An Article by Basecamp
Meet Colorado State University’s Master of Tourism Management degree, a virtual or in-person program, that leads to outdoor recreation and tourism jobs in marketing, operations, event planning, or owning your own outdoor industry business. This first-of-its kind, industry-driven curriculum took Mike Schmidt (MTM ’16) from seasonal worker to Marketing Manager at Vail Resorts.
What attracted you to the Master of Tourism Management program at Colorado State University? The program’s focus on tourism through the lens of sustainability and outdoor recreation. What really sealed it, though, was the length of the program (nine months) and the flexibility to add online classes to pursue a certificate in addition to the degree.
What was your path like? I had been doing seasonal work in outdoor tourism for the past few years and the program helped me learn enough to start getting more serious jobs. I got a job with a hotel that we had visited during the program, which trained and promoted me and got me on my current track.
What are the perks of having a Master of Tourism Management degree? Main perk: I can go into any meeting with folks in the tourism industry and have a baseline of knowledge about what their organization, department, or team is doing — even without any hands-on work experience of my own. The program’s balance of having the students act as entrepreneurs — creating and running our own business — with learning how to run each department of existing businesses has helped me understand the challenges and opportunities that each person faces in their role.
What did you learn about sustainability? I learned how to tell when an organization was green washing and when one was actually dedicated to sustainability. This has helped me choose which organizations I work for and those I work with and has provided me with valuable information to propose sustainable practices of my own.
And how about marketing strategy? We had a number of projects focused on creating, presenting, and critiquing marketing campaigns. I learned how to design campaigns around certain products, destinations, target audiences, and promotions, and how to build a deck to present my ideas in a professional setting.
And the real perk? It gave me the opportunity to live in Fort Collins and talk about outdoor recreation and sustainability for a year!
Colorado State University’s Master of Tourism Management on-campus program can be completed in nine months, while the online program can be completed on a flexible, customized timeline. Applications due by July 15, 2023, for fall. No GRE required.