Pre-master Leisure and Tourism Studies

1-year pre-master’s programme | English-taught

Pre-master
1 year
Full time
English

Working on your research skills

In this pre-master's programme, you will not only work on a good theoretical foundation, but above all on your research skills. The programme consists of two semesters. In the first, you will attend subject-specific lectures, learn how to conduct research and work on a real-life project. In the second semester, you will work on data analysis and conduct research for your thesis.

After your professional (hbo) bachelor's degree in the fields of Leisure & Events, Tourism or Hotel, you can transfer directly to the academic master's programme Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies via this one-year pre-master’s.

Why choose this pre-master’s track?

  • Work on a solid theoretical foundation and on your research skills
  • After completing you will have direct access to the academic master’s programme Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies
  • After a fast-track bachelor’s programme you could obtain your academic master’s degree in just five years!

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Study overview

Study programme

In the academic pre-master Leisure and Tourism Studies you will mostly work on a solid theoretical foundation and on your research skills so that you have the best preparation possible for the Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies at Breda University of Applied Sciences.  

 

Course details

The programme consists of two semesters. In the first semester you will take several theoretical courses, you will learn how to conduct research and you will work on a real-life project. In the second semester you will again take a number of courses, start with qualitative and quantitative data analysis and conduct research for your final project.

Semester 1

Labour, Care and Leisure
People want a career, quality time with their families and fulfilling leisure activities. This course addresses the underlying causes and consequences of this balancing act.

Sociology of Leisure
This course focuses on the basic principles of sociology in order to understand the role of leisure in our society, for instance how we learn to become part of our society through sports or volunteering.

Research Methods – Surveys
This course offers you the methodological and statistical competencies necessary to become a competent researcher, specifically in the area of survey research.

Real-Life Project
During this project, you will apply the techniques from the course in Research Methods - Surveys to design and conduct a survey for a commissioner in the leisure field.

Research Lab
This is a virtual environment in which you work on academic writing and qualitative research knowledge and skills.

Semester 2

Leisure and Urban Development
This course explores the causes and consequences of the increased importance of leisure, culture
and creativity in the development, quality and experience of places and eventful cities.

Innovation and Change
In this course you will learn about organisational change, innovation and change management and sustainable value creation in leisure organisations.

Research Methods - Data Analysis
This course explores many common data analysis techniques for the social sciences: regression, ANOVA, factorial designs, path analysis modelling and non-parametric statistics.

Bachelor’s Thesis
You will answer research questions on leisure behaviour by doing quantitative or qualitative research.

 

Study load and coaching

The academic pre-master Leisure and Tourism Studies is a one-year, full-time programme. The total study load is 60 ECTS credits. To give you an idea: 1 ECTS credit = approximately 28 hours of study a week.

We offer you a small-scale study environment as the number of students involved in the pre-master's track are limited. For questions on the content of the programme, lecturers can be easily reached. In addition, the pre-master's coordinator is available to help with day-to-day issues. If you wish to discuss personal problems that may be affecting your life as a student, you can turn to the student counsellor.

 

A unique insight into visitor experience

I have completed both the pre-master and the master Leisure and Tourism Studies. The first one is a very intensive year, in which your knowledge and skills are raised to a higher level.  In my master I learned a lot about the meaning of leisure to the individual person, businesses and society as a whole. It offers you many opportunities to pursue your passions and to take control of your own development. I, for instance, had the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technology to give a museum a unique insight into its visitor experience.

Colin

Graduate | Consultant at PW Consulting

My knowledge and experience are very diverse

After having studied Leisure & Events Management and following the pre-master, I completed the Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies. I learned about the different meanings of leisure in a changing society, and about the relationship between leisure and policy making.  Thanks to BUas, my knowledge and experience are very diverse and broad. This really helps me in my professional career at the municipality of Eindhoven. I found out that municipalities in particular have a need for graduates with a multidisciplinary background.   

Sumintra

Graduate | Account manager at the municipality of Eindhoven

Making students enthusiastic

The best thing about teaching is that I can make students enthusiastic about topics such as leisure behaviours and holiday choices. One of the subjects I teach is Analysing Leisure Interactions. It is a fairly theoretical module, and I think it's great to see how students get to work with the theory and use it to better understand interesting and funny leisure or tourism activities.

Bertine Bargeman

Lecturer Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies

Admission

Students are eligible if they hold a bachelor's degree, preferably a Bachelor of Business Administration, in any relevant field.

Please check out the full admission requirements.

Application

If you meet the admission requirements, you are invited to apply for this programme. Please check out the application procedure.

Costs 

In the academic year 2024-2025 the statutory tuition fee for master's programmes is €2,530. In addition to the tuition fee, you will need to take into account additional costs for the purchase of study materials such as textbooks. Read more about study costs.

After your pre-master

This academic pre-master’s programme does not grant you a title but it does give you access to the Master of Science Leisure and Tourism Studies at Breda University of Applied Sciences.