College of Hospitality & Tourism Management Ranked Top 20 Programs Across US! Read more... Breaking story: NU Receives $600,000 Grant from OISHEI Foundation Student wins $5000 scholarship College Receives Award from Empire State Society of Association Executives $220,000 in student scholarships from Statler

Niagara University’s Board of Trustees on February 8, 2001 established a new college: the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, formerly known as the Institute of Travel, Hotel and Restaurant Administration and prior to that as the Institute of Transportation, Travel and Tourism.  This makes Niagara’s program only the fourth college of hospitality and tourism in the country, further positioning the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management as a leading national and international program.

The College of Hospitality and Tourism Management (CHTM) offered the world’s first bachelor’s degree in tourism; was the 7^th program accredited in the country; is a national leader in international programs with it's Lake Como Program in which niagara students work in Luxury hotels in Lake Como, Italy and students from Como study at Niagara University. Our College is ranked in the top 20 programs in the country – the smallest university on that list.  The average class size is 20 students.   

The College has many other distinctions, qualifying it as a leading national and international program in hospitality and tourism.  The College of Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of the founding schools of The Leading Hotel Schools of the World, an association of leading hospitality programs worldwide that work with the 440, five-star Leading Hotels of the World.  There are only three founding schools from the Americas, three from Europe, and three from Asia.

The College was awarded the Institutional Achievement Award in October 2002 by the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE).  This recognition is awarded only every two years. 

Private foundations have invested in our vision to make the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management into a leading national and international program.  The Statler Foundation awarded our program a grant of $1.525m in October 1999 to provide world class facilities for our College.  This funding, along with a capital campaign, has provided the College with a five-star quality conference and dining facility and a teaching kitchen.  In addition, a video-conferencing room was funded by the Statler Foundation as part of this grant and our computer lab was funded from previous Statler grants. 

One year later, the John R. Oishei Foundation provided the College with a $1.5m grant to expand its curricular offerings and to provide its students with superior practical learning experiences.   This has resulted in explosive development of our foodservice program, creation of our recreation and sports management program, and the development of an entrepreneurship program.  

An emphasis of our curriculum, further developed through the Oishei Grant, is practical learning experiences as we work closely with industry leaders to ensure that we are educating students to meet the needs of industry.  Our College hosts over 20 leading national and international leaders each year, covering the breadth of the hospitality and tourism industry.  We host an annual convocation that honors national and international industry leaders, bringing together a group of industry leaders that are only found at the elite industry meetings.

For 20 years our students have attended the International Hotel/ Motel and Restaurant Show in New York City.  As part of this show the students tour the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and we host a reception for them at the Waldorf with industry leaders and alumni; the students also tour the exclusive University Club in New York City and are hosted to a reception sponsored by an alumnus; they also attend functions sponsored by major hotel companies and tour other properties.  Our students attend the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago; the New York State Governor’s Conference on Tourism; shadow at the five-star Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto; tour country clubs; tour sports facilities in Toronto and Cleveland; and more.

All students must complete 800 hours of approved industry experience to graduate.  Our placement rate is 100% with 90% of our students working in the major.  Major companies recruit on campus.  The placement outlook is outstanding for this is the largest industry in the world and the first, second or third largest employer in 30 states.  Government employment projections predict that over the next ten years that management positions in lodging, foodservice, tourism, and recreation & sports will grow by twice the overall rate of employment growth in the economy.  Our unique recreation and sports management program gives students a competitive edge as many of the jobs in recreation are found in the hospitality and tourism industry.  Assisting in the marketability of our students is the Hospitality and Tourism Alumni Association that sponsors a mentoring program, "spend a day with an alumnus” program, career panels, and brings job and internship opportunities to our students.