Tourism and Events MSc

Fast-track your career in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry. Progress rapidly in tourism and events management. Qualify for senior roles with significant responsibility.

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Overview

An MSc is an internationally respected qualification. In one year you'll develop a strategic understanding of all aspects of tourism and events management.

This master's course brings together a social science approach to tourism and events with the development of job-related skills and employability. You’ll complete theoretical modules ‘Tourism Concepts and Issues’ and ‘Current Practices in the Visitor Economy’, and in the final phase of the course you’ll complete a major project personal to your interests and career aspirations.

Why us?

An experienced tourism officer or events manager can earn up to £40,000, or in excess of this at even more senior roles
Guest speakers from industry and renowned academics

Having an MSc can help you to progress in your career within tourism or events more quickly, equipping you with skills and knowledge valuable to a range of employers in the industry

Course structure

You'll be taught by passionate academics who produce world-leading research. A typical week will include lectures, seminars, study visits and group work. These are supported by a range of guest speakers from diverse academic and industry backgrounds.

Compared to an undergraduate course, you'll find that this master's course requires a higher level of independent working. Your progress will be assessed by essays, presentations, portfolios of evidence and a dissertation.

Course modules

Tourism Concepts and Issues (30 credits)

Discover more about the complex and exciting world of tourism. Explore tourism as a social and cultural practice, tourist subjectivities, and the spatial dimension of tourism. Consider perspectives from different disciplines while sitting firmly within the social sciences.

Current Practices in the Visitor Economy (30 credits)

Gain inside knowledge of the current trends in the tourism, hospitality, aviation, and events industries. Develop your understanding of current practices in the industry with the opportunity to undertake a residential field trip in the UK. Critically reflect on the relationship between theory and practice in relation to the visitor economy.

Research Methods for the Services Sector (30 credits)

Expand your knowledge of the key theories, methodologies and philosophies adopted in tourism, hospitality, aviation and events research. Develop your practical skills using quantitative data analysis software in workshops. Gain the critical foundations required to undertake your own independent research project.

Events Management Studies (30 credits)

Gain a blend of business management skills and insight into the social sciences of events. Expand your knowledge and understanding of the dynamic nature of events in the context of the tourism and hospitality industries. Unpack the distinctive qualities of event management as a contemporary issue, exploring from a social, cultural, economic, and political perspective a range of events in the tourism, leisure, recreation, hospitality, and creative industries.

Tourism and Events Major Project (60 credits)

Focus on an area of events management of your choice and design and implement a research proposal. Set aims and objectives, select and implement research methods, conduct a literature review, collect empirical data, and analyse appropriately. Receive expert supervision and training in research methods, research design, and the interpretation of data and its relation to contextual material.

Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

More about MSc Tourism and Events at Sunderland

Discover more articles

You can access free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus, so you can work from anywhere. If you don't want to carry a laptop around, just use one of the University’s PCs or Macs. We have hundreds of computers for you to use in the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre. If you ever have any technical problems, just ask the friendly helpdesk team.
IT provision
The St Peter’s Library contains over 31,000 books related to business, economics, management, human resources, marketing, strategy and tourism.

Added to this, you’ll benefit from a wide range of journals and periodicals in the St Peter’s Library, many of them in an online format. To help you make the most of the wealth of resources, there’s a full-time librarian who is dedicated to the Business and Tourism sections.

Further resources are available at the main Murray Library, which has a total of over 430,000 books with many more available through the inter-library loan service.
Library Services - business and tourism
Map and directions

Facilities

You’ll be based at The Reg Vardy Centre, on the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter’s. The Reg Vardy Centre is a modern building with views of the river, and just a short walk from both the coast and Sunderland town centre.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
a Canadian bachelor's degree	GPA 2.40
a USA bachelor's degree	GPA 2.5

If you already hold a postgraduate qualification, please see our Applying for additional postgraduate degrees Help and Advice article.

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

We usually require applicants to hold at least a 2:2 honours degree or equivalent.

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

If you feel you already know some of the topics covered in this course, either due to previous learning or from experience of work, then you may not need to study all of the course. Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) is the name given to the process of gaining credit towards a qualification because of something you have learnt in the past. If you're eligible for APL you won't have to learn the same topic again, so you can be exempt from a module, set of modules or year of a course. If you think you may be eligible for APL, please contact the course leader.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

2024/25 fees are:

£7,500 if you're from the UK
£10,500 if you’re an EU student (this fee is inclusive of an EU student scholarship)
£16,500 if you're an international student
£445 per 10 credits for part-time study

2025/26 fees are:

£8,500 if you're from the UK/Europe
£17,000 if you're an international student
£500 per 10 credits for part-time study

Please note that part-time courses are not available to international students who require a student visa to study in the UK.

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's by night

Career ready

An MSc is a challenging qualification which requires significant dedication. Employers recognise its worth, and the value that an MSc-qualified tourism and events leader can bring to their organisation. This master's course equips you with the skills and understanding to progress rapidly in tourism and events management. Potential employers include events management companies, conference and exhibition centres, events venues, hotel and resort management, attractions and museums, destination marketing agencies, and tourism companies.

Meet the students

I honestly feel like the University experience lifted my confidence and vision of where I could go.

Katy Wood

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Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism.

Page last updated: 03 December 2024

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.