International Programs

This is a four-week summer program in Europe, usually offered from mid-May to mid-June. Students will take two courses (International Cuisine and International Hospitality Management) earning six HM elective credits. Courses are taught in English by faculty from Penn State. In the current program, course time is spent in Florence (Italy) and Maastricht (The Netherlands).  Students apply for this program at the Global Programs website. 

The program begins in Amsterdam and Maastricht with seven days of instruction on International Hospitality Management.  Students then travel to Paris for three days and travel by air to Florence, Italy.  In Florence, there are eight days of instruction on International Foodservice Management. The final three days of the program are in Rome, Italy with departure from Rome to the U.S. The HM lead faculty contact for this program is Kim Cooper.

HM 299 (International Hospitality Management) is a one-credit offering for travel during spring break. Students must sign up for this course in 201 Mateer during the Fall semester. The deadline date for signing up for the course is December 5, 2025. An initial $500.00 deposit is required and non-refundable by December 10th, 2025, to Lori Pifer. Students are registered in the class once the deposit is received.

A full pre-payment of the course “program fee” is usually collected in the first week of the spring semester. The program fee may range from $2,400-$2,600, depending on the number of students on each trip. For questions on course sign-up, selection and deposits, contact Mitchell Lawson.

SHM has established a direct enrollment program with Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia (www.bond.edu.au). Bond University is one of the leading business and hospitality management schools in Australia. Their academic calendar is similar to Penn State. All instruction is in English and students take four 4-credit courses that will transfer into the hospitality curriculum at Penn State.

SHM has established a direct enrollment program with the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Dubrovnik, Croatia campus.  RIT-Croatia offers hospitality management courses that can substitute for SHM core courses, HM electives and Penn State general education requirements.  Their academic calendar is similar to Penn State. All instruction is in English and students generally take five 3-credit courses.

SHM has established an exchange program with Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, China.  HKPU offers hospitality management courses that can substitute for SHM core courses, HM electives and Penn State general education requirements.  Their academic calendar is similar to Penn State. All instruction is in English and students generally take five 3-credit courses. 

SHM has established a direct enrollment program with Florence University of the Arts (FUA) which includes the Apicius International School of Hospitality (www.fua.it). FUA offers a wide selection of courses. Students must take courses from the hospitality management curriculum at Apicius and are allowed to take one course (general education) at FUA. Their academic calendar is similar to Penn State. All instruction is in English and students take five 3-credit courses that will transfer into the hospitality curriculum at Penn State.