Bachelor of Science in Theme Park and Attraction Management, BS

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

University of Central Florida

Program Overview

UCF’s B.S. in Theme Park and Attraction Management is built for students who want to turn an interest in theme parks, attractions and immersive guest experiences into a management career, studying in Orlando at the centre of the global attractions industry. The program combines operations, guest and employee experience, merchandising, marketing, finance, project management, technology and culinary experiences, while three required internships give students substantial professional exposure before graduation.

Curriculum Structure

UCF publishes the degree requirements rather than a mandatory year-by-year course map. The progression below reflects the program’s movement from foundational hospitality and attraction study into advanced management, operations and project work.

Year 1 – Hospitality and Attraction Foundations

Students begin building an understanding of the industry through HFT 2390 – Introduction to Theme Parks and Attractions, exploring the history, structure, forms and wider impacts of the attractions sector. Foundation subjects such as HFT 2401 – Hospitality Industry Financial Accounting and HFT 2220 – Hospitality Human Resources Management introduce the financial and people-management skills needed to understand how large guest-focused organisations operate.

Year 2 – Marketing, Merchandise and Guest Behaviour

Students start examining how attractions generate revenue and shape visitor behaviour through HFT 3466 – Merchandise Management in Theme Parks and Attractions, HFT 2500 – Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and HFT 3593 – Consumer Behavior in Entertainment. These subjects connect commercial strategy with the guest journey, helping students understand how branding, purchasing behaviour, merchandise and marketing contribute to an attraction’s overall experience and performance.

Year 3 – Managing Guests, Employees and Operations

Upper-level study focuses more directly on attraction leadership through HFT 4752 – Managing the Guest Experience in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry, HFT 4751 – Managing the Employee Experience in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry and HFT 4758 – Operational Issues in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry. Students examine how successful attractions balance service quality, employee performance and operational problem-solving, while elective choices can add areas such as Risk Management, Technology and Innovation, International Theme Park Management or Revenue Strategies.

Year 4 – Project Management and Integrated Attraction Experience

Advanced study brings the different sides of attraction management together through HFT 4755 – Theme Park and Attraction Management, HFT 4950 – Project Management in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry and FSS 3283C – Culinary Experiences in Theme Parks and Attractions. Students can also customise their final-stage learning through subjects such as Product Development in Theme Parks and Attractions, Narrative in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry, Themed Experience, International Theme Park and Attraction Management or technology-focused electives, while completing their required internship progression.

Focus Areas

Learning Outcomes

Understand theme park and attraction organisations and their products and services | analyse operational organisation and project-management challenges | manage guest and employee experiences | communicate according to professional industry standards | demonstrate leadership and collaborative skills | apply critical thinking to attraction operations | develop skills that support strong industry job placement. UCF assesses these outcomes through tests, projects, presentations, portfolios and internship evaluations.

Professional Alignment – Accreditation

UCF is currently institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), an institutional accreditor recognised by the U.S. Department of Education; UCF received initial HLC accreditation in 2025. UCF does not currently list a separate specialised accreditation specifically for the Theme Park and Attraction Management B.S., but the degree is closely aligned with industry through its dedicated Theme Park & Attraction Management Advisory Board, which includes senior professionals from Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Destinations & Experiences and Walt Disney World.

Reputation – Employability & Rankings

UCF’s Rosen College is ranked #1 in the United States for hospitality education and research in the 2025 ShanghaiRanking, while UCF’s current program page also highlights Rosen as the #1 hospitality college globally according to CEOWORLD. Rosen reports a 97% full-time employment rate upon graduation and an average graduate starting-salary range of $50,000–$75,000, although these figures are college-wide rather than specific only to Theme Park and Attraction Management.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

This is one of the strongest practical features of the degree. UCF requires three separate internship experiences, incorporates projects and portfolios into program assessment, and places students only minutes from the world’s leading attraction operators; Universal Epic Universe is directly across from Rosen College and is already being used as a living case study in Theme Park and Attraction Management classes. Students also study at a specialised hospitality campus with high-tech classrooms, computer labs, food-and-beverage training spaces and industry professionals regularly connected to the curriculum.

The most important hands-on opportunities include:

