Virginia State University (Hospitality Management Program) - Overview
A Historic University With a Leading Edge Hospitality Management Program
Virginia State University (VSU) is a public, comprehensive university located in Ettrick, Virginia, about 25 miles south of Richmond. Founded in 1882 as the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, Virginia State University was the nation's first fully state-supported, 4-year institution of higher learning for black Americans.
The university also holds distinction as one of 47 member schools of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, the only national organization providing leadership development, scholarships, resources, opportunities, and advocacy to public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), students, and alumni.
Known for emphasizing integration of academic instruction, research, and public service, Virginia State University welcomes students of any race, religion, or ethnic heritage. Current student population is about 5,000.
In recent years, Virginia State University's hospitality management program (HMP) has become more prominent, attracting students from across the U.S. and Canada with its comprehensive curriculum and high-tech hospitality learning laboratories.
Proven Success in Job Placement
The Hospitality Management Program (HMP) at Virginia State University is housed under the Department of Agriculture and Human Ecology (AgHE) within the university's School of Agriculture.
The HMP program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA). Its curriculum responds to the hospitality industry's growing demand for well-trained, empowered managers.
Hospitality management majors earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in hospitality management. The VSU hospitality management program reports a remarkable 100 percent placement for every graduate year.
Lodging and Culinary Concentrations
The HMP curriculum provides students with real-world experience across a broad range of service areas, including hotels and restaurants; travel tourism; entertainment, sports, and recreational facilities; convention and meeting planning; food service systems; marketing and accounting; hospitality law; and general management.
Students select a 15-credit concentration of study in either lodging operations management or culinary operations management. They practice their hospitality skills in a fully equipped classroom facility that features the newest hotel and food service equipment and technology.
Throughout the HMP curriculum, special focus is placed on the group interaction skills, leadership abilities, and interpersonal dexterities students need to meet the operational challenges of the hospitality workplace.
In addition to the concentration coursework, HMP students must complete 48 credit hours of core hospitality management courses and an additional 9 credit hours of electives. Electives include tourism development, financial analysis and planning, security and loss control, hospitality and tourism research, and theme park and entertainment management.
Summer Internships in Sophomore and Junior Years
Internships are an integral part of the hospitality management program at Virginia State University. Every HMP major must complete 2 supervised internships (a total of 680 hours) to demonstrate application of classroom theory to the workplace. Internships are taken in the summer following the sophomore and junior years.
VSU's partnerships with diverse hospitality environments, both locally and nationally, ensure placement opportunities in a wide range of venues -- from theme parks and hotel chains to major sports venues, resort spas, and entertainment destinations.
Students must keep a daily journal and submit a paper on essential practice and management within their assigned worksites. An HMP faculty adviser and the internship site supervisor evaluate the student's performance and experiential documentation.
HMP Student Organizations and Activities
The HMP faculty encourages students to develop a passion for their hospitality career by getting involved in professional association conferences, events, and career fairs. All HMP majors are expected to join the HMP Student Association and the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH) and strongly encouraged to participate in the program activities.
Accomplished, Accessible Faculty
Virginia State University faculty members are known for promoting a supportive environment where individualized attention helps students reach beyond the ordinary. The student-faculty ratio is about 19:1, allowing students to interact closely with their professors.
Most of VSU's 250 faculty members hold doctoral degrees and are recognized nationally and internationally for their published works and honors. The HMP core faculty members are energetic, dedicated educators who bring to the classroom many years of teaching experience and hospitality management practice in diverse environments.
Among them is HMP director Deanne Williams, Ed.D., M.B.A. a widely published hospitality education curriculum design expert whose academic research interests include the impact of Caribbean travel tourism on the African-American market, as well as control and quality service in hospitality and tourism management.
Tuition and Financial Aid at Virginia State University
Tuition and fees at Virginia State University differ for in-state and out-of-state residents. Financial aid is available in the form of grants, scholarships, and loans. Honors scholarships may be available to entering freshmen.
Work-study programs are also available for eligible students. Students can apply for work-study positions as tutors in local schools through the America Reads Program.
Historic Setting for Living and Learning
Virginia State University students live and learn on a 236-acre main campus and a 416-acre agricultural research facility situated just 25 miles from the state capitol in Richmond.
The campus sits atop a rolling landscape overlooking the Appomattox River, the site of historic Revolutionary and Civil War events. The main campus features more than 50 buildings, including 15 dormitories and 16 classroom buildings.
Virginia State University is accessible by Interstate 95 and 85, as well as U.S. Routes 1, 301, and 60. It is centrally located about 2 hours from Washington, D.C. to the north, the North Carolina Triangle area to the south, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.