Bachelor of Arts in Spa Management

Bachelor of Arts in Spa Management

The spa industry is a multi-million enterprise internationally and is an area of tourism growth globally. According to the European Spa Association (ESPA), there are over 1,200 spas and health resorts in 22 European nations.

Health and wellness tourism has expanded rapidly in Ireland within a short time and the challenge for Irish spas is to keep up with international standards. Providing the educational tools to strengthen and sustain the spa industry’s labour pool at management level is a key objective of this course.

The aim of this degree is to give students the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary for employment in management and/or support positions within the spa health and wellness tourism sector, and/or to prepare them for further academic study in this or related areas. The scope of the programme extends to customer service, operations, and management of spa health and wellness tourism resources, enterprises and/or destinations in a modern dynamic business environment.

The nature of the course ensures that graduates will be technically orientated as well as being flexible enough to work in different areas of spa management. It also includes a six-month period of industrial placement.

Minimum Entry Requirements

Leaving Certificate

Grade D3 at ordinary level in five subjects in the Leaving Certificate examination. Two of these subjects must be Mathematics and a language (English or Irish).

FETAC

Any FETAC level 5 qualification is acceptable. There are no specific module requirements.

Modules

Year 1 – Semester 1

Customer Service & Spa Front Office, Introduction to Tourism & Leisure, Massage, Anatomy & Physiology, Health & Safety, Learning to Learn.

Year 1 – Semester 2

Anatomy & Physiology, Massage, Developing a Client Treatment Plan, Diet, Nutrition & Spa Cuisine, Financial Accounting, Introduction to Business & Management.

Year 2 – Semester 1

Introduction to Holistic & Complementary Treatments, Health & Wellness, Traditional Treatments, HRM & Training, Merchandising & Sales, Spa Facility Management.

Year 2 – Semester 2

Industrial Placement.  

Year 3 – Semester 1

Quality Management, Lifestyle Management, Eastern Treatments, Enterprise & Professional Development, Marketing, Management Accounting.

Year 3 – Semester 2

Environmental Management, Tourism Studies, Spa Journey & Treatments, Spa Tourism Case Studies, Marketing Management, Yield & Revenue Management.

Progression

Graduates of this programme will be eligible to progress to a proposed new honours degree in this area.

Professional Recognition

N/A

Career Opportunities

Graduates with a BA in Spa Management will be qualified to work as spa managers, assistant spa managers, owners/entrepreneurs and spa receptionists.

Additional Information

Garda Vetting Procedure

All students on this programme will undertake Garda vetting procedures prior to commencing their work placement. Failure to disclose previous convictions will result in students being dismissed from the programme. Previous convictions, depending on their nature, could result in student dismissal from the programme.