Bachelor of Science in International Hotel and Resort Management
Tourism is Uganda's largest foreign exchange earner, East Africa has the fastest growing luxury hotel pipeline on the continent, and the Gulf, the Indian Ocean islands and the cruise industry recruit African hospitality talent at scale, yet the region trains almost nobody at degree level to the ...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2032.
Roles
- Hotel operations manager track
- front office and rooms division manager
- food and beverage manager
- revenue and reservations manager
- guest relations and concierge manager
- resort and lodge manager
- hotel sales and events manager
- cruise and hospitality operations officer
- management trainee in international hotel groups
- hospitality entrepreneur
- Forward University · School of Hospitality
- Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume
Employer types
- International hotel groups operating in Africa and the Gulf
- luxury resorts
- safari lodges and island properties
- cruise lines
- airlines and airport lounges
- serviced apartment and residence operators
- conference centres and venues
- hospitality consultancies and asset managers
- the graduate's own hotel
- lodge or hospitality venture
- and the graduate's own venture
- incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme targets management trainee and departmental management roles in international hotel groups at internationally benchmarked compensation, in East Africa, the Gulf and the cruise industry, and supports hospitality ventures. Progression routes include the MSc in International Hospitality Leadership and doctoral study.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4. Read the co-op commitment
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in International Hotel and Resort Management. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BHRM 110 | Hospitality Operations Practicum I: The Forward Hotel Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 111 | Introduction to the Global Hospitality Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Industry Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BHRM 112 | Front Office and Guest Services Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BHRM 113 | Food Safety, Hygiene and Sanitation Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BHRM 130 | Housekeeping and Rooms Division Operations Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 131 | Food and Beverage Service Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BHRM 132 | Hospitality Accounting and Cost Control Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BHRM 133 | Service Languages and Cultural Intelligence I Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recessterm) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BHRM 210 | Hospitality Operations Practicum II: Departmental Supervision Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 211 | Restaurant and Bar Management Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BHRM 212 | Banquets, Conferences and Events Operations Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 213 | Hospitality Marketing and Sales Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BHRM 230 | Hotel Revenue Management and Distribution Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BHRM 231 | Hospitality Human Resource Management Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BHRM 310 | Hospitality Operations Practicum III: Duty Management Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BHRM 311 | Hospitality Financial Management Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 312 | Hotel Information Systems and Property Technology Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 313 | Service Languages and Cultural Intelligence II Both | 2 | 1-0-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BHRM 330 | Luxury Service Standards and Guest Experience Design Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 331 | Hospitality Law, Risk and Safety Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BHRM 410 | Resort, Lodge and Leisure Operations Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| BHRM 411 | Intelligent Hospitality: Guest Data, Personalisation and Analytics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BHRM 412 | Strategic Hotel Management and Asset Performance Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BHRM 413 | Hospitality Specialisation Elective I Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BHRM 430 | Hotel Management Capstone: Run Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume a Real Property Period Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| BHRM 431 | Sustainable Hospitality Operations Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| BHRM 432 | Hospitality Specialisation Elective II Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| BHRM 433 | Professional Practice and Hospitality Leadership Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
Total credit units: 176
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Assessment follows Part E without variation. Across the programme the aggregate weighting is 35 per cent continuous assessment and built artefacts, 25 per cent authentic performance including practical examination and oral defence, 30 per cent external practitioner assessment in the final year, and not more than 40 per cent written examination in any single course. The capstone is client verified and the Day One Assessment contributes 5 per cent of the final year mark. Assessment principles. Assessment is authentic, criterion referenced and, for every capability claim above Level 2, verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer. There is no compensation between competencies: a student must master each one, and a marginal performance in one cannot be offset by strength in another. Feedback is returned quickly, within seven days of a block closing in the Block Sequence, so that it can inform the next unit. A student who does not yet meet the standard is given a further, structured attempt under Part E rather than being carried forward, which protects the value of the award while supporting progression. Reasonable adjustments for disability are made under Part D without altering the competency standard.
Work-integrated learning
Students complete COP 190 Workplace Immersion in the Year 1 recess term, COP 290 Co-operative Education Placement I (six months, paid, assessed) and COP 390 Co-operative Education Placement II (six months, paid, assessed), totalling not fewer than twelve months. Placement hosts are contracted by the Co-operative Education Office. The employer completes a structured capability assessment carrying 40 to 50 per cent of the placement mark and signs the capability claims that enter the Capability Passport. Online students are placed with accredited hosts in their own city or country under remote academic supervision, or have their existing employment accredited as the placement site under Part D4.
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in International Hotel and Resort Management
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1 | YEAR 1 | 22
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and Persuasion CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Communication and Persuasion · Disciplinary Mastery · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Run the rooms division of a hotel to luxury standard: front office, housekeeping, guest services and the guest journey.
- PLO 2Manage food and beverage operations profitably and safely, from outlet to banquet.
- PLO 3Apply revenue ol of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and management, pricing and distribution to maximise a property's yield.
- PLO 4Design and deliver guest experiences that meet five to seven star service standards across cultures.
- PLO 5Read, build and defend the financial performance of a hotel department and a property.
- PLO 6Lead, schedule and develop a multicultural hospitality team.
- PLO 7Apply hospitality technology and intelligent systems to operations, guest data and personalisation.
- PLO 8Sell, market and position a property in domestic and international markets.
- PLO 9Apply hospitality law, safety, sustainability and ethics to management decisions.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
Tourism is Uganda's largest foreign exchange earner, East Africa has the fastest growing luxury hotel pipeline on the continent, and the Gulf, the Indian Ocean islands and the cruise industry recruit African hospitality talent at scale, yet the region trains almost nobody at degree level to the standard a five to seven star property demands. The global hospitality industry has carried a chronic skills shortage since the pandemic; general managers everywhere ask one question of a graduate, whether they can actually run a shift, a department and a guest problem on day one. This programme is built to answer yes. Students operate the Forward Hotel, the University's live commercial property, from the first term, spend twelve months in paid co-op placements in five to seven star hotels in East Africa and the Gulf, and graduate with revenue, operations and leadership competence verified by hoteliers rather than examiners alone.
Admission requirements
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education with two principal passes; plus Uganda Certificate of Education with five passes including English and Mathematics. Applicants additionally complete a structured service scenario and reasoning task at admission, scored against Capabilities C4 and C10, and a short interview conducted by a practitioner. Equivalent international qualifications, and Forward College hospitality and culinary diplomas with advanced standing, are assessed against this profile. All applicants must demonstrate competence in English, the language of instruction, through their qualifications or an approved proficiency test under Part A. International and non standard qualifications are assessed for equivalence against the profile above under the Credential Portability provisions, so that a suitably prepared applicant may enter from anywhere in the world. Selection considers the whole application, including the structured admission task, and is conducted without discrimination under the University's admissions policy. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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