At the master's level, hospitality management splits into a genuine fork: a career-focused hotel/luxury-operations management track versus a broader tourism, events, and destination management track. The two share a subject-ranking table but lead to fairly different careers, so picking the right specialization matters at least as much as picking the right university. Switzerland's specialist hospitality schools remain dominant here too, with Cornell standing out as the best-known US exception to that pattern. This guide covers both tracks and how to choose between them.
Top Universities for Hospitality Management, Master's Level (QS World University Rankings by Subject — Hospitality & Leisure Management)
A note before the table: exact rank order shifts year to year, and master's-level strength doesn't always track a school's undergraduate reputation exactly — some programmes are considerably stronger at one level than the other. The names below appear consistently at or near the top; treat this as "the group of schools that matter" rather than a fixed order, and check the current-year QS Rankings by Subject before finalizing a list.
| University | Country | Notable For |
|---|---|---|
| EHL Hospitality Business School | Switzerland | Deep alumni network across global hotel groups; strong hospitality-finance and consulting tracks |
| The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | Hong Kong | Research-strong; frequently ranks at or near the very top globally |
| Cornell University (Nolan School of Hotel Administration) | USA | The best-known US exception to Swiss dominance; strong real-estate/investment hospitality track |
| Glion Institute of Higher Education | Switzerland | Strong luxury-brand management specialization |
| Les Roches Global Hospitality Education | Switzerland | Strong operations and general management specialization |
| University of Surrey | UK | Well-regarded research-oriented hospitality/tourism master's |
| Griffith University | Australia | Leading Asia-Pacific tourism and events management master's |
| Breda University of Applied Sciences | Netherlands | Strong applied tourism and events management track |
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas | USA | Strong resort/casino operations-focused master's |
How to Choose: Criteria That Matter More Than Overall Rank
1. Hotel Management vs. Tourism/Events Management — Pick the Track First
This is the single most important decision at the master's level, more so than at bachelor's, because master's programmes are usually explicitly career-track:
| Track | What It Trains You For | Programmes Worth Prioritizing |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel/luxury operations & management | Hotel general management, luxury brand management, hospitality finance and investment | EHL, Glion, Les Roches, Cornell |
| Tourism, destination & events management | Destination marketing, large-scale event management, tourism policy and development | Griffith, Breda, Surrey |
A master's in the wrong track for your career goal — for example, a tourism-policy-heavy programme when you actually want hotel general management — is a common and avoidable mismatch. Read each programme's actual module list, not just the school's overall reputation, before applying.
2. Cornell: The Well-Known Exception to Switzerland's Dominance
Nearly every other name in this field's top tier is either Swiss or a specialist hospitality school elsewhere; Cornell's Nolan School stands out as a rare case of a major US research university with a hospitality programme that genuinely competes with the Swiss specialists at the graduate level, particularly for hospitality real estate, finance, and investment specializations that the Swiss schools cover less deeply. If your goal leans toward the finance/investment side of hospitality rather than pure operations, Cornell is worth weighing seriously alongside EHL and Glion.
3. Prior Work Experience Requirements
Several master's-level hospitality programmes — particularly the more management-focused ones — expect some prior hospitality or general work experience, similar to (though usually less strict than) MBA admissions norms. Check each programme's stated expectations before assuming a straight-from-undergrad application is competitive.
Programme Length, Cost, and Other Practically Relevant Differentiators
| Feature | Swiss Specialist Schools (EHL, Glion, Les Roches) | University-Based Programmes (Cornell, Surrey, Griffith, Breda) |
|---|---|---|
| Typical length | 1–1.5 years, often including a work placement component | 1–2 years, varies by country and programme structure |
| Annual tuition | Among the highest of any master's field globally; commonly tens of thousands of CHF/year | Varies considerably by country; Cornell in particular carries US private-university tuition levels |
| Internship/placement | Frequently built directly into the programme timeline | Varies; some programmes are coursework-only, others include a placement or capstone project |
Confirm current tuition and placement structure directly with each school, as both are revised regularly.
Selectivity
| University Type | Approximate Selectivity Context |
|---|---|
| Cornell (Nolan School) | Follows Cornell's broader graduate admissions competitiveness; among the more selective options on this list |
| Swiss specialist schools (EHL, Glion, Les Roches) | Admission weighs relevant experience and interview fit alongside academics; generally more accessible than elite research-university programmes |
| Surrey, Griffith, Breda, Hong Kong PolyU | Moderately to highly selective depending on cohort size and specialization track |
These are approximate, general characterizations rather than precise figures — confirm current admissions data directly with each school.
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