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Special Feature: Small-Scale and Intensive Education
Milestones Completed
The Bachelor Programme distinguishes itself through its dynamic and interdisciplinary curriculum that combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience and application. The innovative curriculum goes hand in hand with continuous course improvement and updates ensuring that students are equipped with a curious mindset, relevant skills and knowledge applicable to the growing hospitality industry with its evolving trends and demands. Furthermore, the focus on personal growth and development of leadership skills allows them to combine the theory, practice and research skills acquired to truly become the responsible and ethical business leaders of tomorrow while continuing to enjoy the support and opportunities afforded to them within the close HTH community.
Hotelschool The Hague prides itself on its small-scale approach to education, where the curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that students achieve the intended learning outcomes. The close integration of extracurricular activities into the educational experience further enhances this approach. These activities, which can also be seen in the learning lines below, are intricately linked to the intended level of learning and the broadening of students' skills as outlined in the intended learning outcomes; see Extracurricular Activities Highlights. At HTH, students and staff share responsibility for organising these enriching extracurricular experiences, creating a close-knit community dedicated to fostering the holistic development of each student. One example would be our Extra Mile Office.
Curriculum Innovation
Over the past three academic years, the curriculum has been innovated starting with the courses in Year 4, followed by Year 1 and the new Year 2/3 courses were implemented in February 2024. The Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs) of the PEP 2017-2022 were integrated further into the curriculum replacing the Professional Duty Categories (PDCs) and Professional Excellence Categories (PECs) which formed the backbone of the previous curriculum. For further information, see Study Guide 2023/2024 on MS Teams site.
The curriculum innovation sought to follow up on the feedback from the previous accreditation, as well as the goals set in the Comenius Project (2019) on increasing the link between education and research (for details, see ‘Why of Curriculum Innovation’ PPT on MS Teams). Some of the focal areas were reducing the number of summative assessments and increasing the link between theory and research. A better balance has been struck between formative and summative assessment with more emphasis on assessment for and as learning rather than of learning. A learning line has been established in research skills: Design Oriented Research, which fosters the inquisitive mindset of the Bachelor students. In addition, the innovation pursued to keep the curriculum current by embracing topics such as sustainability, data management, and digital literacy and immersive technology. Some of these topics can be seen in the Minors which have been developed as part of the new Year 4 programme. An additional change has been the move of the second language courses to Year 1 to allow for better preparation for the students' placement abroad in Year 2.
RLL operates in the form of several varied outlets. These are divided into two main categories; Food & Beverage and Rooms Division. For both disciplines, we operate a simulation of the external hospitality industry, and students run the internal learning lab under supervision of practical education instructors. Students in the outlets comprise first years (Practical Education= PE) and 3rd years (Managing of Outlet= MO). Before students start in an outlet, they are taught the most important skills in a laboratory setting; we refer to this as the Hospitality in Progress Course (H.I.P.). The H.I.P course consists of Wine and Spirits related Masterclasses and tastings, classes on global Rooms Divisions and Food and beverage trends but also includes Basic Skills training.
This training entails a theoretical online training day followed by a 4-day practical course that allows students to familiarise themselves with each discipline. Our Real Life Labs are also used to facilitate applied research with the help of students, employees, external guests and companies. In addition, new products, appliances as well as societal developments are tested and investigated.
To ensure horizontal and vertical integration (see Curriculum Matrix for details), alignment and didactic diversity throughout the curriculum, the Bachelor course curriculum reflects the following four learning lines:
Personal Development
Real Life Learning
Theory and Application
Design Oriented Research
These learning lines provide variation in the programme and a broad approach to learning. Each block students follow a different combination of courses, focusing on real life skills, theory and application integration, and student’s personal and professional development. The Design Oriented Research line (detailed further in this chapter) is visible across the curriculum and is present in each year in the form of a dedicated course as well as in integrated course components. The Curriculum Committee is tasked with monitoring the alignment of the curriculum, and they perform an annual check on the learning lines and learning outcomes.
The curriculum innovation has had a strong emphasis on the student journey and the horizontal learning lines. In this respect, the path to attainment of the PLOs has been revisited. The courses in Year 1 have been sharpened to have a clearer subject and explicit focus on hospitality. The value of integrated, multidisciplinary courses is still appreciated, but is found within the later years of the curriculum. The clearer subject focus has highlighted the vertical learning lines with most fundamental courses coming back in an advanced course in Year 2.
