undergradly.
Major - Business, Management, Marketing

A specialized corner of hospitality management - but read the syllabus, not the CIP code

Hospitality Administration/Management, Other (CIP 52.0999) is a catchall classification for hospitality programs that do not fit one of the named sub-disciplines like Hotel/Motel Administration, Restaurant/Food Services Management, or Meeting and Event Planning. About 427 degrees are awarded annually across 36 colleges, with the largest pipelines at Penn State (109 bachelor's), Ivy Tech Community College (90 associate's), and the California State University system. Five-year median earnings sit near $53,772 across degree levels.

Schools offering
36
Annual completions
427
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$54k

About this major

Hospitality Administration/Management, Other (CIP 52.0999) is the IPEDS catchall classification for hospitality management programs that do not fit one of the named sub-disciplines in the 52.09 CIP family. The official definition reads, in full, 'Any instructional program in hospitality service management not listed above.' That brevity is the point: the code exists so that institutions can classify programs that are recognizably hospitality management but structured differently from the standard general (52.0901), hotel/motel (52.0904), restaurant/food service (52.0905), tourism (52.0903), event planning (52.0907), casino (52.0908), resort (52.0906), or combined hotel/motel/restaurant (52.0909) tracks.

What that means in practice is that program content varies considerably by institution. One school may use this code for a sustainability-focused hospitality concentration; another for a sports venue or club management track; another for a hybrid hospitality-and-real-estate program; another for an experiential-luxury or wellness-hospitality specialization. The 427 annual completions across 36 colleges is a small enough sample that no single curricular pattern dominates the data.

The practical takeaway: if you are evaluating a program that falls under 52.0999, do not assume the content matches a generic hospitality management major. Read the actual course catalog. Look at the named concentrations or tracks the school offers under the major. Check which industry partnerships and practicum placements the program advertises. The CIP code is an administrative classification, not a curricular blueprint - the school's syllabus is the document that actually tells you what you will learn and which industry doors the credential opens.

The top producers under this code give a flavor of the variability. Penn State's School of Hospitality Management (109 bachelor's completions) is a long-established industry feeder with deep recruiting from Marriott, Hyatt, and the major brands. The Culinary Institute of America (13 bachelor's completions) classifies certain non-culinary hospitality bachelor's pathways here. The CSU system schools (East Bay, Northridge) and University of Delaware run their own program structures. Ivy Tech Community College and Pima Community College serve as the largest associate's pipelines, feeding regional operations roles in Indiana and Arizona respectively. Each of those programs is doing something distinct - which is exactly why the catchall code exists.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Managers, all other $137k +4.5% Bachelor's degree
Food service managers $65k +6.4% High school diploma or equivalent
Lodging managers $68k +3.4% High school diploma or equivalent
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$54k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$43k

Bachelor's

$56k

Who this major is for

This major fits students whose target school has a hospitality program structured outside the standard general/hotel/restaurant/tourism/event tracks - and who are willing to evaluate the program on its specific curriculum rather than the CIP label. It is also a reasonable fit for students who already have a clear sector target (sustainability hospitality, club management, sports venue operations, experiential luxury, wellness travel) and find a program that specializes in it under this code.

It is less appropriate as a default choice for students who have not yet narrowed their hospitality interests. The general 52.0901 major has 14x the completions, broader recruiting reach, and a more standardized curriculum that keeps options open across lodging, food service, tourism, and recreation. If you are early in deciding which corner of hospitality fits, the general major is usually the safer entry point.

The earnings reality applies regardless of which CIP code the program falls under. Hospitality is an industry where the bachelor's helps you start higher and promote faster - corporate management trainee programs at Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and the major brands run almost exclusively through bachelor's programs - but it does not unlock the compensation ceiling on its own. That ceiling sits behind 5-10 years of operational experience, geographic mobility to a major hospitality market (Las Vegas, Orlando, NYC, Miami, Honolulu, or a resort hub), and often a move into a specialized analyst lane like revenue management.

