Individual study contents
The aim of the programme is to acquire knowledge of tourism management with a focus on sustainability. The contents are relevant for the company, association and destination level.
The programme consists of four semesters. In the first semester, the topics of sustainability, marketing and destination management are learned or deepened.
In the second semester you choose a specialisation, and in the third semester you complete a practical project or a semester abroad. The programme ends with the Master's thesis in the fourth semester.
In addition to the full-time form of study, the programme is also offered individually as a part-time programme.
Modules per semester
In the first semester, you will learn about economic, ecological and social sustainability topics as well as marketing and management content. You will practise scientific work (methods of empirical social research) and you will be coached to achieve your personal learning goals (self-management).
In this module, we teach the economics of the tourism industry, introduce you to digital business models, the internet and platform economy, and the impact of digital transformation. We look at and discuss critical economic approaches as well as ethical aspects of digitalisation, economics and the tourism industry.
Basic principles of sustainable development and the application to tourism, the development and forms of sustainable tourism, basics of ecological sustainability, environmental impacts, social impacts of tourism as well as consumption patterns and the sustainability affinity of those in demand are topics of this module.
The module teaches marketing basics and specifics of tourism marketing. You will learn marketing conception, planning, positioning, communication and distribution as a strategic approach to marketing. The course addresses sustainable business management in the field of marketing from a scientific and practical perspective.
The module offers definitions of destination, destination management organisation (DMO), levels of spatial planning in Germany, EIA and impact regulation, tourism planning as a task of destination management, development of tourism concepts. You will gain knowledge on sustainability in destination development and sustainable mobility.
On the one hand, the seminar on self-management supports you as a student in getting on the track of your personal vision and your own goals. On the other hand, "stumbling blocks" in dealing with time are identified, reflected upon and proven methods for improving time and stress management are presented.
In the second semester, you can specialise in a specialisation in addition to two compulsory modules. For this purpose, three modules of one direction must be chosen. However, we also offer you the option of replacing a compulsory elective module with a module from the respective other specialisation, other degree programmes or even other universities.
In the module you apply knowledge in a defined project with a partner. As a student, you will be guided in a design thinking part (50% of the module) to work on the partner's question. Finally, you will present your results to the partners in the form of a poster presentation.
The students take part in a business game in destination management, practise applied tourism planning and do a case study exercise. The topics of sustainability in destination management and segment-specific tourism management are deepened with planning and offer development for hiking, cycling, water and equestrian tourism.
Compulsory elective module 1:SMART Tourism: Research & Application Trends
This module enables you to engage with cutting-edge peer-reviewed journal papers and the current state of research in the field of information and communication technology in tourism. You will be able to deepen your academic understanding of the tourism industry and the impact of information and communication technologies.
Compulsory elective module 2: Social Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Fair Finance in Tourism
You will develop a business concept or your possible entry path into the labour market of social enterprises. In the course, teams are formed for the business concept with the aim of producing a presentation as a pitch. The critical examination of the choice of social problem and the plan for implementation will be assessed.
Compulsory elective module 3:Business Intelligence and Data Mining in Tourism
This module offers you a practice-oriented introduction to data mining and big data. It teaches you the basics and techniques of data analysis. You will gain practical experience in applying the techniques covered using the data mining tool RapidMiner. In the lecture, the acquired knowledge is applied to real data.
Compulsory elective module 1: Tourism in Developing Countries
You will learn about concepts of "development", special economic, social and ecological challenges of developing and transition countries, the basics of development cooperation including the principles and implementation of sustainable forms of tourism in developing countries (ecotourism, pro-poor tourism, community-based tourism).
Compulsory elective module 2: Nature-based Tourism & Protected Area Management
You will get an introduction to nature conservation, conservation strategies, protected area types, protected area management, visitor management and infrastructure, nature and ecotourism offers, the economic importance of tourism for protected areas, UNESCO World Heritage sites, geo/star parks and tourism as well as national and international case studies.
Elective module 3: Environmental Management, Reporting & Certification
You will learn about environmental management as part of corporate social responsibility, environmental management systems at company level, accounting and reporting systems. You will use the approaches for the corporate management of tour operators, travel agencies and the hospitality industry as well as specific certification systems for sustainable tourism.
In the third semester our students can choose between three options: the transfer project, the project internship or a semester abroad. Within the third and fourth semester, you will earn a total of eight ECTS points in "Special Elective Modules".
You will be prepared for the management of your project in a joint project seminar . This is followed by several individual meetings to discuss the project with the lecturer in charge of the project.
In a transfer project , students work on a project for a practice partner in a group. In doing so, they transfer knowledge from the university into practice. Transfer projects mainly take place in Brandenburg and Berlin, but can also be carried out in other regions of Germany or abroad.
You complete your project internship individually. You will also work on a project for a practice partner. Practical partners for project internships and transfer projects can be, for example, tourism companies, associations or regions. They often emerge from the diverse networks of the lecturers.
As an alternative to the project internship or the transfer project, you can also do a Semester abroad at a partner university in a comparable degree programme. For example, we have cooperation agreements with the University of Cagliari (UNICA) and the University of Sassari in Sardinia as well as the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
You can select special elective modules from our degree programme as well as from certain other HNEE degree programmes or even from our international partner universities. This includes, for example, "Regional Public Relations and Regional Marketing" from the HNEE degree programme Sustainable Regional Development - but also many others!
The fourth semester is almost exclusively reserved for writing the Master's thesis. In addition, you can take outstanding compulsory elective modules, which must result in a total of eight ECTS within the third and fourth semester. This includes, for example, the subject excursion, which offers you not only subject-specific input but also a wonderful group experience.
The colloquium deals intensively with the research process and the creation of a scientific thesis at Master's level. The preparation of your independent research as well as the corresponding report takes place in the form of a master's thesis. Finally, you will defend your master's thesis in an oral presentation.
In the fourth semester, we also offer you a subject excursion to a European country as a special elective module. During the excursion, topics from the compulsory modules of the first and second semesters are taken up and illustrated with examples in the target country. In the past, these included England, Spain, Estonia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.
