Industry Experience Requirement
The career development office offers planning and placement assistance to help hospitality management students meet the minimum requirement of practical industry experience for graduation.
To ensure that an experience is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship, all of the following criteria must be met:
- The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
- The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
- The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
- There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
- There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
- There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
- There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
Undergraduate Students
Students must complete 500 hours of industry related work. An additional 300 hours and 10 weeks minimum are required to fulfill the HFT 4945 – Advanced Internship course. A maximum of 500 hours of prior work experience can be applied to this requirement. The remaining amount must be completed while enrolled in the program.
Graduate Students
Students must complete 500 hours of hospitality related practical training work experience plus 300 hours for the Graduate Internship. A minimum of 800 hours must be completed while enrolled in the graduate program at FIU. Students with prior experience may request a waiver for all or part of this requirement. See an advisor for more information.