At present, to prepare our students to become hospitality change leaders who can innovate the industry, the curriculum takes students through 4 phases:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 1 focuses on Knowing the Business Fundamentals, such as marketing, finance, HR/culture, operations management and data analysis & research. In Year 1 students will spend 10 weeks in the outlets to apply hospitality theory and skills.
Design Oriented Research in the BA.HM curriculum
One of the aims of the curriculum innovation has been to further integrate research into the BA.HM curriculum. Design Oriented Research or Design Based Research (henceforth referred to as Design Based Research; DBR) is the research approach adopted by Hotelschool the Hague. This approach (with its solution-orientation) is congruent with the applied learning nature of our study programme.
The DBR cycle of ‘problem-analysis-solution-intervention-evaluation’ is embraced within the BA research courses (outlined in the tables below) and ensures both horizontal and vertical alignment. It is framed at the programme level with Year 1 focusing on problem-definition, Years 2 and 3 on analysis and Year 4 on the holistic research approach with solution-orientation and intervention. The Year 4 embrace of DBR is exampled in our suite of Minors (wherein students solution-design in their choice of Minor) and Premaster programme. DBR is the main frame of the Year 4 final project (the LYCar Project Report of 30 ECs) wherein students problem-define, analyse, solution-design, implement and evaluate the solutions impact in real-world contexts. To exemplify, the LYCar Project Report is based on the DBR cycle and contains a chapter ‘Stakeholders & Dissemination’ in which students share their solution-design to a stakeholder (a user/beneficiary of the solution). It is in this spirit of engaged scholarship that we strive to excel. The development of a research line enables us to take the necessary steps to continue on this path.
Course Name | Year | Number of ECs | Hard Skills – PLO & Level | Soft Skills – Research PLO & Level |
Data Analytics and Research Fundamentals (DAR) | Year 1 | 5 Ecs | PLO 11 Level 1 | PLO A1 Level 1 PLO A2 Level 1 PLO A3 Level 1 |
Extended Data Analysis (EDA) | Year 2 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 2 PLO A2 Level 2 PLO A3 Level 2 |
Hospitality Research Lab (HR Lab) | Year 3 | 15 ECs | PLO 1 Level 2 PLO 3 Level 2 PLO 5 Level 2 PLO 10 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 2 PLO A2 Level 2 PLO A3 Level 3 |
Design-Based Research (DBR) | Year 4 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 3 |
Launching your career (LYCar) - Proposal | Year 4 | 15 ECs | PLO 11 Level 3 | PLO A1 Level 3 PLO A2 Level 3 PLO A3 Level 3 |
Launching your career (LYCar) – Execution Report | Year 4 | 30 ECs | PLO 11 Level 3 | Requires students to perform Design Based Research |
BA.HM curriculum: Research Courses
Premaster Course Name | Year | Number of ECs | PEP PLOs |
Premaster Research Methodology (PRM) | Year 4 | 5 ECs | PLO 1.2 + 2.1 + 3.1 |
Premaster Advanced Data Analysis (PADA) | Year 4 | 4 ECs | PLO 1.2 + 2.1 + 3.1 |
Design Oriented Research (DBR) | Year 4 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 & PLO A1 Level 3 |
Academic Research Project (ARP) | Year 4 | 15 ECs | PLOs vary based on focal point chosen |
Research Courses at Premaster Programme
The HTH Research Centre (RC) has supported the development of the research line of the BA curriculum in a consulting role in its conception and development. For example, in Year 4 Lectors have co-devised the conceptual landscape of the suite of Minors. The RC is an integral party in the student’s successful realisation of the Bachelor Year 4 Final Project (LYCar), wherein Lectors and Research Centre faculty host scheduled workshops for students (and staff) and commission research projects (topics) in which students have the option to choose from and respond to this commissioned brief in their LYCar Project Report (30 ECs). Please find the Research Centre Annual Report and the HTH Research Strategy on the Teams site with supplementary documents.
We are particularly proud of our end-reporting in LYCar, wherein student output is published on the open-access knowledge database of professional higher education: HBO Kennis Bank.