The associate's path is genuinely viable for students whose goal is to enter operations supervisor and front-office roles directly. Ivy Tech and Pima feed regional employers, and two of the three tracked career destinations (food service managers, lodging managers) list a high school diploma as the typical entry credential. Associate's completers report median earnings around $42,850 at five years versus $56,191 for bachelor's completers - a real gap, but one that has to be weighed against tuition cost, time-to-employment, and whether the bachelor's-only doors (corporate trainee programs, brand HQ roles, consulting) are part of your target.

Finally, if you are drawn to hospitality but worried about the modest earnings ceiling, lean into the lanes where the industry is actually expanding: revenue management (Cornell certification, $65-110K range with experience), hospitality technology (Hopper, Sojern, Duetto, Cloudbeds, Sonder PMS), travel-tech (Booking, Expedia, Tripadvisor, Airbnb), and hotel-focused real estate investment trusts (Host, Park Hotels, Ryman Hospitality). Those lanes pay better than property-level operations and remain durable as routine reservations and basic guest-services work compresses under AI.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Hospitality Administration/Management, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 109 109
Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN 90 0 90
California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA 0 37 37
California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA 0 33 33
University of Delaware Newark, DE 0 30 30
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL 0 15 15
Pima Community College Tucson, AZ 15 0 15
Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park, NY 0 13 13
Campbell University Buies Creek, NC 0 12 12
Boston University Boston, MA 0 12 12
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other

