GENERAL INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM STUDIES

The Department of Tourism Studies in the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a key national institution offering education and training in tourism and travel management. For more than 15 years of establishment and development, the Department has gained many achievements in the field of education, scientific research, and international cooperation.

More than 2,000 full-time students have been enrolled to the Department, enjoying teaching from a team of 20 highly-experienced lecturers who are all enthusiastic and dedicated to education. The curriculum is deeply designed with subjects relating to tourism and complementary courses, involving a combination of theory and skills practice to provide opportunities for students to better integrate into the working environment of tourism, hospitality and events.

The scientific research projects at Vietnam National University and Ministry-levels chaired by officers of the Department have been highly appreciated by units in Tourism industry and professionals. Besides, the Department of Tourism Studies has been constantly innovating and improving teaching methods to adapt with educational trends in the world and the development of tourism industry. With experience and achievements gained in training - research, the Department has been honored with merit from Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Hanoi People's Committee and the Prime Minister.

The Department has established good relations with many institutions offering education and training in tourism such as University of Toulouse Le Mirail (France), Rikkyo University (Japan), Department of Tourism at Munich University of Applied Sciences, etc., through teacher and student exchange programs; cooperation in workshops organization; and implementation of joint projects. The Department has been in close collaboration with related parties working in tourism sciences, including: tourism businesses, research scientists, and students. It is establishing and strengthening the relationships with partners that serve as a basis for the Department of Tourism Studies to gain achievements in education, research and cooperation, which will then be continued.

Since its establishment in 1995, the Department has been associated with the mission of training and fostering a highly qualified human resource. Innovated teaching method, together with support from the new center for skills practice, will help improve the quality of teaching in the field of tourism - hospitality - events in the country and the region.

Curriculum innovated in accordance with the needs of students and the tourism market

Designing a curriculum in accordance with the needs of students is the Department’s first priority. The subjects will equip students with necessary knowledge and skills to help them succeed in the role of manager and director of tourism businesses, hotels and restaurants.

Training programs currently offered by the Department include:

- Master in Tourism

- Bachelor in Tourism and Travel Management, in which students can choose between two majors:

* Travel Management

* Event Management

- Bachelor in Hospitality Management*

- Bachelor in Double Degree in Tourism and Travel Management, in which students can choose among three majors:

* Travel Management

* Event Management

* Hospitality Management

- Certificate in Tour Guiding Skills

Innovation in teaching and studying

The Department of Tourism Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has been more creative in innovating the educating method following the international trend so that students can learn in an energetic studying environment and optimize their capabilities.

The talks and meetings integrated into theoretical lessons with managers, directors of businesses and professionals will help students broaden understanding and deeply approach to the environments of tourism, hospitality and events industry.

Besides, the program "Preparation for job opportunities for students" held annually has provided chances for students to have access to the labor demand market in tourism, hospitality and events industry. Through discussing and listening to advices from the invited guests who are successful entrepreneurs and professionals in the industries, students will be able to accumulate experience for the job application after graduation, orient the future career as well as have opportunities to be employed.

DOUBLE DEGREE PROGRAM

A further innovation is that the regular students currently enrolled from the third semester to the seventh semester in the Department of Tourism Studies can learn a second major in other departments at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities or at the University of Languages and International Studies (Hanoi National University) Graduated students will be granted two separate bachelor degrees corresponding to the two studied majors.

PRACTICE CLASSROOM

Since 2014, the Department of Tourism Studies has built new practice rooms for Tourism, Hospitality and Events majors in order to support for researching, teaching and other Department's activities. Students will have chances to practice skills from basic to advance in tour guiding, presentation, events organization and some professions in hotels and restaurants.

DEPARTMENT'S LIBRARY

This is a general storage center of teaching materials and references in the field of tourism, hospitality and events including textbooks, reference books, journals, scientific reports, dissertations, and seminars documents. In addition, students can access over 500 books and online magazines related to tourism, culture, cuisine and hotels, which are being stored at the

Department. The Department's documents room has been invested with more equipment to serve for seminars, discussions and group homework activities of students.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

The Department has established cooperative relations with many universities and international institutions, through which to exchange teachers and students in the Department and to receive international students. The units who have close cooperative relations with the Departments are:

Chieng Mai University (Thailand) The University of Missouri (USA) Leeds Beckett University (UK)

Rikkyo University (Japan) University of Toulouse (France) Guangxi University (China)

University of Munich (German) WWF WUSS (Canada)

Study accompanied by practice

The Department of Tourism Studies has determined that in an ever changing business environment, just theoretical knowledge or just practical experience is not sufficient enough to serve as a foundation for students to build up long-term careers in tourism and hospitality industry. Therefore, all training systems and programs provided by the Department are in combination between knowledge cultivation and skills training through internship activities and fieldworks.

In each course, nearly 200 students will be able to be involved with professional practice in the practice room of the Department, hotel chains and travel companies in the country, or may participate in paid internships in luxury hotels in Singapore. Students can also participate in field trips to tourist routes and destinations. The participation of students in practical internships will be accessed and graded as a subject in the course by the teachers in the Department.

Scientific researches and seminars

The teaching staff in the Department has always actively participated in scientific research activities in tourism science field. A lot of articles and research papers of the staff have been published widely in domestic and international magazines on tourism, and also received many compliments for the good quality. Besides, the staff of the Department has also joined in writing and given presentation in international seminars on tourism.

They have been in charge of implementing two foreign projects on the protection of tourism environment, three researches with provinces and cities, two special researches at VNU level, and many researches at VNU level (ministry level). Many researches with the Institute for Tourism Development Research have been marked with the participation of the staff of the Department and earned highly appreciation.

Research focus areas of the Department:

* Evaluating the impacts of tourism industry on the economy - society of Vietnam.

* Accessing the present state and the impact of eco-tourism on destinations

* Managing human resources and administrating human resource for tourism

* Surveying and evaluating the organization and management of festivals and special events in tourism

* Studying types of tourism: Festivals tourism, events tourism, MICE tourism, creative tourism

* Studying consuming behaviors of the typical tourist groups

* Building brands for products and travel destinations

* Studying culinary tourism activities in Vietnam

* Studying tourism culture, customs, traditions and traditional festivals in tourism

Besides research activities, the Department of Tourism Studies also organizes international and domestic seminars with relevant topics in the field of tourism, hospitality, and events. Each seminar is the place to meet and exchange among experts from institutes and research facilities, travel managers, and entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry. Some scientific seminars organized by the Department:

* Business tourism and tourism development in Vietnam

* Tourism research and training in Vietnam

* Culinary tourism and the issues on management and business

* Events management - Training and professional practicality in Vietnam

The teaching staff of the Department

To catch up with the ever changing society, the teaching staff of the Department has always strived to expand knowledge and to improve professional skills. Besides the main teaching staff of 20 experienced lecturers, the Department of Tourism Studies has also invited additional teachers to teach students. They are professionals, associate professors and doctors of training facilities and the State management agencies on tourism such as:

* Vietnam Institute for Tourism Development Research

* Vietnam Institute of Culture and Art Studies

* Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

* Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

* Universities and academies of Vietnam

Scholarship programs

Students achieving hight results in their studies at the Department of Tourism Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will be awarded scholarships from the school budget and some other international scholarships, including:

* Mitsubishi scholarship

* AEON scholarship

* Chung Soo scholarship

* Pony Chung scholarship

* Shinnyo scholarship

In addition, students from low-income families as well as families under the preferential treatment policy will also receive financial support from the University, the Department and some affiliates (Vietravel Scholarships).