School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management

Judith C. Forney, Dean

Graduate Faculty: Brandon, Clay, Connors, Crutsinger, Dopson, Forney, Getty, Jackson, Josiam, Kennon, Kim, Kinley, Knight, LaBrecque, Reynolds, Sullivan, Tas.

The School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management offers graduate programs leading to the following degrees:

• Master of Science with a major in hospitality management, and
• Master of Science with a major in industrial-technical merchandising and fabric analytics (merchandising).

The School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management, in collaboration with the College of Business Administration, offers the following dual degrees:

• Master of Business Administration/Master of Science with a major in hospitality management, and
• Master of Business Administration/Master of Science with a major in industrial-technical merchandising and fabric analytics (merchandising).

The programs of study for the Master of Science degrees in industrial-technical merchandising and fabric analytics (merchandising), and hospitality management are offered as resident programs as well as a totally web-based program.

These graduate programs are designed to meet personnel needs in product merchandising and hospitality management. These two fields of study represent high growth global industries with increasing demands for highly skilled leaders who can solve complex problems, create new opportunities in very competitive markets, and have a holistic understanding of the many components that support a successful business venture. Teaching and research focus on the broad concepts of products, service, resource management, information-exchange technology and total experience management in consumer-driven global markets. Close proximity to apparel and home furnishings market complex, major retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, major hotels, restaurants, and food service businesses provides excellent affiliations and internship opportunities.

The mission of the division of the hospitality management is to educate students for managerial positions in the hospitality industry and to contribute to the profession through research, publication, consultation and related service activities.

The mission of the division of merchandising is to integrate educational experiences and research that contribute to critical analyses of merchandising strategies as they relate to the development, distribution, evaluation and use of products that are fashion-oriented and undergo continuous change in the consumer-driven global market.

The degree plan is developed in consultation with the student's major professor to meet the specific student needs and career objectives.

Research

Research in the hospitality management division includes hotel, restaurant, and bed and breakfast operations, legal and regulatory aspects, cost containment, and consumer issues impacting the hospitality industry. Other research interests include quality issues, managerial competencies, food safety, and nutrition and dining habits of consumers.

Research in the merchandising division focuses on consumer-driven markets and market segmentation for fashion-oriented products. Specific emphases are on merchandising in domestic and global markets and to specific demographic segments. Additional research focuses on merchandising technology, fashion cross-over between apparel and home furnishings, task-oriented environments in the home

and office, customer service, service quality, recycling, non-store retailing, e-commerce, product criteria, experiential retailing and tourism shopping.

Scholarships

Information about the following scholarships may be obtained by writing to the associate dean of the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. Completed School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management scholarship applications are due February 1 in the office of the Dean of the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for scholarship application, unless otherwise noted.

To keep a scholarship, the student must maintain:

• 3.0 GPA each semester and 3.0 overall GPA;
• status as major in the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management, taking required courses on degree plan and enrolling in at least one SMHM class per semester; and
• full-time status (i.e., 9 credit hours for graduate students).

The following scholarships may be awarded to either merchandising or hospitality management majors:

• John W. and Fannie L. Woodruff
• Dean Suzanne V. LaBrecque
• R. L. Cartwright Memorial

The following scholarships are awarded to merchandising majors:

• Merchandising Board of Governors Endowed Scholarship
• Murray Munves Scholarship for Fashion
• Merchandising
• Bettye Bunge
• Van Wyk

The following scholarships are awarded to hospitality management majors:

• Alladin Hussein Endowed Memorial Scholarship
• Banfi Vinters Scholarship
• Billie L. Parker Scholarship
• Chancellor's HRM Scholarship
• City Club of Fort Worth Work/Study Scholarship
• Colin Ridgeway Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund
• Don Paul and Esther Smith Scholarship
• Friday's Hospitality Worldwide Inc. Endowed Scholarship
• Hiram Walker Hospitality Scholarship
• Hospitality Management Board of Governors Scholarship
• Jerry W. Dickenson Scholarship in Hotel and Restaurant Management
• J. T. Whitaker Endowed Scholarship
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Scholarship and Work-Study Program
• Lucille Murchison Scholarship
• Marriott Scholarship
• National Association of College and University Food Services Scholarship
• Network of Executive Women in Hospitality Scholarship
• PFS Scholarship
• Roundtable for Women in Food Service Endowed Scholarship
• Ruby Nell McMahan Ruth Scholarship in Hotel and Restaurant
• Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Scholarship
• Worthington Hotel Endowed Scholarship

Assistantships

A limited number of graduate teaching and research assistantships are available in the school. Contact the Office of the Dean for information.

Degree Programs

Master of Science with a Major in Hospitality Management

Admission Requirements

The student must meet the requirements for admission to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Included in these requirements are:

• a bachelor's degree from an accredited university;
• an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of course work or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work;
• acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the GMAT (Contact the department or the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies for information concerning acceptable admission test scores.);
• a demonstrated proficiency in oral and written English; and
• a minimum of 24 semester hours of undergraduate work in hospitality management or the equivalent; 12 of the 24 hours must be advanced. Students who do not meet the requirements must complete specified prerequisite courses in hospitality management before beginning the graduate program. No single prerequisite course may have a grade lower than B, and the overall GPA for prerequisite courses must be 3.0 (B) or higher.

