“Tourism” can describe very different degrees. In Dubrovnik, RIT Croatia offers a four-year Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) BS; the University of Dubrovnik’s Faculty of Economics and Business offers a graduate-level Business Economics: Tourism programme. They are not a same-level substitute: the first is an undergraduate route and the second requires a completed bachelor’s degree. This distinction is the first decision to make before comparing the course content.
RIT Croatia: an undergraduate, practice-oriented route
RIT Croatia says its HTM programme is taught in English and combines hospitality operations with business subjects such as marketing, communication, finance, accounting, economics and entrepreneurship. The named course list includes Lodging Operations Analytics and Management, Customer Experience Management, Event and Restaurant Management, and Strategic Project Development in Hospitality. The programme requires at least 800 hours of cooperative education or internships, usually completed during summers after the second and third years. Students receive a US RIT BS and a Croatian 240-ECTS economics degree.
For new 2026/27 entrants, published full-load tuition is €7,800 annually for EU citizens and €8,800 for other non-EU citizens. Citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia are listed in the EU-rate category. Confirm your classification, scholarships and housing costs directly. The practical requirement may be a strong fit if you want early exposure to hotel, travel, food service or event operations. It also means you need to plan around placement availability and any applicable work authorisation.
University of Dubrovnik: a graduate tourism specialisation
The University of Dubrovnik’s Business Economics: Tourism graduate page describes preparation for management roles in tourism, hospitality and the public sector, with attention to economics, environmental protection and sustainable development. Its stated entry route requires an undergraduate degree equivalent to 180 ECTS and a minimum GPA threshold; applicants should check the university’s current admissions notice to see how their previous qualification is assessed. The page describes English-language delivery and an English proficiency route, including an institution-arranged test option for candidates without listed certificates. Confirm all entry and language details for the application year.
A graduate route is more appropriate if you already hold a relevant bachelor’s degree and want advanced tourism/business study. It is not a direct alternative for a school-leaver. The university’s current tuition and any programme-specific fees should be requested from admissions; do not assume RIT’s fee or a legacy figure applies.
A practical decision rule
Choose RIT Croatia HTM if you are seeking your first degree, value an applied hospitality curriculum and can meet the cost and co-op requirements. Consider University of Dubrovnik’s Tourism graduate programme if you already meet the degree prerequisite and want a higher-level business and sustainable-tourism focus. If neither matches your academic stage, compare other English-taught bachelor’s tourism or business programmes listed by Croatia’s national study portal and verify the active intake with the institution.
Choose by academic stage and evidence of fit
For a school-leaver, RIT Croatia is the directly comparable undergraduate path in this pair. A student who already holds a bachelor’s degree can examine the University of Dubrovnik graduate route, provided the prior qualification meets its stated equivalence and grade criteria. If you are partway through a degree, ask both admissions offices whether advanced standing or credit transfer is possible; neither programme description should be read as a promise that prior credits will shorten the course.
The course orientation also differs. RIT’s named modules and co-op requirement emphasise the operations of hospitality organisations and applied management. The Dubrovnik graduate route frames tourism through business economics, sustainability and public-sector management. To test fit, identify three modules you would want to study and three career tasks you want to perform, then match these to required courses, electives, thesis work and placement experience. If you cannot find the relevant detail online, ask the programme director for the current course plan rather than inferring from a title.
Questions to send both admissions offices
Request a written answer for the same intake on: current programme availability; application and document deadlines for your qualification country; English evidence accepted; the full tuition schedule and fee classification; compulsory extra charges; class and placement language; internship or co-op structure; and recognition documents issued on graduation. For the graduate option, ask how the 180-ECTS equivalent and minimum GPA are calculated for your transcript. For RIT, ask how non-Croatian secondary qualifications are assessed and whether any placement arrangements need separate work permission.
Compare like with like in the resulting decision sheet. RIT’s 2026/27 published undergraduate price can be recorded as a confirmed reference for its stated categories, whereas UNIDU’s fee should remain “quote requested” until the institution gives a current amount. Do not fill the gap with a historical fee or a national tuition range. Similarly, a public-university label does not prove a particular graduate programme is free, and an international double-degree structure does not make every credential automatically recognised abroad.
What the comparison cannot settle
Neither institution’s public programme page determines your individual admission, transfer credit, visa, scholarship or future employment outcome. These decisions depend on your documentation, citizenship and the rules in force when you apply. Use this comparison to form precise questions and shortlist options; retain the official response and date so you can revisit assumptions if fees or curricula change before enrolment.
FAQs
Can I compare the two tuition fees directly? Only after receiving current written quotes. RIT publishes 2026/27 undergraduate tuition; request the University of Dubrovnik graduate fee and the costs tied to your exact status.
Which programme is better for hotel operations? RIT’s curriculum names hotel and hospitality operations and includes a required co-op. The University of Dubrovnik route is a graduate Business Economics specialisation; read its current course plan to judge fit.
Can a high-school graduate apply to both? The University of Dubrovnik graduate route requires prior undergraduate study. RIT HTM is the undergraduate option among these two.
Primary sources
Editorial note
Requirements can change and may differ by institution, programme and applicant. Recheck current university and government guidance before paying or travelling.
For comparisons, we assess the stated student brief, current route availability, discovery breadth, application ownership, progress visibility, support, costs and duplicate-application risk. Univs publishes this page and may have commercial relationships with institutions; those relationships do not determine admission decisions. Read our editorial standards.