International Fast Track programme
The International Fast Track (IFT) programme at Hotelschool The Hague is a dynamic and accelerated pathway for high-achieving students seeking to excel in the field of hospitality management and leverage prior experience. Students who hold a previous qualification in hospitality-related studies and have completed an internship at a 3, 4, or 5-star hotel or in a Michelin-starred restaurant, may qualify for this accelerated programme spanning approximately 2.5 years. The journey begins with a rigorous four-week Summer Preparation Course which forms part of the selection procedure. Once students pass the summer course, they are integrated into the second year of the regular bachelor's programme. Upon successfully navigating years two, three, and four, students graduate with an internationally recognised 'Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management' (BA.HM). For details, please refer to the IFT course catalogue.
Future Aspirations
As we have now introduced an all-new curriculum for all four years, we circle back to re-assess how our student learning goals are achieved. Based on student and teacher feedback and to make the student journey more conducive to successful learning, we are returning to our full block instead of week on-week off during PE (Practical Education) in Year 1.
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The transition from the old to new curriculum has led to some new courses not exactly aligning with the old courses. Although the learning goals are being met, students who do not pass during the resit period will need a tailor-made solution constructed for them, which is challenging from a quality and logistical perspective. To alleviate this issue, we have developed a Transition Plan that should ease the transition and ensure continuous student learning. In the meantime, the student journey as well as pass rates are being monitored closely. Another goal is to revisit the progress requirements outlined in the curriculum.
In the process of circling back and revisiting the innovated design, we will take along the new Professional and Educational Profile (PEP) which has been developed by the joint Dutch Hospitality Management programmes in the summer of 2023. This new PEP includes revised Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs), and we are currently in the process of reviewing the PEP PLOs to our own HTH PLOs. The aim is to ensure we keep on offering a unique graduate profile with an ambitious set of PLOs.
Follow the Path
Back to Contents
Read Standard
The Bachelor Programme distinguishes itself through its dynamic and interdisciplinary curriculum that combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience and application. The innovative curriculum goes hand in hand with continuous course improvement and updates ensuring that students are equipped with a curious mindset, relevant skills and knowledge applicable to the growing hospitality industry with its evolving trends and demands. Furthermore, the focus on personal growth and development of leadership skills allows them to combine the theory, practice and research skills acquired to truly become the responsible and ethical business leaders of tomorrow while continuing to enjoy the support and opportunities afforded to them within the close HTH community.
Hotelschool The Hague prides itself on its small-scale approach to education, where the curriculum is carefully designed to ensure that students achieve the intended learning outcomes. The close integration of extracurricular activities into the educational experience further enhances this approach. These activities, which can also be seen in the learning lines below, are intricately linked to the intended level of learning and the broadening of students' skills as outlined in the intended learning outcomes; see Extracurricular Activities Highlights. At HTH, students and staff share responsibility for organising these enriching extracurricular experiences, creating a close-knit community dedicated to fostering the holistic development of each student. One example would be our Extra Mile Office.
Milestones Completed
Special Feature: Small-Scale and Intensive Education
Curriculum Innovation
Over the past three academic years, the curriculum has been innovated starting with the courses in Year 4, followed by Year 1 and the new Year 2/3 courses were implemented in February 2024. The Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs) of the PEP 2017-2022 were integrated further into the curriculum replacing the Professional Duty Categories (PDCs) and Professional Excellence Categories (PECs) which formed the backbone of the previous curriculum. For further information, see Study Guide 2023/2024 on MS Teams site.
The curriculum innovation sought to follow up on the feedback from the previous accreditation, as well as the goals set in the Comenius Project (2019) on increasing the link between education and research (for details, see ‘Why of Curriculum Innovation’ PPT on MS Teams). Some of the focal areas were reducing the number of summative assessments and increasing the link between theory and research. A better balance has been struck between formative and summative assessment with more emphasis on assessment for and as learning rather than of learning. A learning line has been established in research skills: Design Oriented Research, which fosters the inquisitive mindset of the Bachelor students. In addition, the innovation pursued to keep the curriculum current by embracing topics such as sustainability, data management, and digital literacy and immersive technology. Some of these topics can be seen in the Minors which have been developed as part of the new Year 4 programme. An additional change has been the move of the second language courses to Year 1 to allow for better preparation for the students' placement abroad in Year 2.
