Mississippi University for Women is set to launch a new graduate program this fall, blending culinary arts, workforce development and hospitality.
The Master of Science in Culinary and Hospitality Education will be offered through MUW’s Culinary Arts Institute, housed within the College of Business and Professional Studies. The interdisciplinary program is designed for aspiring educators in culinary and hospitality industries.
Kelly Woodford, dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies, said the program is the only one of its kind in the state.
“We have looked, and we have found very few programs that look like this at the masters level, that are designed for industry professionals, K-12 teachers and community college teachers to give them that master’s level education and master’s level credentialing to teach the next generation of culinary arts and hospitality professionals,” Woodford said.
The program is “low residency,” Woodford said, meaning students will do a majority of their work online, making it ideal for students with full-time jobs.
The 42-hour course consists of 30 hours of online instruction and 12 hours of in-person instruction. The in-person instruction will be spread across two summer sessions, during which students will work in the Culinary Arts Institute building on campus doing hands-on cooking, developing lesson plans and attending seminars and workshops.
“There’s a huge education component to this,” Woodford said. “So whether you are an industry trainer, or whether you’re going into a K-12 classroom or a community college classroom, how you create the lesson plan, how you put it into action, they will be doing that for culinary, for hospitality and for workforce (development).”
Woodford said the program was developed in response to the growing demand for educators in the culinary and hospitality industry.
“We see this as something that will be a great benefit for employers in the state and the region … because if you look at the stats on the hospitality and tourism industry, both in the state of Mississippi and nationally, it is a growing industry with growing needs,” Woodford said. “I think this program will uniquely position us to help provide the training that will help that industry continue to grow.”
An MUW press release cites data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which forecasts a 5% increase in jobs within the hospitality and leisure industry and an 8% increase in employment of chefs and head cooks over the next seven years.
Three faculty members will lead the courses this year.
Tracee Watkins, director of the Culinary Arts Institute, will focus on culinary arts and hospitality instruction. Scott Tollison, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will teach workforce development courses alongside Marty Brock, associate vice president of academic affairs and professor of management information systems and workforce development.
Woodford said they plan to expand the faculty as the program evolves.
“As the program develops, we will know more and more where we need specialization (and) where we need to bring in someone from the outside to supplement what expertise we already have on campus,” Woodford said. “That becomes much clearer as we get further into the program, and (as) the needs of the students and the needs of the industry become more clear.”
Woodford noted that while the first cohort of students will be small, the program is already drawing interest.
“The first group will be relatively small, as is normal for a new cohort, but we expect it to grow fairly quickly,” Woodford said. “We’d like to see it at 25 or 30 (students). It’s not going to be there this year, but I think we will ramp up very quickly as word gets out about the program.”
Since the Culinary Arts Institute building was constructed in 2023, enrollment in the institute has grown by 25%, Tollison told The Dispatch. The institute currently employs three faculty members and is seeking a fourth.
MUW President Norah Miller praised the program as part of the university’s broader mission.
“This new graduate program reflects The W’s continued commitment to producing graduates who are not only highly skilled, but also dedicated to teaching and leadership,” Miller said in the press release. “By preparing educators in the culinary and hospitality fields, we are investing in industries that are vital to Mississippi’s economic future.”
Students can apply for the program for Fall 2025 on MUW’s graduate studies website.
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