Students interested in pursuing careers in the food and beverage industry will find a new major in beverage management available to them this fall at UNLV.

The beverage management major will be open to students pursing either a bachelor of science in hotel administration or a bachelor of science in culinary arts management.

"Research has shown that a need exists for beverage management studies and that the demand for competent beverage managers would swell if graduates had the proper educational credentials," said John Stefanelli, who chairs the department of food and beverage management in UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

"We looked at hospitality programs across the nation and could not find any with a program in beverage management comparable to the one we will be offering," he said, adding, "That's really not surprising when you consider how expensive it would be to launch such a program if a university didn't have the strong support of the food and beverage industry. UNLV is fortunate to have such support already in place with a wide variety of food and beverage professionals in Southern Nevada." Students who complete majors in beverage management could pursue a variety of careers, including sommelier, wholesale beverage salesman or distributor, retail beverage salesman, beverage writer or reporter, cellar master, alcohol awareness instructor, or bar manager, Stefanelli said. For more information on the beverage management major, call UNLV's department of food and beverage management at 895-1330.