Exploratory Demand Analysis for a Part-Time or Executive Master's Degree in Hospitality Management

Abstract

Many graduate programs have successfully increased their markets by offering part-time or executive master's programs to accommodate working professionals who do not have to quit their jobs while earning their degrees. Yet this notion is relatively new to the field of hospitality and tourism. This paper presents one school's efforts to determine the market for such a program in the hotel industry by surveying individual industry participants (as potential students) and organizations (as potential employers). General findings suggest there is limited interest in such a program. However, comparisons between the individual and organizational responses uncover some intriguing differences between the two samples in regard to furthering one's education at the graduate level.