Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration

Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration | Courses | Faculty

107 Flint Laboratory

Degree: Bachelor of Science

Contact: Dr. Frank Lattuca

Office: 107 Flint

Phone: 545-2535

Head of Department: Professor Frank Lattuca. Associate Department Head: Associate Professor Chris Roberts. Professors Klar, Warnick; Associate Professors Bojanic, Enghagen, Fernsten, Griffin, Lowry, Shea, Sheel, Wilson; Assistant Professors Flohr, Revelas; Lecturers Kinney, B. Miller, J. Miller.

The Field

Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration is a multi-discipline field of study with the purpose of preparing people with the expertise, commitment, and skills for management, marketing, and operations positions in the expanding industry that provides food, accommodations, and travel services to people away from home. As a field of study, Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration is interdisciplinary. It draws upon a wide range of basic disciplines to provide the fundamental knowledge and skills that are required to fulfill the diverse demands placed upon individuals in management positions within the hospitality industry.

Recognizing that the individual educated for today is soon out of date, the academic emphasis of the program is on principles, analytical tools, processes, and systems. These change relatively slowly. However, it is recognized that at least a minimal exposure to the skills and knowledge which make up the present state of the art is necessary to understand the principles. Likewise, it is recognized that the students in the program are composites of many talents, and that in the food service, lodging, and travel fields, pure academic ability cannot predict professional success. Thus, the program has as a basic objective the presentation of an academic curriculum to develop management capability through interdisciplinary subject exposure, problem identification, basic concepts, decision making, theory, and management application. Because technology is such a vital part of the business world, students are required to maintain an active Office of Information Technologies (OIT) account when accepted into the major. In addition, students are encouraged to develop foreign language skills to better prepare for this increasingly international industry.

The Major

Students majoring in HRTA may elect a concentration in Lodging Administration, Food Service Administration (Commercial and Non-Commercial), and Travel and Tourism Administration. Detailed information about the program and courses can be found in The Passkey, the department's undergraduate handbook.

The increasing popularity of HRTA courses and programs has necessitated certain enrollment controls. Students who have an interest in transferring to HRTA (either from other units of the University or from other colleges or universities) should contact the HRTA Chief Undergraduate Adviser very early in their academic careers to determine their prospects for admission.

A student planning to transfer from within the University should file a complete application accompanied by an essay addressing the student's reason for wishing to enter the major, learning objectives, and career goals. The student must complete the following four courses with a grade of "C" or better before acceptance into the major: HRTA 100, ENGLWP 112, any Analytic Reasoning course (R2), and any Economics course. At the time of application, students must have completed at least 30 degree credits (not including University HRTA courses), with at least one semester at the University, and be in good academic standing. Satisfactory completion of these conditions, although required, does not guarantee admission into HRTA. Applications for admission from on-campus can be obtained from the office of the Chief Undergraduate Adviser. Students applying for transfer to HRTA from other institutions should apply through the Office of Transfer Affairs.

Students who major in HRTA must complete the following required courses:

A. Math/Statistics Requirement

1. The department requires only MATH 121 Linear Methods and Probability but encourages students to take MATH 127 and 128 if they expect to go to graduate school.

2. Statistics Requirement: STATIS 140 Statistics, STATIS 111 Elementary Statistics, or RES EC 212 Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences.

B. HRTA Courses for All Emphasis Areas

100 Introduction to HRTA

150 Food Production Management

200 Hospitality Computer Applications

230 Introduction to Travel and Tourism

240 Hotel Operations

250 Food Service Management

260 Personnel Management in HRTA

302 Junior Year Writing

320 HRTA Law

340 Hospitality Facilities Operations

370 Managerial Accounting for HRTA Industry

Plus any four guest lectures: 103, 104, 303, 403, 404

C. Outside Courses

ACCTG 221 Introduction to Accounting

ECON 103 Microeconomics

ECON 104 Macroeconomics

FOMGT 300 Introduction to Finance

MKTG 301 Introduction to Marketing

NUTR 130 Nutrition

D. Program Required Electives

Lodging Administration

344 Hotel Supervision

355 Advanced Food Production Management

444 Advanced Hotel Mangement

Plus any three upper-division HRTA courses
(9 cr)

Food Service Administration

255 Risk and Sanitation Management

355 Advanced Food Production Management

455 Advanced Food Service Management

Plus any three upper-division HRTA courses
(9 cr)

Travel and Tourism Administration

233 Travel Agency and Tour Operation Management

333 Special Events and Conference Planning

433 Tourism Policy, Planning and Development

Plus any three upper-division HRTA courses
(9 cr)

It is a tenet of HRTA that field work experience permits students to draw the links between theory taught in the classroom with practice observed in the field, thus improving their education. As such, the department requires each student to complete two practica of hospitality field work experience totaling 600 hours.

For the Department Honors Program a student must, in addition to meeting these major requirements, maintain a high grade point average and complete specific Department Honors Courses.

Career Opportunities

Graduates apply for employment with restaurants, hotels, and contract food services. Opportunities exist in hospital and school food service, clubs, government food service, resorts, fast food franchises, airlines, and travel agencies. A wide variety of jobs and career opportunities exist within the field. Recent graduates typically start as trainees or assistant managers in food, lodging, and travel operations and progress to managerial positions as they gain experience. Specialized areas such as hotel sales, marketing, personnel administration, and franchise operations also provide employment for our graduates.

Study Abroad

Students in HRTA can spend a semester abroad studying at one of four international institutions: Southern Cross University in Australia, Oxford Brookes University in England, Queen Margaret University College in Scotland or the DCT Hotel and International Business Management School in Switzerland. The department also frequently offers a summer study abroad program. Students who participate in these activities often pursue international career opportunities and learn essential foreign languages.

Hotel, Restaurant & Travel Administration | Courses | Faculty