To ensure horizontal and vertical integration (see Curriculum Matrix for details), alignment and didactic diversity throughout the curriculum, the Bachelor course curriculum reflects the following four learning lines:
Personal Development
Real Life Learning
Theory and Application
Design Oriented Research
These learning lines provide variation in the programme and a broad approach to learning. Each block students follow a different combination of courses, focusing on real life skills, theory and application integration, and student’s personal and professional development. The Design Oriented Research line (detailed further in this chapter) is visible across the curriculum and is present in each year in the form of a dedicated course as well as in integrated course components. The Curriculum Committee is tasked with monitoring the alignment of the curriculum, and they perform an annual check on the learning lines and learning outcomes.
The curriculum innovation has had a strong emphasis on the student journey and the horizontal learning lines. In this respect, the path to attainment of the PLOs has been revisited. The courses in Year 1 have been sharpened to have a clearer subject and explicit focus on hospitality. The value of integrated, multidisciplinary courses is still appreciated, but is found within the later years of the curriculum. The clearer subject focus has highlighted the vertical learning lines with most fundamental courses coming back in an advanced course in Year 2.
At present, to prepare our students to become hospitality change leaders who can innovate the industry, the curriculum takes students through 4 phases:
Year 1 focuses on Knowing the Business Fundamentals, such as marketing, finance, HR/culture, operations management and data analysis & research. In Year 1 students will spend 10 weeks in the outlets to apply hospitality theory and skills.
Year 2 focuses on Running the Business Effectively. Students will experience how 4/5-star hotels run their business during a placement of half a year. Upon return students will apply the fundamental knowledge from Year 1 in the course Entrepreneurial Business Plan.
Year 3 focuses on Improving the Business. Students will learn how to lead first year students in the outlets and will learn how to improve the outlets during the course ‘Managing an Outlet’ (MO). The last semester of Year 3 consists of the course ‘Business Transformation’. Research is an integrated part of Year 3 and is applied in the ‘Hospitality Research Lab’ and in the learning outlets as well.
Year 4 focuses on Student Personalisation and Innovating the Hospitality Sector. HTH offers five different Minor programmes (15 EC) that all focus on the ‘Future of….’ themes. After the minor, students can choose an individual Launching Your Career (LyCar) trajectory, in which they perform (applied) research and follow a management placement. The management placement focusses on the student’s leadership journey as well as their intercultural competence. The research project allows students to apply design oriented research on a topic they wish to specialise in. Students also have the option to participate in an exchange or in the Premaster programme offered at HTH. For details, please refer to the Bachelor Course Overview in chapter 2.
Design Oriented Research in the BA.HM curriculum
One of the aims of the curriculum innovation has been to further integrate research into the BA.HM curriculum. Design Oriented Research or Design Based Research (henceforth referred to as Design Based Research; DBR) is the research approach adopted by Hotelschool the Hague. This approach (with its solution-orientation) is congruent with the applied learning nature of our study programme.
The DBR cycle of ‘problem-analysis-solution-intervention-evaluation’ is embraced within the BA research courses (outlined in the tables below) and ensures both horizontal and vertical alignment. It is framed at the programme level with Year 1 focusing on problem-definition, Years 2 and 3 on analysis and Year 4 on the holistic research approach with solution-orientation and intervention. The Year 4 embrace of DBR is exampled in our suite of Minors (wherein students solution-design in their choice of Minor) and Premaster programme. DBR is the main frame of the Year 4 final project (the LYCar Project Report of 30 ECs) wherein students problem-define, analyse, solution-design, implement and evaluate the solutions impact in real-world contexts. To exemplify, the LYCar Project Report is based on the DBR cycle and contains a chapter ‘Stakeholders & Dissemination’ in which students share their solution-design to a stakeholder (a user/beneficiary of the solution). It is in this spirit of engaged scholarship that we strive to excel. The development of a research line enables us to take the necessary steps to continue on this path.
