Hospitality Management
Develop Your Leadership Skills in the Hospitality Industry
Enjoy creating experiences? Looking for a career that’s constantly evolving? Want a career that can take you all over the world? If you answered yes, Hospitality Management is the program for you!
Hospitality Management prepares you for careers in different sectors of service, including tourism, hotel operations, food and beverage management, event planning, sales and marketing, guest relations, private clubs, theme parks, and casinos. At Kirkwood, you’ll learn the business of hospitality in addition to gaining industry-specific expertise through our unique curriculum training side-by-side with professionals at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. Take a virtual tour of this world-class student learning laboratory.
A program conference is required prior to acceptance to the program. You'll learn more about the program, specific admissions requirements and have the opportunity to have questions answered by program faculty and staff.
Graduates of the Hospitality Management program will be able to:
- Demonstrate ability to manage and coordinate staff and operations in various hotel departments.
- Employ coaching techniques to successfully train various line-level positions in rooms and food and beverage divisions by conducting effective training sessions.
- Demonstrate effective customer service strategies through interactions with guests and vendors and extend these principles to interactions with superiors, subordinates, and peers.
- Calculate and interpret fundamental hospitality cost bases including food and beverage percentages, scheduling and labor costs, yield management analysis, costs associated with inventory control, and variances from budgeted costs.
- Assess forecasting and revenue generation data produced by industry tools to make effective operational decisions.
- Manage operational departments of the hotel and synthesize knowledge by applying personal leadership skills through successful performance of manager-on-duty responsibilities.
- Exhibit understanding of laws related to the hospitality sector, including alcohol liability and patron care responsibilities pertaining to guest service and staff training.
- Demonstrate appropriate sanitation and safety knowledge in order to minimize the risks associated with food-borne illness.
Paying for your degree may be easier than you think with our financial aid and scholarships. Kirkwood offers more than $3 million in scholarships for students each year! Additionally, Kirkwood's Hospitality Management program is amongst a select group of community colleges across the country offering American Hotel & Lodging Association Foundation (AHLAF) sponsored scholarships.
Program Costs
Hospitality Management A.A.S.
School Year: 2024–25
Program Entry Semester: Fall
| Fall | Spring | Summer | Fall | Spring | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Hours per Semester | 17 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 14 | 71 |
| In-State Tuition | $3,689 | $3,472 | $1,302 | $3,906 | $3,038 | $15,407 |
| Technology Fee per Semester | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $50 | $250 |
| Clinical Expenses (mileage, lodging, screenings, etc.) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Conferences/Seminars | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Course Resources (textbooks, software, etc.) | $645 | $329 | $6 | $378 | $269 | $1,627 |
| Course/Section Fees | $58.50 | $196.50 | $0 | $45 | $0 | $300 |
| Laptop (required devices) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Testing Fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Third Party Credentials | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Tool Sets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Uniforms | $221.50 | $0 | $90 | $0 | $0 | $311.50 |
| Other | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Estimated Cost | $4,664 | $4,047.50 | $1,448 | $4,379 | $3,357 | $17,895.50 |
Costs provided are estimated and based on the following current tuition rates: $217 (In-State), $290 (Out-of-State), $400 (International).
Fees and costs are subject to change. To view all costs associated with attending college visit our Tuition and Costs page.
Program Requirements
To get into the Hospitality Management program, you must complete the following, in addition to Kirkwood’s steps to become a student:
Immerse Yourself
The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is a luxury teaching hotel. It’s here that Kirkwood Hospitality Management students learn alongside experienced professionals who provide daily situations that lead to first-class service. The Hotel consistently earns the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) prestigious Four Diamond Award. It is the only Four Diamond award winner in Cedar Rapids and part of a select group of Four Diamond rated hotels in Iowa.
Innovation in Education
“At Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, students in the Hospitality Management program gain hands-on experience by managing a full-service hotel. The only one of its kind at a two-year institution, The Hotel at Kirkwood Center acts as a learning laboratory where students are mentored by industry professionals and interact with customers. Learners rotate through various departments including front office management, hotel sales, housekeeping management and food and beverage services. Additionally, students complete summer internships at other properties to experience different segments of the hospitality industry. The program’s two-year curriculum builds on students’ practical experience and offers courses in hospitality marketing, hotel catering, hospitality law, and revenue management. Upon graduation, students earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Hospitality Management and ServSafe® Manager certification. Program graduates have entered careers locally and across the world as food service managers, lodging managers and meeting planners.” -- Association for Career and Technical Education
Explore More
The hospitality and travel industry accounts for one out of every 10 employment opportunities, with jobs expected to grow by 25% through 2030. Salaries range from $40,000 to $60,000 per year, depending on position and location. Here are some of the career paths you can take:
- Hotel general manager
- Hotel operations supervisor
- Meeting and convention manager
- Property operations manager
- Director of housekeeping
- Event planner
- Front Office Manager
- Restaurant Manager
- Director of food and beverage
Students in this program earn the National Restaurant Association's Food Protection Management Certificate. This is the food safety certification developed for restaurants and foodservice managers.
Students in Kirkwood's Hospitality Management program, as well as those pursuing the Hospitality Operations Diploma, are encouraged to join the Kirkwood chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), the only national Career and Technical Student Organization with the family as its central focus.
FCCLA is one of eight recognized members of the National Coordinating Council for Career and Technical Student Organizations (NCC-CTSO). CTSOs are co-curricular groups that help students in career and technical education programs further their knowledge and skills by participating in activities, events, and competitions.
Management-related coursework includes food and beverage, front office and guest services, engineering and risk management, housekeeping, laundry operations, environmental services, legal responsibilities of the industry, the business functions of marketing and accounting, and other hospitality-related business management areas.
Hospitality Operations Diploma*
*State and federal aid may be used for the diploma on its own or as part of the degree program above.
In addition to hands-on learning within The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, a separate industry internship allows students to apply their program learning within various other segments of the hospitality industry.
Kirkwood students have completed internships across the country, as well as overseas, working for hotels, theme parks, private clubs, resorts, restaurants, and more.
Kirkwood students recently completed internships with the following companies:
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Students interested in pursuing a four-year undergraduate degree can save up to 50% of tuition costs by beginning their education with Kirkwood's Hospitality Management program. In addition to saving money, students experience hands-on learning opportunities outside of the classroom, giving them both a practical and theoretical education preparing them for their studies.
Kirkwood’s Hospitality Management program has partnership with three public universities:
Educate and develop future leaders for the hospitality operations profession.
“I truly feel as if I wouldn’t be in the position I am without the Hospitality Management program at Kirkwood. It provided me with so many opportunities by expanding my knowledge within the industry. I still reference much of what I learned from the program today.”
Cassy Quirk, Food & Beverage Manager at The Charmant Hotel,
Hospitality Management Graduate