Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management

About the Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management Program

Do you enjoy working with people in an ever-changing environment? If so, a hospitality, tourism, and events degree may be a perfect fit for you! A TROY bachelor's degree in hospitality, tourism, and event management will prepare you for positions that range from lodging management to experience and design management. With experiential learning at the forefront, our degree program offers business coursework tailored to hospitality, tourism, and events industries. Our degree program provides the students an opportunity to select courses to design a degree program that fits their individual interests. At TROY, you'll learn from faculty members with years of industry experience to help guide you for successful entry into a career within the hospitality, tourism, and events sector.

John Robert Lewis Hall on TROY's Campus.

“The most beneficial thing that the HSTM program does differently would be having more projects than just tests. I feel way more prepared for real-life scenarios because of that. Also, being required to work in the community; I think it holds us to a higher standard when your coursework is taken outside of just the classroom. I think we as HSTM students are more comfortable talking with professionals due to the exposure we've had with community service, senior seminar, doing interview projects, etc.”

Isabella Rutledge | Event Manager, Renaissance Mobile Riverview & Battle House Spa & Hotel | 2020 graduate, Hospitality, Sport, and Tourism Management

A World of Adventure Awaits

A great number of career opportunities fall under the hospitality, tourism, and events umbrella— the majority of which are found outside of the traditional hotel and restaurant industries. Whether you're traveling the world on cruise ships, working with a convention and visitors bureau to develop local events, or working behind the scenes to help create magical experiences for people of all ages, your hospitality, tourism, and event management degree from TROY will help prepare you for excellence. Every day is different in hospitality, tourism, and events industries, and coming to work is often fun, invigorating, and exciting.

Guiding you to Success

At TROY, you'll be taught and mentored by faculty members who are dedicated to seeing you excel in this dynamic, fast-paced industry. The hospitality, tourism, and events faculty at TROY have years of industry experience that is transferred into the classroom through experiential learning opportunities for you to gain real world experience. Whether studying in class or online, you'll have access to professors who take the time to get to know you, your interests, and learning styles. Once you've fostered these academic connections, you'll not only have gained valuable knowledge about hospitality, tourism, and event management, but you'll also have developed strong relationships with your professors who make themselves available for advice from subject matter to career development.

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Alumni Spotlight

Hailey (Boutwell) Gallahan graduated from TROY in May of 2022 with her studies focused in hospitality and event management. She currently resides in Washington, D.C., working for The Heritage Foundation as an Events Assistant, providing support across their In-House Programming, Conference Services, and Special Events teams. Her typical day includes confirming vendors and service providers, delivering excellent customer service to event attendees, and coordinating events. When asked about her time with us at TROY, a class she remembered taking that prepared her for her current career was Event Management, as it requires students to plan an event fully and document it in an event binder. For her event, she chose to plan a wedding, and it required her to think through every detail and moving part and to use time management. The skills and content learned in that class are skills she uses every day in her current role.

Preparing you for a Successful Career

TROY's hospitality, tourism, and event management degree program provides you with courses designed to give you an overview of the industry as well as experiential learning opportunities to afford you valuable tools to be successful upon graduation. Recent TROY alums have found hospitality, tourism, and event management careers in various major metropolitan cities like Washington, D.C., Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida to name a few. Our faculty members are heavily connected to industry practitioners, leading to fantastic internship opportunities for our students. Many of our graduates are still connected to TROY and enjoy networking with current students to provide helpful advice and internship opportunities at their places of work. Join us and become a part of our hospitality, tourism, and event management network at TROY.

Faculty Profiles

Dr. Heather Lewis

Dr. Lewis received a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Glenville State College and her Master's in Business Administration from Fairmont State University. She went on to obtain her PhD in Hospitality Management from Iowa State University. Prior to teaching at Troy University, Dr. Lewis worked in the hospitality industry for several years as a hotel property manager. She teaches courses focused on hospitality management including: HR Management in Hospitality, Tourism, and Events, Resort and Hotel Management, Food and Beverage Management, Service in Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Industries, and Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Marketing.

Learn more about our faculty 334-808-6693 hrlewis@troy.edu

News

The Owen Wayne Lewis Memorial Scholarship at Troy University will focus on first-generation college students.

Lewis family shares legacy of love through scholarship, foundation

Quick to smile. Quick to laugh. Always ready with a hug and eager for the next ride on his “cool bike.” Although Owen Lewis's time on Earth was cut tragically short, it was brimming with love. Now, Owen's parents—Troy University professors Onick and Heather Lewis—are working to ensure that love carries forward into the lives of others through a pair of philanthropies: the Owen Wayne Lewis Memorial Scholarship at Troy University and O's Cool Bike Foundation.