Bachelor of Arts in Luxury Service and Guest Experience Design
The most valuable hospitality on earth is defined not by marble but by service: the anticipation, discretion, cultural fluency and flawless execution that seven star properties, private residences, yachts, airlines and luxury brands sell at a premium and cannot find enough people to deliver. Luxury ...
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
- Guest relations and guest experience manager
- butler and personal service professional
- concierge and lifestyle manager
- luxury brand experience specialist
- private residence
- yacht and villa service manager
- premium cabin and lounge services lead
- luxury retail and client experience manager
- service quality and training lead
- experience designer
- luxury hospitality entrepreneur
Employer types
- Forward University · School of Hospitality
- Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Seven star and ultra luxury hotels and resorts
- private residences
- estates and yachts
- premium airlines and private aviation
- luxury brands and retailers
- cruise lines and expedition operators
- safari and island lodges at the luxury tier
- luxury travel advisors and concierge companies
- the graduate's own luxury service venture
- and the graduate's own venture
- incubated through the Forward Venture Studio
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- This programme targets guest experience, butler, concierge and luxury brand roles in the Gulf, Europe, the Indian Ocean and Africa's luxury tier at premium compensation, and supports luxury service 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 Arts in Luxury Service and Guest Experience Design. 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 |
| BLSG 110 | Foundations of Luxury Hospitality and Service Culture Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 111 | Etiquette, Protocol and Cultural Intelligence Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 112 | Service Practicum I: The Craft of Personal Service Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BLSG 113 | Service Language I: French, Arabic or Mandarin Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BLSG 130 | Guest Psychology and Emotional Intelligence Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 131 | Luxury Brands, Economics and the Premium Promise Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 132 | Service Practicum II: Butler, Concierge and Villa Service Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BLSG 133 | Service Language II 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 |
| BLSG 210 | Experience Design and the Guest Journey Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 211 | Wine, Gastronomy and Lifestyle Curation Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 212 | Service Practicum III: Service Leadership and Audit Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BLSG 213 | Wellness, Spa and Retreat Experience Management Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| 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 |
| BLSG 230 | Guest Data, Discretion and Intelligent Personalisation Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 231 | Luxury Travel, Private Aviation and Yacht Service Performance | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 401 | /402 Capability Portfolio, Governance and Day One Block Both | 6 | 2-2-2 |
| BLSG 310 | Service Quality Systems and Training Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BLSG 311 | Luxury Specialisation Elective Performance | 4 | 2-2-4 |
| BLSG 312 | Luxury Capstone: Design and Deliver a Signature Experience Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BLSG 330 | Professional Practice and Luxury Service Leadership Performance | 8 | 2-2-8 |
Total credit units: 132
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 Forward University · School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism · Curriculum Volume 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 Arts in Luxury Service and Guest Experience Design
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
132
22 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)
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 3 of 4, Independent
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- 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 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity CriticalLevel 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 · Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity. 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 1Deliver personal service to seven star standard: anticipation, discretion, precision and recovery.
- PLO 2Design guest experiences and service journeys that create emotional value and brand loyalty.
- PLO 3Operate with cultural intelligence and etiquette across the cultures of the luxury guest.
- PLO 4Communicate in service ol of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and languages to the standard the luxury guest expects.
- PLO 5Manage the luxury brand promise, its standards and its economics.
- PLO 6Lead, train and audit service teams to a luxury standard.
- PLO 7Apply guest data and intelligent tools to personalisation within discretion and privacy.
- PLO 8Curate lifestyle, wellness, gastronomy and travel for the discerning guest.
- PLO 9Cost, pitch and defend a luxury service concept or venture.
- PLO 10Acquire and demonstrate a new capability without formal instruction, evidenced in the Capability Passport.
Why this programme exists
The most valuable hospitality on earth is defined not by marble but by service: the anticipation, discretion, cultural fluency and flawless execution that seven star properties, private residences, yachts, airlines and luxury brands sell at a premium and cannot find enough people to deliver. Luxury service is a craft with a body of knowledge, and it is taught almost nowhere in Africa despite the continent's expanding luxury travel market and the Gulf's appetite for its talent. This programme produces the luxury service professional and experience designer who can deliver and design service at that standard, speaks the languages of the luxury guest, and understands the brand economics behind it, with paid co-op in luxury properties and brands.
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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