Top 10 things to think about when choosing the right university
10.
Vibrant alumni community
Does the university have an active and vibrant alumni community, with a worldwide presence and bespoke benefits offered to alumni?
Now 16,000 strong, and with members spanning generations and continents, the Les Roches alumni community is a priceless networking resource. As you build your career, or business, after Les Roches, we’re by your side all the way. It’s part of the commitment we make to those who study with us, and it includes lifelong career support from our specialized team. Your fellow alumni will be with you too, sharing advice and insights, providing job opportunities or simply offering a friendly face in a new city. We strive every day to ensure that membership of this wonderful global community brings benefits to all.
of alumni agree that Les Roches provided them with a strong network.
Employment rate on graduation
institution globally for Hospitality & Leisure Management*
2025 QS World University Rankings
9.
Internships and professional opportunities
Does the university produce career-ready graduates, and does it enjoy a strong reputation among employers?
Professional internships are offered as optional extras to most of our graduate programs. Why? Because employers value this real-world experience just as highly as academic achievement, so it makes our alumni stand out from the competition for the best roles. We have dedicated Career Services teams on both our campuses. As well as guiding and supporting you, they’ll set up interviews, help you prepare and give advice on your career options. And they have worked tirelessly throughout the years to partner with the industries we serve and nurture contacts with key recruiters – that’s why we receive around 300 visits to our campuses every year from leading brands keen to recruit students for internships and full-time roles, while prospective employers also submit hundreds of opportunities to our dedicated online job platform. Students who make full use of the range of tools and counseling we provide can regularly look forward to multiple job/internship offers from which to choose. As a Les Roches alumni, you’ll benefit throughout your career from our global status.
8.
Personalized, highly supportive student experience
Does the university offer a personalized, ‘boutique’ education that makes each student a name, not a number?
We pride ourselves on offering a bespoke experience to educate tomorrow’s leaders in hospitality. Amid our highly compact campus communities, every one of our students is recognized for who they are – a name, not a number. Our highly personalized approach to education begins in the classroom, with faculty able to take advantage of our commitment to small class sizes by getting to know every student on a one-to-one level, offering support and advice on demand. The same is true for our bespoke career counseling, which begins on a student’s first day on campus and now extends beyond graduation and into the professional lives of our alumni. For our executive-level programs requiring prior professional experience, the small class sizes help to foster networking while also giving participants maximum opportunities to share insights and experience with each other.
Student to faculty ratio
Total students across Les Roches campuses
nationalities on campus
7.
Multicultural learning environment
Does the university attract an international student body, enabling students to experience different cultures in order to enhance their intercultural fluency?
If your intention is to forge a career in a global industry such as hospitality, a crucial soft skill to possess is intercultural fluency. This means an understanding – and appreciation – of cultural differences; enabling you to integrate easily within multicultural teams and adapt to different international environments. At Les Roches, with two international campus locations, a world of internship opportunities, plus a student community of around 100 nationalities, you can live, study and work without borders.
6.
International study pathways
Are there opportunities to study in other locations domestically or internationally?
There’s no more diverse a business than hospitality, so it makes sense for Les Roches to prepare the industry’s future talents for globetrotting careers by giving them exceptional international study pathways. For graduate students we offer a range of distinct programs at each campus, with our popular Master's of Science, MBA, DAS, MAS or Executive programs. And while the bulk of the learning from our Executive programs is done online, for maximum flexibility and convenience, participants can opt for up to six weeks on campus in Marbella for the Executive Master’s in International Hotel Management, with two residential weeks in Switzerland and Dubai offered as part of the Executive MBA in Global Hospitality Management.
5.
Campus locations
Where is the university located? Does the location contribute to the overall student experience?
As a student you want to feel safe and happy in your place of study, so location is important. At Les Roches, we have campuses located in two of Europe’s most prestigious and safe resort destinations: Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps and Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol. Crans-Montana is world-renowned as a winter sports destination, but the area is equally alive during the rest of the year, becoming a magnet for hikers and mountain bikers as well as boasting a world class golf course. Moreover, Switzerland’s position at the heart of Europe makes it an ideal launchpad for weekend adventures to neighboring countries such as Italy, France and Germany. Marbella is the jewel of Spain’s Costa del Sol, offering year-round sunshine (an average of 320 days each year!), 24 unique beaches, an unbeatable array of sporting and leisure activities, as well as a gastronomic scene headed by four Michelin-starred eateries. It makes the city a living hospitality laboratory for our students. Abu Dhabi is a vibrant, truly cosmopolitan city, home to more than 200 nationalities and with nearly 90% of its population being expats. Consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the world, Abu Dhabi provides a unique lifestyle that offers something for all tastes – from internationally acclaimed museums and sports events to cultural festivals and historic sites. The nearby Abu Dhabi desert, meanwhile, offers adventure within an hour’s drive.
4.
Comitted to applied learning
Does the university commit to applied learning to deliver knowledge and skills which are suited to the real world?
At Les Roches, we are pioneers of the Swiss model of hospitality education, which means our transformative education is hands-on, immersive, and focused on ‘learning by doing’. For graduate students without a hospitality degree or professional background in the industry, we offer the Hospitality Immersion Program, a program that runs in parallel to the first semester and cover key industry disciplines including F&B and rooms division. In addition, most graduate programs encompass immersive field trips to international hubs of commerce and hospitality, enabling students to see how their classroom learning is applied in the real world, while also networking with key players in the industry. And many programs incorporate applied projects working alongside real companies, with students who shine in this environment regularly hired upon graduation by the ‘client’ company!
3.
Academic ethos
Will the university teach you what you need to succeed in your chosen career?
Exceptional employability and career progression represent the key ‘return on investment’ from studying with Les Roches. And this is reflected in our academic grading rubric. Our degree programs have four key elements of evaluation, which develop and intensify as your study progresses. They are: Knowledge and understanding Cognitive skills Professional competencies Transferable skills (across a range of disciplines such as ‘information literacy’ and ‘working with others’) These credit level descriptors emphasize personal development planning, interpersonal and communication skills. Such skills are transferable across professional disciplines and they enhance our graduates’ employability while also providing them with a solid platform on which to build throughout their professional lives.
2.
Student life
Does the university offer world class student facilities, a broad range of clubs and societies, as well as weekend events and excursions?
At Les Roches our motto is “it’s not just a school, it’s a way of life”, which is our way of saying that students enjoy a fully-rounded experience that balances academic achievement with a fun and invigorating life outside the classroom. Our Crans-Montana, Marbella and Abu Dhabi campuses are compact and caring environments that are perfect for friendship-building, with dedicated student life teams who create an ever-changing program of events and excursions that make the most of their exclusive resort locations. From their first day on campus students can enjoy dedicated health & wellness areas, as well as access to numerous student-led clubs and societies and more than 80 fully supported sports and cultural activities each semester. Students also have the opportunity to create and lead their own clubs based on their interests and skill sets.
1.
Accreditation and recognition
Does the university have a recognized global accreditation, allowing it to offer its own degrees?
Accreditation is a rigorous procedure which provides students and their sponsors with the guarantee that their chosen institution has successfully completed an independent assessment of its education, faculty and facilities. The Swiss Accreditation Council (SAC) has awarded Les Roches the status of University of Applied Sciences Institute. This significant accomplishment elevates the institute’s academic standing both in Switzerland and internationally. Les Roches is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), which also accredits world renowned institutions like Harvard, Yale and MIT. In addition, we have been awarded #2 globlally for Hospitality & Leisure Management by QS World University Rankings 2025