Course Name | Year | Number of ECs | Hard Skills – PLO & Level | Soft Skills – Research PLO & Level |
Data Analytics and Research Fundamentals (DAR) | Year 1 | 5 Ecs | PLO 11 Level 1 | PLO A1 Level 1 PLO A2 Level 1 PLO A3 Level 1 |
Extended Data Analysis (EDA) | Year 2 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 2 PLO A2 Level 2 PLO A3 Level 2 |
Hospitality Research Lab (HR Lab) | Year 3 | 15 ECs | PLO 1 Level 2 PLO 3 Level 2 PLO 5 Level 2 PLO 10 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 2 PLO A2 Level 2 PLO A3 Level 3 |
Design-Based Research (DBR) | Year 4 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 Level 2 | PLO A1 Level 3 |
Launching your career (LYCar) - Proposal | Year 4 | 15 ECs | PLO 11 Level 3 | PLO A1 Level 3 PLO A2 Level 3 PLO A3 Level 3 |
Launching your career (LYCar) – Execution Report | Year 4 | 30 ECs | PLO 11 Level 3 | Requires students to perform Design Based Research |
BA.HM curriculum: Research Courses
Premaster Course Name | Year | Number of ECs | PEP PLOs |
Premaster Research Methodology (PRM) | Year 4 | 5 ECs | PLO 1.2 + 2.1 + 3.1 |
Premaster Advanced Data Analysis (PADA) | Year 4 | 4 ECs | PLO 1.2 + 2.1 + 3.1 |
Design Oriented Research (DBR) | Year 4 | 3 ECs | PLO 11 & PLO A1 Level 3 |
Academic Research Project (ARP) | Year 4 | 15 ECs | PLOs vary based on focal point chosen |
Research Courses at Premaster Programme
The HTH Research Centre (RC) has supported the development of the research line of the BA curriculum in a consulting role in its conception and development. For example, in Year 4 Lectors have co-devised the conceptual landscape of the suite of Minors. The RC is an integral party in the student’s successful realisation of the Bachelor Year 4 Final Project (LYCar), wherein Lectors and Research Centre faculty host scheduled workshops for students (and staff) and commission research projects (topics) in which students have the option to choose from and respond to this commissioned brief in their LYCar Project Report (30 ECs). Please find the Research Centre Annual Report and the HTH Research Strategy on the Teams site with supplementary documents.
We are particularly proud of our end-reporting in LYCar, wherein student output is published on the open-access knowledge database of professional higher education: HBO Kennis Bank.
International Fast Track programme
The International Fast Track (IFT) programme at Hotelschool The Hague is a dynamic and accelerated pathway for high-achieving students seeking to excel in the field of hospitality management and leverage prior experience. Students who hold a previous qualification in hospitality-related studies and have completed an internship at a 3, 4, or 5-star hotel or in a Michelin-starred restaurant, may qualify for this accelerated programme spanning approximately 2.5 years. The journey begins with a rigorous four-week Summer Preparation Course which forms part of the selection procedure. Once students pass the summer course, they are integrated into the second year of the regular bachelor's programme. Upon successfully navigating years two, three, and four, students graduate with an internationally recognised 'Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality Management' (BA.HM). For details, please refer to the IFT course catalogue.
As we have now introduced an all-new curriculum for all four years, we circle back to re-assess how our student learning goals are achieved. Based on student and teacher feedback and to make the student journey more conducive to successful learning, we are returning to our full block instead of week on-week off during PE (Practical Education) in Year 1.
Future Aspirations
Back to top
The transition from the old to new curriculum has led to some new courses not exactly aligning with the old courses. Although the learning goals are being met, students who do not pass during the resit period will need a tailor-made solution constructed for them, which is challenging from a quality and logistical perspective. To alleviate this issue, we have developed a Transition Plan that should ease the transition and ensure continuous student learning. In the meantime, the student journey as well as pass rates are being monitored closely. Another goal is to revisit the progress requirements outlined in the curriculum.
In the process of circling back and revisiting the innovated design, we will take along the new Professional and Educational Profile (PEP) which has been developed by the joint Dutch Hospitality Management programmes in the summer of 2023. This new PEP includes revised Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs), and we are currently in the process of reviewing the PEP PLOs to our own HTH PLOs. The aim is to ensure we keep on offering a unique graduate profile with an ambitious set of PLOs.
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