George Mason University is in Northern Virginia, close to Washington D.C. It offers an undergraduate program called an Introduction to Travel and Tourism, which discusses industry trends at an international level and assesses the cultural, societal and political impacts of the movement of people around the world. The course is run by the University's College of Education and Human Development, which has 12 different research centers and accounts for more than $9 million in external funding per year (as of 2011).
Old Dominion University, through the Darden College of Education, runs a program called Recreation and Tourism Studies. The course offers both a major and a minor in recreation and tourism management, as well as therapeutic recreation. The degree program's core modules revolve around the teaching of management skills essential for the pursuit of a career in the hospitality sector. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, Old Dominion opened in 1930 and gained full university status in 1969.
The James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It describes its undergraduate program in Hospitality and Tourism Management as the "first hospitality program to be accredited by both the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA) and the American Assemblies of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)." The program offers a number of concentrations: food and beverage, lodging management, tourism and entertainment and special events and meetings. It is a four-year program and encourages extracurricular work experience, with students regularly attending trade fairs.
Virginia Tech has the largest full-time student population in Virginia and has a history that dates back to 1872. Operating through the Pamplin School of Business, the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management has around 700 students at any one time. The program applies focus to hospitality sales, marketing and research, as well as more specialized fields like club and resort management and an introduction to food science. There is also emphasis placed on the global tourism market and how hospitality contributes to the U.S. economy.