Program Overview

Hospitality Leadership Program

The Hospitality Leadership program at DePaul University offers a comprehensive education in the hospitality industry, covering various aspects such as hospitality services, event management, food and beverage management, and lodging operations.

Course Descriptions

• HSP 100: Introduction to Hospitality: This course introduces students to the global hospitality industry, its associations, organizations, and businesses. It provides an overview of the historical evolution and development of modern hospitality industries.
• HSP 101: Introduction to Global Tourism: This course examines the many facets of tourism, including world travel destinations, customs, traditions, visitor attractions, and the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts on host destinations.
• HSP 200: Hospitality Services and Experience Management: The course explores the concepts of service, service delivery, and service recovery in different cultural and geographic contexts.
• HSP 203: Hospitality Leadership & Self Development: This course focuses on the development of leadership traits, differentiating leadership from management, and emphasizing core traits and personal qualities required of successful hospitality leaders.
• HSP 204: Hospitality Leadership & Teams: Students explore the composition and functionality of hospitality teams, problem-solving, and team performance assessment through guest satisfaction.
• HSP 207: Hospitality Law, Ethics & Risk: The course introduces legal and ethical concepts in the hospitality industry, including laws specific to hospitality, ethical perspectives, and administrative law.
• HSP 208: Managing People & The Chicago Union Environment: This course covers human resources management in the hospitality industry, including recruitment, selection, training, career development, turnover, retention, recognition, and performance management.
• HSP 250: Managing Your Hospitality Career: Designed to explore professional expectations, career realities, and opportunities in the hospitality major, including resume building, interviews, and job search strategies.
• HSP 301: Leadership Speaker Series I: Industry professionals address service leadership and current issues in hospitality and tourism, focusing on the role of leadership in service creation and delivery.
• HSP 302: Leadership Speaker Series II: A continuation of HSP 301, with industry professionals discussing service leadership and current hospitality and tourism issues.
• HSP 303: Hospitality Internship I: A supervised industry learning experience where students gain practical experience in a functional department within hospitality operations.
• HSP 304: Hospitality Internship II: An advanced internship experience providing additional real-world job experience in a unique sector of the hospitality industry.
• HSP 309: Advanced Hospitality Metrics and Analytics: Develops the ability to define and solve complex problems in the hospitality industry using unique performance metrics and analytical processes.
• HSP 320: Private Club Management: Explores the management and leadership roles within private clubs, including organizational structure, membership requirements, and duties of department heads.
• HSP 321: Food Production Management: A laboratory-based introduction to the basic principles of food production, including culinary terminology, food preparation techniques, and food product identification.
• HSP 322: Quantity Foodservice Management: Analysis of factors affecting quantity food production and service, emphasizing food quality, ethical evaluation of food products, and operational sustainability.
• HSP 323: Advanced Private Club Management: An in-depth study of the senior club manager's role, including career planning, club bylaws, legal and ethical concerns, and facility design.
• HSP 330: Restaurant Operations: Introduces the major components of food and beverage service management, differentiating them from management in other hospitality segments.
• HSP 331: Foodservice Purchasing: Details standards of quality for food, supplies, and related products, providing methods for recognizing quality, evaluating, specifying, purchasing, and inspecting these products.
• HSP 332: Beverage Management: An overview of the commercial beverage industry, including management's role in operating facilities serving alcoholic beverages.
• HSP 333: International Wine Education & Management: Introduces students to wine management best practices, including regional grape varietals, wine making styles, and the science underlying wine production.
• HSP 335: Craft Beer Education and Management: Covers the business of craft beer, emphasizing production processes, ingredients, history, and trends in the craft beer industry.
• HSP 340: Lodging Property Management: Practices and systems used in the operational management of hotels, including front office, reservations, uniform service, and housekeeping areas.
• HSP 341: Resort & Spa Management: Explores the range of resort and spa operations, analyzing key topics unique to these settings, such as guest relations and environmental sustainability.
• HSP 342: Time Share Management: Focuses on the concepts of timeshare management, including historical background, development process, market analysis, and ethical obligations.
• HSP 343: Casino Management: Examines the history and development of gaming, casino operations, and the marketing of core gaming products.
• HSP 350: Event Planning: Covers the fundamentals of event and meeting management, including development of timelines, checklists, and request for proposals.
• HSP 351: Event Tourism: Provides a comprehensive coverage of worldwide tourism destinations, examining the basic principles underlying tourist demand, supply, and transportation.
• HSP 352: Event Production: Examines the production and execution of special events, helping students learn event management theories and apply them to actual events.
• HSP 353: Event Sales, Service & Promotion: Focuses on the modes and methods of sales and promotion used in booking conventions and trade shows.
• HSP 355: Advanced Event Management: Introduces advanced management and decision-making specific to the events industry, analyzing current issues and future trends.
• HSP 362: Revenue, Pricing & Distribution: Covers the principles and practices involved in hotel revenue maximization, pricing strategies, and distribution channels.
• HSP 372: Branding & Customer Loyalty: Helps students identify branding strategies and the role branding plays in customer loyalty, exploring customer relationship management.
• HSP 386: Hospitality Accounting I: Revenues & Expenses: Applies accounting principles to the hospitality industry, focusing on the income statement and the importance of revenue recognition and expense classification.
• HSP 396: Hospitality Strategy: A capstone course exposing students to a strategic perspective on issues concerning the firm as a whole, drawing on concepts from functional disciplines.
• HSP 398: Special Topics in Hospitality: An in-depth study of current issues in hospitality, with variable content and format.
• HSP 399: Independent Study: Available to students for intensive independent work in Hospitality Leadership, under the guidance of a faculty member.

Graduate Courses

• HSP 502: Managing the Guest/Employee Experience: Examines highly developed principles of the guest experience and the role of employee development and service delivery in the hospitality industry.
• HSP 503: Advanced Hospitality Leadership and Performance: Explores advanced hospitality leadership practices, including critical decision-making, team dynamics, financial feasibility, and brand competency.
• HSP 505: Service & Innovation in Tourism Development: Applies contemporary tourism development theory, focusing on technology and service systems, market development, and human capital productivity.
• HSP 506: Hospitality Strategy & Operational Performance: Evaluates and constructs innovative hospitality strategies, analyzing hospitality service systems through the lens of competitive strategy and service-oriented product positioning.
• HSP 550: Non-Profit Events Management: Examines the nature and structural components of event management within the non-profit sector, incorporating event conceptualization and evaluation techniques.
• HSP 551: Non-Profit Foodservice Management: Covers the leadership requirements associated with non-profit hospitality foodservice, including menu development, licensing, food handling, and marketing networks.
• HSP 561: Managing Revenue to Maximize Financial Performance: Explores revenue management within the hospitality industry, including inventory and price management, consumer behavior, and demand-based forecasting.
• HSP 562: Hospitality Disruptors, Current Trends, and Their Implications for Leaders: Examines current hospitality trends associated with industry disruptors and their impact on service distribution channels, applying critical thinking and decision-making skills.
• HSP 563: Hospitality Research Analysis & Financial Metrics: Provides a comprehensive perspective on hospitality financial performance constructs and key industry operating performance benchmarks, including research methodology and data analysis.
• HSP 793: Practicum in Applied Hospitality Leadership: Engages students in a practical, experiential approach to learning, applying academic knowledge to real-world business challenges and opportunities in the hospitality industry.
• HSP 798: Special Topics: An in-depth study of current issues in hospitality, with variable content and format.
• HSP 799: Independent Study: Available to graduate students for intensive independent work in hospitality, under the guidance of a faculty member.