Study Guide

Descriptions

CURRICULUM
Bachelor of Hospitality Management, multimodal education

The Degree Programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management provides abilities to plan, implement and market tourism services. Practical training periods play an important role in the education. Working life-oriented development assignments and the thesis promote the students’ networking and cooperation with actors in the field of tourism already during the studies. The main themes of studies include production and marketing of services as well as responsible and sustainable business. The studies also include language, internationality, and entrepreneurship studies. The students lay a foundation for their own career in the field of tourism during the studies.

The degree for Bachelors of Hospitality Management provides competence for expert, development, managerial and other responsible positions in the field of tourism and service or for working as an entrepreneur. The field is a growing industry and thus, Bachelors of Hospitality Management have a wide range of employment opportunities.

Degree

Degree title: Bachelor of Hospitality Management
Extent: 210 cr. / 3.5 y.

Description of Competences

The expertise of Bachelors of Hospitality Management includes wide-ranging knowledge of the operating environment in the tourism and catering sector. Bachelors of Hospitality Management are able to plan and implement services for different target groups.

- Competence in the provision of services typical of the tourism and catering sector. Customer understanding, definition of customer value and quality. Marketing and sales expertise. Business competence.

- Subordinate skills, managerial skills, and management of service activities. Planning of the profitability, economy, and efficiency of the tourism business.

- Qualifications required for working in the field. Alcohol Passport and Hygiene Passport, First Aid Course (EA1), Tourism Safety Passport.

Competence Development and the Content of Studies

The Degree Programme in Hospitality Management consists of common core studies and complementary studies. The extent of the degree is 210 credits (cr). The themes in common core studies include, for example, productisation and service competence, and multimediated services. The extent of common core studies in tourism education is 185 credits and the extent of complementary studies is 25 credits. Optional complementary studies aim at strengthening and directing the students’ professional competence. Complementary studies can also include sports academy training for top athletes or student union and tutoring activities with a maximum of 15 credits.

The studies include 45 credits of practical training. The aim of practical training periods is that the students learn to apply the theory learned, develop their professional competence, and network with the world of work. The purpose of the 15-credit thesis is that the students demonstrate and apply their competence. Theses are carried out as commissions for the world of work.

The annual themes in studies include productisation and business competence, product development and management of services, and tourism development and research activities. The main contents of studies include tourism business, quality, safety, sustainable development, internationality, and entrepreneurship. Areas of business in the field of tourism include, for example, accommodation and catering services, programme services, and event production.

During the studies, students can apply to the Business Academy of Entrepreneurship at Karelia University of Applied Sciences, where entrepreneurship is studied in multidisciplinary teams. The academy provides an opportunity to reconcile entrepreneurship and studies. Students in the academy have their own curriculum. Different options and professional objectives related to studies can be discussed with the teacher tutor or with the student counsellor.

Work-Related Learning

In tourism education, professional competence is strengthened by conducting commissions given by companies in the field, and through practical training periods and thesis commissions. During the studies, students participate in various development projects and in organising events.

Participation in research and development activities deepens the students’ professional competence and networking with the field.

Pedagogical Choices

The education in the Degree Programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management is carried out as multimodal education. The studies consist of both distance studies and contact teaching. The number of contact teaching days varies depending on the year of study. Teaching and guidance between the contact teaching days is carried out in an online learning environment. Studies in the Degree Programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management are work-related and they include development commissions from tourism and service companies to be carried out in real work environments. Some studies and practical training periods can be completed abroad.

Flexible Course Implementations

Karelia UAS students have a possibility to apply for the recognition of prior studies or for the validation of the competence acquired elsewhere as part of your degree. Complementary studies for widening or deepening the competence can be selected from the course supply of other fields of study at Karelia UAS, the national CampusOnline portal, or international cooperation partners according to the student’s own interests.

Internationalisation

Students have the opportunity to become international through studies, project work, international student exchange, and international practical training placements. You can also strengthen your international competence by acting as a tutor for international students.

Study exchange is usually a study period of one or two semesters in a partner university abroad. Exchange studies can also include practical training placements abroad.

Studies completed abroad are eligible for students’ degrees, i.e. the exchange period does not extend the duration of study.

Assessment

Learning analytics is utilised in the assessment of studies, enabling the monitoring of students’ individual progress in studies. Students are also able to follow their own activity with learning analytics. The assessment in studies can also be performed using self-assessment, peer review, and feedback from representatives of the world of work.

Students can monitor the development of their competence with the help of the assessment and the feedback received as well as set new goals. Karelia UAS has common assessment criteria and the implementation of assessment for each study unit and study unit-specific assessment criteria are based on these common criteria.

Career Opportunities

Practical training periods, working life-oriented learning projects, and the thesis give students the opportunity to get acquainted with a variety of duties in the field of tourism and catering. Titles and positions for graduated Bachelors of Hospitality Management can be viewed e.g. on the Toissa.fi website:

https://toissa.fi/fi_FI/sijoittuminen-tyoelamaan/show/restonomi-amk-matkailu
https://toissa.fi/fi_FI/sijoittuminen-tyoelamaan/show/restonomi-amk-majoitus-ja-ravitsemisala

Changes in the world of work and students’ own career development require continuous learning after the graduation. A significant part of learning takes place at work, but it can be improved through further training. Students’ own competence can be supplemented by open UAS studies or by Master’s Degree education. The teacher tutor and the student counsellor support students’ career planning throughout the studies. In addition, counselling and support for post-graduation career planning is also provided.