International Tourism Management with Foundation Year (Hons) University of Derby

Overview

Including a foundation year as part of your four-year study programme will give you a head start in your academic and professional life. The foundation year offers the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence – with extensive support from our expert staff – before you advance to stage one of your honours degree. 

It could also be beneficial if you are planning a career change and want to get to grips with aspects of subjects which are new to you.

The highlights

• There are plenty of opportunities to travel: you can study abroad for a semester in stage two, go on various overseas fieldtrips, and take a placement year before stage three, which could be based overseas or in the UK
• You'll learn how tourism, events and hospitality overlap to make up the wider 'visitor economy', and work closely with Events and Hospitality students - this will broaden your career options
• This International Tourism Management with Foundation Year (Hons) program at University of Derby is part of our Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism, which has been awarded the prestigious International Centre of Excellence (ICE) in Tourism and Hospitality accreditation

• All modules align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, so you will learn to think about the social and environmental impacts of tourism and balance this against the economic benefits it brings.

Key areas of learning

On this degree, you'll cover the full range of modern-day tourism management and business management skills. You'll learn to problem-solve and adapt to changing external environments, create successful experiences while considering sustainability, and plan, manage and evaluate projects. 

You'll cover interesting or emerging topics such as sustainable tourism, e-tourism and the role of technology, and niche tourism such as food, nature-based or adventure tourism. You'll be taught how to research, analyse and present data, as well as how to launch a new business, manage finances and lead teams. You'll graduate with a diverse skillset, a 'can-do' attitude and the knowledge and confidence to go out and make your mark in the tourism industry. 

Careers

You'll graduate from this degree as a confident and creative international tourism specialist with strong business acumen. If you want to launch your own business or work for a start-up, you'll have the enterprising attitude and attributes that are needed, including resilience, self-awareness and independent thinking.

Or if you prefer to work for an employer, you'll be well-suited to a range of roles in the tourism, event or hospitality sectors, as well as allied industries such as marketing, PR or HR. You could initially apply for roles such as Tourism Officer, Travel Consultant, Business Development Manager and Marketing Executive, but several years down the line, we think you'll be leading, inspiring and shaping the future of the visitor economy.