Three Required Internships: Every student completes HFT 3940 – Internship I, HFT 4941 – Internship II and HFT 4944 – Internship III, giving the degree substantially more built-in work experience than a single final-year placement.
Major Theme Park Employers: UCF identifies student experience and employment with The Walt Disney Company, Universal Destinations & Experiences, SeaWorld, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Herschend Family Entertainment, Dollywood, ICON Park, Merlin Entertainments and Six Flags. Rosen has more than 100 hospitality-industry employer partners overall.
Epic Universe as a Living Case Study: Because Rosen College sits less than a mile from Universal Epic Universe, faculty have incorporated the park into multiple Theme Park and Attraction Management classes. Students analyse subjects such as the park’s economic and community impact and follow the development process from research and development through operations and guest experience.
Project-Based Learning: The official program learning compact shows that students are assessed through projects, presentations, portfolios and internship evaluations, giving them opportunities to demonstrate applied management skills rather than relying solely on examinations.
Theme Park Project Management: HFT 4950 – Project Management in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry takes students through the process of moving an attraction from concept toward completion and applying project-management principles to attraction development.
Hands-On Culinary Experience: FSS 3283C – Culinary Experiences in Theme Parks and Attractions explores food as part of immersive themed environments. UCF has documented students creating sample menus linked to themed intellectual property while examining concept development, operations and guest immersion.
Rosen College Training Facilities: The 159,000-square-foot Rosen College facility includes 18 high-tech classrooms, two computer labs, three test kitchens, a 200-seat training dining room and bar, a beer and wine laboratory, a 400-seat auditorium and a dedicated library.
Technology-Focused Electives: Students can select options including HFT 3362 – Technology and Innovation in the Theme Park and Attraction Industry, HFT 3395 – Entertainment Technology and Innovation, HFT 3444 – Hospitality Information Systems, HFT 3505 – Social Media Management in the Hospitality Industry, DIG 2000 – Introduction to Digital Media and even introductory programming or cybersecurity subjects.
Specific Software: UCF’s official B.S. curriculum does not identify a mandatory named software package for this major, so software such as AutoCAD, Revit, Tableau or Adobe products should not be presented as required tools unless confirmed for a particular course.
UCF/Universal Industry Ecosystem: UCF’s wider themed-entertainment ecosystem includes the UCF/Universal Creative Lab, where Universal Creative professionals contribute expertise spanning storytelling, design, engineering, safety, legal issues, budgeting and business analytics. This is a broader UCF themed-experience initiative rather than a guaranteed required component of every B.S. student’s curriculum.
Industry Advisory Board: The degree itself is advised by attraction-industry professionals, including leaders from Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Destinations & Experiences and Walt Disney World, helping keep program development connected to current industry practice.

Progression & Future Opportunities

Graduates are prepared for management and strategy roles spanning park operations, guest experience, attraction development, entertainment production and revenue management. Strong career matches identified by UCF include Attraction Operations Manager, Guest Experience Manager, Project Manager – Attractions or Park Development, and Entertainment Production Manager, with additional opportunities in safety, creative development and revenue strategy.

UCF supports that transition into the attractions industry through:

Dedicated Rosen Career Services: Students receive access to one-to-one career coaching, résumé and cover-letter reviews, interview preparation, LinkedIn profile critiques, major and career exploration, networking support and job/internship search strategies.
Handshake: Rosen students use Handshake to search and apply for internships, jobs and co-ops, book career appointments and register for networking sessions, employer interviews and career events.
97% Employment Outcome: Rosen reports that 97% of students secure full-time employment upon graduation. This is a college-wide Rosen statistic, not a published Theme Park and Attraction Management-only placement rate.
Graduate Salary Range: Rosen reports an average starting salary of $50,000–$75,000 for graduates. Again, this is college-wide rather than an isolated salary result for the Theme Park B.S.
Extensive Internship Reach: Rosen reports 1,000+ students completing internships each semester, with internships secured across all 50 U.S. states and internationally.
Industry Employer Network: The Theme Park degree highlights employment and internship access to Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Hershey, Dollywood, ICON Park, Merlin and Six Flags, while Rosen has 100+ leading hospitality employers in its wider partner network.
Universal Partnership: UCF and Universal Destinations & Experiences have maintained a partnership extending more than 20 years, with thousands of UCF graduates contributing across Universal parks, experiences and operations. In 2026 the partnership expanded through a new school focused on experience leadership and innovation, including areas such as AR/VR, AI, digital twins, service robotics and human-centred guest experience.
Professional Industry Guidance: The program’s dedicated advisory board brings senior attraction professionals directly into program direction, strengthening its alignment with operational, talent-development and revenue needs in the industry.
Long-Term Accreditation Value: UCF’s HLC institutional accreditation confirms that the bachelor's degree is awarded by a U.S. university accredited by an agency recognised by the U.S. Department of Education. The Theme Park B.S. itself does not currently list separate specialised accreditation.
Orlando Location Advantage: Rosen is located minutes from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld and other major attractions, with Epic Universe across from the campus. For a degree centred specifically on attraction management, this creates an unusually concentrated environment for internships, networking and part-time industry experience.

Further Academic Progression:
Graduates who want to move further into the creative development and production side of themed entertainment can apply to UCF’s M.S. in Themed Experience, a two-year, 33-credit program with areas including concept development, guest experience, show writing, project management, creative direction and themed-experience producing. Students seeking a more advanced creative qualification can consider UCF’s MFA in Theatre – Themed Experience, while those aiming for senior management, strategy or research positions within hospitality and attractions can progress to Rosen College’s M.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management, available with thesis and non-thesis pathways.