6,667 completions/yr

Hospitality Administration/Management, General

5,942 completions/yr

Hotel/Motel Administration/Management

1,103 completions/yr

Tourism and Travel Services Management

542 completions/yr

Meeting and Event Planning

391 completions/yr

Restaurant/Food Services Management

382 completions/yr

Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management

139 completions/yr

Resort Management

115 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Hospitality Administration/Management, Other field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Hospitality Administration/Management, Other worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does the 'Other' label mean for this major?
The CIP code 52.0999 is a catchall used by IPEDS to classify hospitality management programs that do not fit one of the named sub-disciplines in the 52.09 family - General Hospitality (52.0901), Hotel/Motel Administration (52.0904), Tourism and Travel Services (52.0903), Restaurant/Food Services (52.0905), Meeting and Event Planning (52.0907), Casino Management (52.0908), Resort Management (52.0906), or Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Management (52.0909). The official CIP definition reads simply 'Any instructional program in hospitality service management not listed above.' That means the label tells you very little on its own. The actual program content varies considerably by institution. One school may use this code for a sustainability-focused hospitality track, another for an experiential-luxury concentration, and a third for a club management or sports venue specialization. Read the school's course catalog directly before assuming the curriculum looks like a typical hospitality program.
How does this compare to Hospitality Administration/Management, General?
Hospitality Administration/Management, General (CIP 52.0901) is the umbrella major in this family with about 5,942 annual completions across 423 colleges - roughly 14 times the volume of this 'Other' classification. The general version is what most hospitality students enroll in, and its curriculum spans lodging, food service, tourism, marketing, and operations as a connected system. The 52.0999 code is a far smaller bucket (427 completions, 36 colleges) that institutions use when their program is structured differently enough from the general major that they classify it separately. If you are looking at a specific school's hospitality program and it falls under 52.0999 rather than 52.0901, the difference is usually a deliberate curricular choice by the school - a niche concentration, an unusual industry partnership, or a hybrid format. Compare the two programs' course lists before deciding which framing fits your goals.
What jobs do graduates of these programs typically land in?
The tracked career destinations are food service managers (median wage $65,310, 6.4% projected growth), lodging managers ($68,130, 3.4% growth), and the broad 'managers, all other' category ($136,550, 4.5% growth) which captures specialized leadership roles that do not fit a named SOC code. Two of those three list a high school diploma as the typical entry credential, which means the bachelor's is not strictly required for early-career operations roles - it is the path to faster promotion and broader sector access. Real-world destinations span branded hotel chains (Marriott Management Program, Hyatt Corporate Trainee, Hilton HMD), independent and boutique groups (Standard, Auberge, Soho House), resort and casino operators (MGM, Wynn, Disney), cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL), restaurant groups (Union Square Hospitality, Lettuce Entertain You), and corporate F&B services (Sodexo, Aramark, Compass). Specialized analyst lanes like revenue management ($65-110K range with experience) are increasingly accessible from any 52.09 program with quantitative coursework.
Is the bachelor's worth it, or should I consider an associate's instead?
The earnings split in this major tells a clear story: associate's completers report a five-year median around $42,850, while bachelor's completers report about $56,191 - a difference of roughly $13,300 per year. Two of the three tracked careers (food service manager, lodging manager) list a high school diploma as the typical entry credential, which means an associate's degree at a strong community college program (the largest associate's pipeline here is Ivy Tech with 90 completions, followed by Pima Community College) can absolutely get you into operations supervisor and front-office roles. The bachelor's pays off when the target is a corporate management trainee program (Marriott MMP, Hyatt CMT, Hilton HMD), a revenue management or analyst lane, or any role at a brand or consulting firm that uses degree screens. If your goal is to run a property someday, the bachelor's is the more credible path; if your goal is to start working as a supervisor and pick up the rest on the job, the associate's gets you there faster and cheaper.
Where are the strongest programs and what does geography mean for outcomes?
Hospitality outcomes are unusually concentrated by geography because the industry is geographically anchored - cities like Las Vegas, Orlando, NYC, Miami, Honolulu, and resort markets like Aspen and Vail have employer density that smaller markets cannot match. The top producers under this CIP are Pennsylvania State University (109 bachelor's completions), Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis (90 associate's), the CSU system (East Bay 37, Northridge 33), University of Delaware (30), and the Culinary Institute of America (13). That program list looks different from the named-General CIP top schools (FIU, UCF, UNLV dominate there) because schools choose this code when their program is structured differently. Penn State's School of Hospitality Management is a recognized industry feeder with strong recruiting from major brands, and the CIA's bachelor's program is the gold standard for culinary-led hospitality. Ivy Tech and Pima feed regional operations roles. If your target market is a major tourism or entertainment hub, attending a school with established recruiting pipelines into that market matters more than the CIP code.
What does AI and automation mean for hospitality careers?
The honest read on AI in hospitality is bifurcated. Routine reservations and chatbot guest-services work is compressing fast - the booking confirmation and basic concierge functions that used to support entry-level coordinator roles are increasingly handled by Hopper, Sojern, and proprietary brand tools. The flip side is that on-property leadership, in-person guest experience, food and beverage operations, and revenue management are durable - they require judgment, real-time problem-solving, and human presence that AI does not replace. Revenue management as a career lane is actually expanding because brands now have more data and more dynamic-pricing complexity than ever before, and Cornell's revenue management certification has become a recognized credential for that track. The practical implication for students: lean into roles that combine on-property leadership with quantitative skills (revenue, analytics, pricing) rather than pure-coordinator or back-office reservations work.
What's a realistic earnings picture five years out?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $53,772 across degree levels - modest by business-major standards. Bachelor's completers come in closer to $56,191; associate's completers around $42,850. The tracked careers span $65,310 (food service managers) to $68,130 (lodging managers), with the broad 'managers, all other' category at $136,550 capturing the small share of completers who land in specialized senior roles. The earnings ceiling is real but it sits behind 5-10 years of operational experience and often requires geographic mobility to a major hospitality market. Hospitality is also a tipped-and-bonused industry, which means tracked wage data tends to understate total compensation for property-level managers. The honest framing: this is a career where compensation tracks experience, location, and brand more than degree level - the bachelor's helps you start higher and promote faster, but it does not unlock the ceiling on its own.