Prior Work Experience as a Predictor of Academic Achievement Among Graduate Level Tourism and Hospitality Students

In the admissions process of tourism and hospitality graduate programs, evidence of prior work experience has generally been required or preferred. Previous studies that examined the predictive power of prior work experience on academic achievement have been mostly conducted for MBA programs, and little research has been conducted in the context of tourism and hospitality. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of prior work experience as a predictor of academic achievement among master's degree students in tourism and hospitality programs in the United States. Results of this study show that prior work experience has limited predictive power for graduate students' grade point averages, whereas it indicated significant predictive power regarding undergraduate grade point averages in the U.S. tourism and hospitality programs. These findings have meaningful implications for tourism and hospitality graduate school admissions policies and processes.