Departments & Centers

Recreation, Park & Tourism Studies

Areas of Specialization

The Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies offers the following undergraduate specializations:

  • Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management focuses on educating students about outdoor recreation resources and their use. Topics include outdoor recreation, environmental education, interpretive techniques, outdoor adventure education, nature study, recreation resource management, and organized camping.
  • Park and Recreation Management focuses on enhancing the quality of people's lives by helping them participate in challenging and satisfying recreational activities in beautiful settings. Students acquire professional management skills that can be applied in a wide variety of recreation and leisure facilities and programs around the world. Quality courses with small faculty/student ratio and varied fieldwork opportunities guarantee our students an outstanding educational experience.
  • Recreational Sport Management focuses on the management of people and resources in recreational sports, and provides students with a skill set to assume leadership positions in all types of participatory sports programs.
  • Therapeutic Recreation prepares students to assume positions as therapeutic recreation specialists, also known as recreational therapists. Using a variety of techniques, including arts and crafts, animals, sports, games, dance and movement, drama, music, and community outings, therapists treat and maintain the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of their clients. Professionals assess individuals' needs, plan and implement specific interventions to meet those needs, and document and evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions.
  • Tourism Management  prepares students to enter the world's largest and most diverse industry. Tourism is the business of attracting and catering to the needs and expectations of visitors. Although the tourism industry includes transportation, travel brokers, and food and lodging, students in this program focus on the marketing and management of tourist facilities and destinations. These include government tourism divisions, hotels, resorts, convention centers, theme parks, visitor centers, cruises, and airlines.

Graduate specializations include:

  • Outdoor Recreation is for students interested in outdoor recreation management, resource management, camping administration, outdoor/environmental education, interpretation, and outdoor leadership.
  • Recreation Administration is for students interested in public agencies, private/commercial agencies, or general administration or management.
  • Recreational Sports Administration is for students with career objectives in recreational sport administration in colleges/universities, public and private recreation agencies, or the Armed Forces.
  • Therapeutic Recreation is for students interested in working with disabled persons in either clinical or nonclinical settings.
  • Tourism Management is for students interested in working in administration or management related to the tourism industry.
  • Leisure Behavior is a Ph.D. degree program designed for graduate students wishing to pursue careers in management and administration, teaching, research, or administration in higher education.

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