Degree Requirements

The student must earn a minimum of 36 semester hours, including SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management, distributed as follows:

Courses in Major (Select 24 Hours from the following)

• SMHM 5250, Restaurant Development
• SMHM 5280, Hotel and Restaurant Operations: Theory and Analysis
• SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management (required)
• SMHM 5350, Issues and Trends in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5400, Research Applications in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5440, Consumer Theory
• SMHM 5460, Human Relations
• SMHM 5550, Promotional Strategies
• SMHM 5600, Concept Merchandising
• SMHM 5700, Service Excellence
• SMHM 5790, Field Experience
• SMHM 5800, Seminar in Hospitality Management (may be repeated for credit as topics vary)
• SMHM 5900-5910, Special Problems in Hospitality Management

Minor (6-12 Hours)

The minor must include a statistics course: SMHM 5400, Research Applications, or EDER 5210, Educational Statistics, is recommended.

The thesis option requires 6 hours in a minor area. The non-thesis option requires one minor of

12 hours, or 6 hours in each of two minors. A minimum of 6 hours must be from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management.

Recommended minors are marketing, recreation, business law, education, business computer information systems and computer education and cognitive systems.

Thesis Option or Non-Thesis Option

The student will select one of the following options.

• Thesis Option: This option requires a minimum of 36 semester hours with 24 hours in the student's major area, 6 hours of SMHM 5950, Master's Thesis, and a minor that includes statistics. The student must have a minimum of 6 hours from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. The student must complete and defend the thesis successfully and submit it for approval.
• Non-Thesis Option: This option requires a minimum of 36 semester hours with 24 hours in the student's major area, plus a minor. A minimum of 6 hours must be from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. The student must pass a written comprehensive exam upon successful completion of all course work.

Master of Science with a Major in Industrial-Technical Merchandising and Fabric Analytics (Merchandising)

Admission Requirements

The student must meet the requirements for admission to the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies. Included in these requirements are:

• a bachelor's degree from an accredited university;
• an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of course work or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work;
• acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the GMAT (Contact the department or the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies for information concerning acceptable admission test scores.);
• a demonstrated proficiency in oral and written English; and
• a minimum of 24 semester hours of undergraduate work in merchandising, or the equivalent; 12 of the 24 hours must be advanced. Students who do not meet the requirements must complete specified prerequisite courses in merchandising before beginning the graduate program. No single prerequisite course may have a grade lower than B, and the overall GPA for prerequisite courses must be 3.0 (B) or higher.

Degree Requirements

The student must earn a minimum of 36 semester hours, including SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management, distributed as follows:

Courses in Major (Select 24 Hours from the following)

• SMHM 5000, Merchandising Study Tour
• SMHM 5080, Merchandising Ventures
• SMHM 5090, Virtual Merchandising
• SMHM 5240, Merchandising Practices
• SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management (required)
• SMHM 5350, Issues and Trends in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5400, Research Applications in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5440, Consumer Theory
• SMHM 5460, Human Relations in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5500, Merchandising Strategies
• SMHM 5550, Promotional Strategies
• SMHM 5600, Concept Merchandising
• SMHM 5650, Global Merchandising
• SMHM 5660, Advanced Merchandising Applications
• SMHM 5700, Service Excellence
• SMHM 5750, Electronic Merchandising
• SMHM 5790, Field Experience
• SMHM 5800, Seminar in Merchandising (may be repeated for credit as topics vary)
• SMHM 5850, Private Label Merchandising
• SMHM 5900-5910, Special Problems in Merchandising

Minor (6-12 Hours)

The minor must include a statistics course: SMHM 5400, Research Applications, or EDER 5210, Educational Statistics, is recommended.

The thesis option requires 6 hours in a minor area. The non-thesis option requires one minor of

12 hours, or 6 hours in each of two minors. A minimum of 6 hours must be from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management.

Recommended minors are marketing, education, cognitive systems and business computer information systems.

Thesis Option or Non-Thesis Option

The student will select one of the following options.

• Thesis Option: This option requires a minimum of 36 hours with 24 hours in the student's major and 6 hours of SMHM 5950, Master's Thesis, and a minor that includes statistics. The student must have a minimum of 6 hours from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. The student must complete and defend the thesis successfully and submit it for approval.
• Non-Thesis Option: This option requires a minimum of 36 semester hours with 24 hours in the student's major area, plus a minor. A minimum of 6 hours must be from a department outside the School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management. The student must pass a written comprehensive exam upon successful completion of all course work.

MBA/MS in Hospitality Management and

MBA/MS in Industrial­Technical Merchandising and Fabric Analytics (Merchandising)

The MBA/MS with a major in Hospitality Management and the MBA/MS with a major in Industrial-Technical Merchandising and Fabric Analytics (Merchandising) each require a total of 54 hours for the dual degree. Hospitality management and merchandising courses are offered as residency classes in the evening or in web-based format. MBA courses are offered on weekends and/or evenings. With approval, 12 hours of graduate work may be transferred from another university.

