who came to the UK in 2006 spent £16 billion!

As you would expect, there is a constant demand for highly qualified managers, so if this world appeals to you, a hospitality, leisure or tourism degree could be your ideal starting point.

Why choose Oxford Brookes?

These relationships make Brookes one of the best universities to study and train for this area. Our reputation attracts students from around the world with around a third coming from outside the UK.

We are home to the Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry which undertakes research and helps hospitality businesses meet sustainable development challenges such as waste minimisation and management, energy conservation, sustainable food and staff training and development.

Brookes also boasts its own highly regarded training restaurant, and we've recently launched Oxford Gastronomica, a centre dedicated to the study of food, drink and culture.

As one of the world's greatest university cities, Oxford has a wide range of cultural, recreational and sporting activities and venues. Our international museums, sportsmen and women, together with modern art galleries and youth development theatres, art house cinemas and an exciting nightlife make it a perfect location to study leisure and tourism in action. The city also offers lots of opportunities for students to gain work experience in the industry.

At Oxford Brookes you can combine some of our hospitality, leisure and tourism management degrees with a range of other subjects.

How we teach and how you'll learn

Our teaching reflects that with innovative approaches including role-plays, 'live' case studies, business games and computer simulations alongside more traditional lectures and seminars – and you can access a growing number of lectures as podcasts. Project-based learning uses real-life challenges and issues in the region as an integral part of the course.

Within hospitality you can gain practical experience by working in our award-winning restaurant, and you'll have access to our extensive culinary library which includes private book collections donated by John Fuller, Prue Leith, Ken Hom and Sophie Grigson (who donated her mother Jane Grigson's collection).

If you'd like international experience, our programme of work placements and academic exchanges, includes universities in Australia, the USA, Canada, China and Finland and some of the world’s most famous hotels and restaurants.

Your career prospects

Our courses equip students with the knowledge and expertise to be effective managers, with a combination of technical, professional, managerial and interpersonal skills. Our reputation and the quality of our graduates means that many leading firms – including Conran Restaurants, Four Seasons, Malmaison, Marriott, Disney and Thomas Cook – visit Oxford Brookes University every year to recruit our graduates into management positions. And the 2012 Olympics are going to increase the demand for professionally qualified graduates to support the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry.