DURHAM, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics has unveiled a new curriculum that lets undergraduates specialize in three areas: event management, lodging and resort management, and food and beverage management.

The new specializations will be offered starting in fall 2014. Each specialization has a dedicated faculty member with both industry and academic experience suited to mentor and guide students through their educational career.

"The premise for enriching our curriculum was to recognize that students entering college were searching for the ability to not only get a well-rounded education in hospitality management, but to concentrate their time and efforts in areas that have the greatest opportunity for leadership and advancement," said associate professor Nelson Barber who guided the curriculum changes. 

"The Hospitality Management program at UNH develops graduates to be executives 15 to 20 years from graduation. This is accomplished through rigorous course work that provides a strong foundation in operations management, plus the knowledge, skills, and strategic perspective in critical specialized areas, such as event management or lodging and resort management, allowing our graduates to take a leadership role and advance to the next level of their careers quickly," Barber said.

Two additional specializations are in development - marketing and sales management, and financial development and asset management. Paul College expects to launch these specializations for fall 2015.

"We are all excited about these new curricular changes which enhance the rigor and offer students opportunities which our industry partners have voiced as critical to the success of our graduates," Barber said.

The UNH Department of Hospitality Management was recently ranked in the Top 25 among hospitality management programs in the United States, is the second-oldest hospitality management program in the country (founded in 1926), is accredited by both the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Accreditation Commission for Programs In Hospitality Administration (ACPHA), and is one of only a few hospitality programs in the country to reside in an AACSB accredited business school.

The UNH Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics offers a full complement of high-quality programs in business, economics, accounting, finance, information systems management, marketing, and hospitality management. Programs are offered at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive development levels. The college is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting agency for business schools worldwide.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

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