Online restaurant management degrees teach students how to manage and operate food service and hospitality establishments through training in management, business, customer service, product analysis, and sales. These programs are designed for detail-oriented individuals who are leaders and have excellent customer-service, managerial, problem-solving, and organizational skills. Restaurant management degree programs are offered at the associate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Select schools may also offer a career diploma or certificate option.

Graduates of restaurant management certificate or degree programs may seek employment in restaurants, hotels, bars, schools and hospitals. Programs may provide students the necessary knowledge and skills to seek a career as a chef, restaurant manager, food critic, event planner, restaurant owner, or hotel manager.

Available Degree Levels

• Career Diploma: Varies
• Certificate: One to two years to complete
• Associate Degree: Two years to complete
• Bachelor’s Degree: Four years to complete
• Master’s Degree: One to two years to complete
• Doctoral Degree: Three to five years to complete

Restaurant management diplomas offered in the online format may arm students with the basic skills and knowledge needed to pursue entry-level employment in hotel and restaurant management. Coursework may cover marketing and sales, cost controls, menu planning, food preparation, and food service sanitation. Graduates of these programs may have gained the necessary administrative skills to work successfully in managerial positions in the the food or hospitality industries.

Online restaurant management certificate programs are designed to provide students with a strong foundation in kitchen management, customer service, hospitality, and dining room management. Coursework may include hospitality sanitation, hospitality human resources management, food and beverage cost controls, and customer service.

Associate-level programs in restaurant management typically focus on hotel management as well, providing students with specialized training in hospitality management. These programs build students’ knowledge and understanding of the field, training students in customer service, sales and human resource management, product analysis, cost and service procedures, food and beverage services, and event management.

Online bachelor’s degree programs in restaurant management may incorporate hotel management and hospitality training into the expansive curriculum to provide students a well-balanced education. Baccalaureate-level programs may focus heavily on the business side of the hospitality industry in addition to providing students with culinary training. These programs are designed to prepare students for positions in management through coursework covering facilities management, sanitation and safety, sustainable purchasing, event management, hospitality industry financing, strategic planning and marketing, and institutional operations.

Online master’s degrees in restaurant management may provide students with more specialized training and allow students to expand their analytical, managerial, communication, and service skills. Graduate programs in restaurant management may also integrate research methods, theory, and strategic planning through rigorous coursework. Classes may include food systems management, research design and methods, global hospitality management, managing financial systems, and service strategies for the hospitality industry.

Doctoral programs in restaurant management typically include hotel and hospitality management training and are geared towards individuals who are interested in working in academia as hospitality researchers or professors. These programs may allow students to individualize their curriculum by choosing coursework within a particular area of interest, including sales and marketing, revenue management, hospitality real estate, new product development, and strategy.

Career Options

Restaurant management certificate and degree programs may provide students the skills to manage and operate establishments within the food service and hospitality industries. Through a proper education, students may have learned how to keep track of product inventory, ensure food safety and sanitation standards are met, oversee financial transactions and budgets, manage employees, and monitor customer relations.

Possible career fields include:

• Executive Chef
• Restaurant Owner
• Event Planner
• Restaurant Manager
• Hotel/Lodging Manager