Hospitality Professional Experience Requirement

Hours Requirements

The School of Hospitality Management requires that each student completes and documents a minimum of 1,000 hours of appropriate hospitality professional experience. To maximize the quality of your professional experience, the following guidelines apply:

• Students must work in at least two different jobs or internships. Students are not required to change companies, but they must have two different jobs or internships should they remain with the same company.
• Single experiences must total at least 40 hours and at maximum 600 hours.
• International experiences cannot total more than 600 hours.

Completion and Documentation Deadlines

Completing and documenting the 1,000 hours of hospitality professional experience is a prerequisite for taking HM 492: Advanced Professional Seminar in Hospitality Management during students’ final semester in the School of Hospitality Management.

For each job or internship that a student seeks to qualify, two sources of documentation are required:

1. The employer needs to complete and sign the Employer Professional Experience Verification Form, which details the place of employment, position held, major responsibilities, hours worked, and related information. The employer may alternatively provide a letter with the required information in lieu of completing the form.
2. Students are required to complete the Student Professional Experience Verification Form and provide a pay record or W2 tax form showing their hours worked or earnings.

The Student Records Office in 201K Mateer maintains a professional experience file for each student. Students are responsible for ensuring all materials have been submitted in a timely fashion. Students should submit their documentation as soon as possible after completing their professional experience. However, hours must be documented within four months of the final day of employment.

As indicated above, completing and documenting the 1,000-hour requirement is a prerequisite for HM 492: Advanced Professional Seminar in Hospitality Management. Thus, students may not take HM 492 until all professional experience is completed and documented. If students reach their final semester, but have not completed and documented their professional experience, their only alternative may be to take a semester off to complete the requirement. Careful planning of academic courses and professional experiences can avoid this challenge.

Any falsification of hours, signatures, or other submitted materials will be considered a violation of Penn State’s academic integrity policy and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.

Examples of Work

Examples of Work That Will Qualify

• Hotel operations in any functional department, including rooms division, food and beverage, accounting, engineering, human resource management, marketing, revenue management, and sales.
• Restaurant operations in both back-of-house and front-of-house.
• On-site foodservice when work is in food and beverage operations. Experiences in corporate dining, education, health care, stadiums and arenas, and parks qualify, provided the work is not limited to vending.
• Casinos when work is in rooms division, food and beverage, or gaming activities.
• Clubs when work is in food and beverage operations, member services, or sales.
• Corporate-level jobs and internships with hotel, restaurant, or on-site foodservice companies in any functional area.
• Hospitality consulting, appraisal, asset management, and finance.
• Penn State Hospitality Services and Penn State Housing and Food Service internships.
• Hospitality positions in meeting and event planning.
• Hospitality positions in senior living.

Examples of Work That Will Not Qualify

• Apartment rentals, management, or maintenance.
• Financial services.
• Grocery store cashier, stock, or deli. However, some jobs in prepared foods or catering may be acceptable.
• Hours completed as part of any School of Hospitality Management course (e.g., HM 330, HM 430, and HM 380) or teaching assistantship.
• Non-hospitality club positons, such as lifeguard, golf operations, pro shop, child care, or grounds keeping.
• Non-hospitality work in hotels, such as lifeguard and gift shop.
• Receptionist in a salon or spa.
• Retail sales.
• Volunteer work with a charity, religious group, or student club (e.g., THON and Catering Club).
• Employment completed during high school.

Entry-level jobs requiring little experience, such as dishwashing, bussing tables, and scooping ice cream, may technically qualify. However, such experiences are unlikely to create interest among potential employers. Everyone must start their experience somewhere, but hard work and determination will typically allow students to quickly advance beyond the most basic jobs. Students are encouraged to secure experiences beyond entry-level positions, particularly as they progress through their college careers. Career services and advisors are here to assist students in their professional employment search.

The final determination of whether a specific employment experience qualifies resides with the School’s Professor-In-Charge of the Undergraduate Program. If students are unsure whether specific experiences will count toward the professional experience requirement, they are encouraged to meet with the Professor-In-Charge prior to accepting and beginning work. It should be noted that only specific opportunities will qualify in clubs, meetings and event planning, and senior living. Students interested in pursuing such opportunities are advised to verify in advance whether an experience will qualify.