Recreation, Parks and Tourism
The department offers programs designed to prepare students as professionals in the fields of commercial recreation and hospitality management, ecotourism, leisure service management, natural resource recreation management, recreation program delivery, therapeutic recreation, travel and tourism.
Satisfactory completion of courses in one of these ar-eas will lead to a Bachelor of Science in Recreation. The curriculum prepares students to develop, manage and deliver leisure services to a variety of populations in diverse settings and provides a foundation for students to pursue graduate studies.
By graduation, students will have obtained compe-tencies and skills sufficient to take the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification and/or the Certi-fied Leisure Professional examination to become a Certi-fied Therapeutic Recreation Specialist or a Certified Leisure Professional.
To obtain the degree, the student must complete the university’s general education requirements, the depart-ment’s prerequisite and pre-professional requirements and the recreation core and specialization courses. An approved full semester internship is required upon com-pletion of all course work.
Commercial Recreation and Hospitality Management focuses courses and training on the knowledge and skills necessary to administer and manage commercial and entrepreneurial leisure service businesses. Hospitality management courses focus on organizing and planning events and conferences.
Leisure Service Management concentrates on profes-sional development in the field of recreation administra-tion at the federal, state and local levels. Courses and training focus on the knowledge and skills necessary to administer and manage non-profit entrepreneurial leisure service delivery agencies and businesses.
Natural Resources Recreation Management pre-pares students for employment opportunities in parks, beaches, wildlife refuges or forest settings and in other outdoor recreation and park services. Courses and training focus on the knowledge and skills necessary to adminis-ter and manage recreation programs in natural environ-ments and to manage the use of natural resources to pro-tect the environment and enhance outdoor recreation experiences. An emphasis in eco--tourism also is offered.
Ecotourism prepares students for employment in na-ture-based tourism. Courses focus on the principles and problems of ecotourism for natural resources and host populations. The student will be sensitized to the interac-tions of tourism and natural resources, the ethical use of natural resources as attractions and the economic values of nonconsumptive uses of flora and fauna.
Recreation Program Delivery prepares students for activity leadership employment in recreation settings such as camps, activity programs, YMCA’s, YWCA’s and Boys and Girls Clubs. Courses focus on planning, implementation and evaluation of recreational activities for all segments of the population.
Therapeutic Recreation prepares students for em-ployment opportunities in clinical and community set-tings that offer therapeutic recreation services to people with illnesses and disabling conditions. Such settings include general hospitals and rehabilitation centers, psychiatric hospitals and mental health services, nursing homes, correctional facilities and community recreation departments. This option also offers emphases in aging and correctional recreation.
Aging emphasis prepares students for employment in therapeutic recreation services that serve the older adult population. Courses focus on leisure education counsel-ing as well as planning, implementing and evaluating the recreational activities that help older adults maintain the highest functional level.
Correctional recreation prepares students for em-ployment in rehabilitation facilities that serve incarcer-ated youth and adults. Courses focus on understanding the social and behavioral problems that lead to involun-tary incarceration and the therapeutic recreational pro-gramming for this population.
Travel and Tourism Planning prepares students for employment opportunities in the tourism industry and with agencies responsible for travel and tourism devel-opment, and in resort recreation management. A speciali-zation in regional tourism planning and development is also offered.
To earn the Bachelor of Science
in Recreation, courses must be completed successfully in general educa-tion,
recreation core courses, related professional courses and specialization
courses. Students should complete the following courses as part of general
education.