Admission Requirements

• a bachelor's degree from an accredited university;
• an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of course work or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work;
• an acceptable GRE score or 450 on GMAT with at least a score in the 25th percentile on verbal and quantitative (refer to MBA background requirements); GRE or GMAT score must be less than 10 years old;
• a score of at least 550 on TOEFL or a graduate of the Intensive English Language Institute at UNT or a college/university in the U.S. for applicants whose native language is not English;
• 24-25 hours of prerequisite work are required (12 hours must be advanced):
• 13 semester hours in hospitality management for the MS in hospitality management;
• 12 semester hours in merchandising or a closely related area for the MS in merchandising;
• 12 hours in business for the MBA (background requirements for the MBA program are outlined in the College of Business Administration section in this catalog).

MS Hospitality Management Prerequisites (13 hours)

• SMHM 1420, Food Sanitation (1 hour)
• SMHM 1470, Principles of Food Preparation (3 hours)
• SMHM 2550, Dining Room Service and Management (3 hours)
• SMHM 3700, Hotel Operations (3 hours)
• SMHM 4210, Hospitality Cost Controls (3 hours)

MS Merchandising Prerequisites (12 hours)

• SMHM 2490, Introduction to Fashion Merchandising (3 hours) or SMHM 2400, Home Furnishings I (3 hours)
• SMHM 4010, Global Textile and Apparel Industries (3 hours) or SMHM 3380, Home Furnishings Industry (3 hours)
• SMHM 3370, Dress and Human Behavior (3 hours) or SMHM 3750, Consumer Studies
• in Apparel and Home Furnishings (3 hours) or SMHM 2750, Consumers in a Global Market (3 hours)
• SMHM 4450, Promotion of Apparel and Home Furnishings (3 hours)

Program Requirements

MBA Required Core (18 hours)

• ACCT 5130, Accounting for Management
• MGMT 5140, Organizational Behavior and Analysis
• MKTG 5150, Marketing Management
• FINA 5170, Financial Management
• MSCI 5180, Introduction to Decision Making
• BUSI 5190, Administrative Strategy

Specialization in Business (Select one area for 12 hours)

Refer to MBA program for specific requirements for:

• Accounting
• Administrative Management
• Finance
• Human Resource Management
• Insurance
• Marketing
• Production and Operation Management

MS Hospitality Management (Select 24 hours)

• SMHM 5250, Restaurant Development
• SMHM 5280, Hotel and Restaurant Operations: Theory and Analysis
• SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management (required)
• SMHM 5350, Issues and Trends in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5400, Research Applications in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5440, Consumer Theory
• SMHM 5460, Human Relations in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5550, Promotional Strategies
• SMHM 5600, Concept Merchandising
• SMHM 5700, Service Excellence
• SMHM 5790, Field Experience
• SMHM 5800, Seminar in Hospitality Management (may be repeated for credit as topics vary)
• SMHM 5950, Master's Thesis

MS Industrial-Technical Merchandising and Fabric Analytics (Merchandising) (Select 24 hours)

• SMHM 5000, Merchandising Study Tour
• SMHM 5080, Merchandising Ventures
• SMHM 5090, Virtual Merchandising
• SMHM 5240, Merchandising Practices
• SMHM 5300, Research Methods in Merchandising and Hospitality Management (required)
• SMHM 5350, Issues and Trends in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5400, Research Applications in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5440, Consumer Theory
• SMHM 5460, Human Relations in Merchandising and Hospitality Management
• SMHM 5500, Merchandising Strategies
• SMHM 5550, Promotional Strategies
• SMHM 5600, Concept Merchandising
• SMHM 5650, Global Merchandising
• SMHM 5660, Advanced Merchandising Applications
• SMHM 5700, Service Excellence
• SMHM 5750, Electronic Merchandising
• SMHM 5790, Field Experience
• SMHM 5800, Seminar in Merchandising (may be repeated for credit as topics vary)
• SMHM 5850, Private Label Merchandising
• SMHM 5950, Master's Thesis

Graduate Academic Certificates

The School of Merchandising and Hospitality Management offers a graduate academic certificate in hospitality management and a graduate academic certificate in merchandising. The purpose of these 12-hour graduate certificates is to offer professionals in hospitality, merchandising and retail industries the opportunity to build skills and knowledge in critical analysis and subject content. Admission criteria are the same as for non-degree and certification-only students. Upon advisement of the SMHM graduate adviser and the chair of the respective program (hospitality management or merchandising), the student will complete 12 hours of content-based courses in the area of specialization. All 12 hours must be completed through UNT and with SMHM courses. The courses may be completed in residence, on-line or a combination of both.

Certificate students who choose to continue in a degree program are required to meet all the requirements, including GPA, GRE or GMAT, and prerequisites, of students seeking a degree in the school. Satisfactory work (minimum of a B grade) on graduate courses for the certificate may be applied to a 36-hour master of science degree program upon advisement of the graduate adviser, division chair, and the student's major professor, who will be selected when proceeding for a degree.

Courses of Instruction

Course and Subject Guide

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