Bachelor's Degree Programme in Tourism Management
Key learning outcomes
During Tourism Management studies, you will develop into a professional in responsible tourism management. The tourism industry is undergoing continuous transformations driven by, for example, responsibility, digitalisation and changes in consumer behaviour. That is why throughout the studies, you will gain a deep understanding of responsible tourism and its diverse dimensions together with digital value creation, and the creative service business. Our degree programme also gives you strong business competence with ecological, economical, and socio-cultural responsibility at its core. During the studies, you will become familiar with the structures of the tourism industry and its international nature.
After graduation, you will have extensive professional competence and good capabilities to create a career in specialist and managerial positions in varied tourism organisations. The programme also provides a good basis for setting up your own company and becoming an entrepreneur in the tourism industry.
Education content and professional growth and know-how
The main competence areas in the degree programme in Tourism Management are responsible tourism, services management and digitalisation, tourism experiences and profitable tourism business. These competences mean that after completing the programme, you will be able to take responsibility for developing the tourism field by acknowledging needs for sustainable development, digitalisation and customer-oriented business. You will understand how tourism impacts occur on different levels and how, on the other hand, tourism is impacted by different phenomena. At the company level, you will manage responsible and customer-oriented tourism business and utilise digitalisation in business activities. You will be able to design profitable and meaningful tourism experiences in varied contexts.
At the beginning of the studies, you build a personal learning plan and discuss your career goals with a career tutor. Your career plans are discussed throughout the studies, and you will get support from your career tutor, teachers and student colleagues. The personal learning plan guides you during your studies to build an educational path that will take you towards your career goals. To deepen your knowledge towards your career goals, you can choose elective courses, work in collaborative projects, get meaningful practical training placements and choose a relevant thesis topic. You will also have the opportunity to complete a part of your studies abroad as an exchange student or do your practical training abroad.
Flexible studies
The tourism management studies combine solid theoretical knowledge with diverse working life projects, event production and study tours. You can utilise our extensive international cooperation networks and complete part of your studies abroad. You can also benefit from course offerings in other programmes in Jamk and other national universities, to build your personal learning plan.
You can choose your alternative or elective studies from EduFutura partner institutions (University of Jyväskylä and Gradia) and international studies from European EUDRES higher education institutions. You can also choose from Finnish and foreign partner universities, such as other universities of applied sciences and universities. You can apply for accreditation of higher education studies that you have completed elsewhere.
Working life oriented learning
In tourism management studies, you will gain versatile knowledge of the tourism industry and the tourism business, which is needed to work in such a diverse field. During your studies, you will discuss and study the industry in varied ways, for example, through assignments, project work, practical training and a thesis. When studying in a multicultural group, your communication skills will naturally evolve and prepare you for an international and diverse working life in the tourism industry. During the studies, you’ll also strengthen other skills needed in working life, for example, problem solving, self-determination, group work, presentations and reports, organisation and time management.
Internationalisation is a central part of the studies through international exchange and practical training possibilities abroad. You can utilise our extensive cooperation networks and also participate in development projects in Jamk. The last year of studies concludes with a thesis, which is recommended to write for the commissioner.
Working life-oriented learning is included in the bachelor’s degree courses throughout the studies. These include practical training to promote professional skills, the thesis and various working life projects. At Jamk University of Applied Sciences, the operating model for working life oriented and student-driven learning is called Jamk Future Factory®. It combines working life operators, students, Jamk experts and working life-oriented LAB environments and other learning environments. In addition to multidisciplinary and working life-oriented project studies, it offers students a chance to develop their future working life skills, career paths and networks.
Studification is also among the options offered by working life-oriented learning. It refers to combining work, project work, Future Factory activities, etc. with studies. Studification involves students drafting a studification plan and documenting it in the manner agreed with their teacher.
Career opportunities and employment
After graduation, as a Bachelor of Hospitality Management with a focus on responsible tourism management, you have good capabilities for building your career in managerial and expert positions in companies and other organisations in the tourism industry in Finland and abroad. Depending on your own educational path, you can be a professional in a variety of positions in the industry worldwide. You will also have good capabilities to work as an entrepreneur in tourism. Job titles include, for example, sustainability expert, experience manager, marketing coordinator, team leader, congress manager, hotel manager, customer service manager, reception manager and event coordinator.
Qualifications
There are no specific degree-related or statutory qualification requirements in the field.
Further studies
After graduating and gaining at least two years of work experience, you may apply for a master's degree level education. You can continue your studies by applying for e.g. Master's degree programmes in universities, vocational teacher education or Master's degree programmes abroad. The university of applied sciences offers opportunities for competence development in various institutes, such as the open university of applied sciences, specialisation training and work-oriented continuing education.
Education planning
The close contacts to the experts and practitioners in the field, alumni and students in the degree programme provide continuous information to support the development and planning of the education process. We also have close co-operation with research, development and innovation (RDI) projects on the local and national level. The experts are also actively involved in domestic and international tourism networks and participate in training programmes for operators in the field. The Advisory Committee of the School of Business participates systematically in the development of training from the perspective of the needs of working life.
Contact Information
Nuijanmaa Susanna
Senior Lecturer
Tourism and Service Business and Master´s Degrees
+358408690659
firstname.lastname@jamk.fi