REQUIRED PREREQUISITES – ALL OPTIONS
| Technical Writing, | 3 credits |
| Principles of Sociology, | 3 credits |
| Human Growth & Development or Developmental Psy-chology, | 3 credits |
| Introduction to Public Speaking, | 3 credits |
| OTHER PREREQUISITES – BY OPTION | |
|
Commercial Recreation/Hospitality Mgmt. Leisure Service Management Travel and Tourism |
|
| Principles of Macroeconomics, | 3 credits |
| Principles of Management, | 4 credits |
| Principles of Marketing, | 4 credits |
| General Psychology, | 3 credits |
| Natural Resource Recreation Management
Principles of Macroeconomics, |
3 credits |
| Principles of Marketing, | 4 credits |
| Introduction to Ecology, | 4 credits |
| Introduction to Biology, | 4 credits |
| Wildlife Issues, | 3 credits |
| History/Theory of Landscape Architecture, | 4 credits |
| Physical/Biological Science, | 3 additional credits |
| Recreation Program Delivery | |
| Minorities in American Society or
Cultural Anthropology, |
3 credits |
| Principles of Marketing, | 4 credits |
| General Psychology, | 3 credits |
| Social Psychology, | 3 credits |
| Sport, fitness or dance (at least 2 credits in dance), | 8 credits |
| Therapeutic Recreation | |
| Applied Human Anatomy with lab, | 4 credits |
| Applied Human Physiology with lab, | 4 credits |
| Health & Medical Terminology, | 3 credits |
| General Psychology, | 3 credits |
| Abnormal Psychology, | 3 credits |
Specialization Courses
In each option, specialization courses are required and the number of hours varies. These courses must be se-lected from a list of courses by option. Courses taken that do not match the selected option will not be accepted to fulfill degree requirements. Contact the department’s academic advising office for a specialization course list. Suggested programs of study for all options are presented below.
Commercial Recreation / Hospitality Mgmt.
Leisure Service Management
Travel and Tourism
To be on track for the Bachelor
of Science in Recrea-tion, all courses identified in the freshmen and sopho-more
years should be completed during the first 60 hours at the university.
None of the courses, however, must be taken in the term in which the course
is listed. Pre-professional courses appear in bold. Junior/senior level
work should be completed in the sequence presented.
| FRESHMAN YEAR | |
| Semester 1 - Fall | Credits |
| Composition (GE-C) | 3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) | 3 |
| Humanities (GE-HI) | 3 |
| Physical or Biological Science (GE-P or B) | 3 |
| SYG 2000 Principles of Sociology (GE-S) | 3 |
|
|
15 |
| Semester 2 - Spring | Credits |
| ENC 2210 Technical Writing (GE-C)
Or AEE 3033 Writing for Natural and Agricultural Resources |
3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) | 3 |
| Humanities (GE-HI)
Or Physical/Biological Science (GE-P/B) |
3 |
| Physical or Biological Science (GE-P/B) | 3 |
| PSY 2013 General Psychology (GE-S) | 3 |
|
|
15 |
| SOPHOMORE YEAR | |
| Semester 3 - Fall | Credits |
| ECO 2013 Macroeconomics (GE-S) | 3 |
| EDF 3110 Human Growth & Development (GE-S)
Or DEP 3053 Developmental Psychology (GE-S) |
3 |
| MAN 3025 Principles of Management (GE-S) | 4 |
| Electives | 5 |
|
|
15 |
Critical Tracking Criteria:
• Complete at least 3 pre-professional courses
| Semester 4 - Spring | Credits |
| SPC 2600 Introduction to Public Speaking
Or AEE 3030C Oral Communication |
3 |
| MAR 3023 Principles of Marketing (GE-S) | 4 |
| Elective | 3 |
| Specialization Courses | 5 |
|
|
15 |
| Critical Tracking Criteria: | |
| • Complete at least 3 additional pre-professional courses | |
| JUNIOR YEAR | |
| Semester 5 - Fall | Credits |
| LEI 3140 Philosophy & History of Recreation (GE-H) | 3 |
| LEI 3400 Recreation Programming and Leadership | 4 |
| * LEI 3832 Special Events and Meeting Planning | 3 |
| LEI 3705 Leisure Services for People with Disabilities | 3 |
| Specialization Course | 2 |
|
|
15 |
| * Travel and tourism requires LEI 3830 | |
| Semester 6 - Spring | Credits |
| LEI 3921 Field Experience | 3 |
| LEI 3500 Administration of Leisure Services | 3 |
| **LEI 3546 Park Management (Leisure service management only) | 3 |
| LEI 3180 Trends in Leisure Services | 3 |
| Specialization Course | 3 |
|
|
15 |
| ** Commercial recreation requires LEI 3843 | |
| ** Travel and tourism requires LEI 3831 | |
| SENIOR YEAR | |
| Semester 7 - Fall | Credits |
| LEI 4540 Management and Supervision of Leisure Facilities and Personnel | 4 |
| LEI 4570 Revenue Resources Management | 3 |
| LEI 4880 Evaluation of Leisure Services | 3 |
| Specialization Courses | 5 |
|
|
15 |
| Semester 8 - Spring | Credits |
| LEI 4940 Internship in Leisure Services | 15 |
Natural Resources Recreation Management
Option & Recreation Program Delivery Option