Program Goals

The Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism (MS-ST) is a multidisciplinary degree program focusing on the critical issues of sustainability within the world’s largest industry, tourism. It is designed to provide educated leadership to assist with the stabilization, expansion, and effective management of tourism businesses and the furthering of effective public policy at all levels of government to ensure that tourism contributes to economic vitality in balance with preserving environmental and community attributes.

Specifically, the MS-ST degree program will:

• Provide a strong foundation for career advancement, future doctoral studies, and executive and senior level positions within the many and varied public, private, and nonprofit tourism entities;
• Provide recent graduates from undergraduate programs at both ECU and across North Carolina, an outstanding graduate degree program opportunity in tourism, most specifically, sustainable tourism;
• Provide technical consultation and planning advice to local communities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations interested in improving and expanding their tourism potential;
• Provide culturally diverse coursework specific to the unique business practices needed in tourism that will prepare students to meet the challenges of living and working in a global community;
• Meet emerging industry demand for degreed professionals who can manage complex sustainable tourism environments;
• Provide for individuals who are interested in transitioning from their current level of employment to higher positions in tourism that call for more advanced study;
• Provide educational advancement and applied research opportunities to the emerging numbers of community college personnel needed to prepare students for jobs and careers in tourism; and
• Recruit and support outstanding faculty committed to quality teaching, research, and community activities in all components of sustainable tourism including (but not limited to) leisure and recreation, hospitality, social and physical sciences, medicine, business, information technology, and the arts.