Are you ready to shape the tourism ecosystem more sustainably? Would you like to study abroad and graduate with a Swiss degree, benefiting from a curriculum developed and delivered in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)?

If so, this diverse and flexible three-year BSc in International Sustainable Tourism is for you.

Seven reasons why:

1. This is the first degree programme to be developed and executed in cooperation with UNWTO.
2. Students graduate with a quality degree from Switzerland while being able to gain intercultural experience in Spain and beyond.
3. Students encounter strong practical orientation – through an internship, guest lectures and projects within an extended tourism network.
4. Sustainability and innovation are embedded in the entire curriculum.
5. The cooperating partners HSLU and UNWTO open doors to a global partner network.
6. Intercultural experiences are guaranteed through international classes, teaching from different perspectives, and changing study locations.
7. The remote semester offers the flexibility many students desire nowadays.

Study locations:

• Madrid, Spain (1st & 2nd semester)
• Remote and worldwide (3rd & 4th semester)
• Lucerne, Switzerland (5th & 6th semester)

What is the International Sustainable Tourism BSc programme all about?

The programme aims to empower future tourism professionals with a broad range of research-based and practically oriented knowledge, raising awareness of the sustainable transformation of tourism and enabling the future-oriented direction of the sector. 

• The curriculum includes a variety of UN-related modules, for instance UN Diplomacy & Tourism and Global UNWTO Missions & Initiatives, and deliberately embeds the UN's values and global goals throughout the modules. 
• Practice-oriented teaching is carried out via guest lecturers, practical projects with partners, excursions and case discussions. It is both a strength and a priority of HSLU.
• International diversity is integrated in two ways: content-wise and in terms of execution. For example, we address students from all over the world to include a diversity of perspectives and work-related experiences.
• We teach in Madrid, where UNWTO’s headquarters are located, and in Lucerne at HSLU’s home campus. We can also access a more international panel of lecturers by teaching exclusively in English.

Collecting practical experience in the internship semester:

During the fourth semester, students complete an internship anywhere in the world within the field of tourism. The aim of the internship is to gain subject-specific work experience, apply the theoretical knowledge gained within the first three semesters and then build on these practical insights in the final academic year in order to be one step ahead of the competition when it comes to entering the job market after graduation. 

Students can test their professional orientations and learn how to build professional relationships, integrate into a team and develop skills such as enthusiasm and motivation, self-confidence, adaptability, responsibility, diligence and problem solving in their day-to-day business.

The internship is closely accompanied by coaching in three parallel modules. These modules, entitled Corporate Innovation, Self-Leadership & Reflection and Current Issues in Tourism & Sustainability, take place online in synchronous and asynchronous formats and incorporate the experiences from the internship. Each student is supported by a trainer in the organisation and a coach from HSLU.