Recreation, Parks and Tourism

The department offers programs designed to prepare students as professionals in the option areas of recreation and event management, natural resources recreation management, recreation programming, therapeutic recreation, and tourism and hospitality management.

Satisfactory completion of courses in one of these areas will lead to a Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Parks and Tourism. 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 competencies and skills sufficient to take the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification and/or the Certified Park and Recreation Professional examination to become a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist or a Certified Park and Recreation Professional.

To earn the Bachelor of Science in Recreation, Parks and Tourism, courses must be completed successfully in general education, recreation core courses, related professional courses and cognate courses. An approved full semester internship is required upon completion of all course work.

In each option, cognate courses are required; the number of hours varies according to specialization. These courses must be selected 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 cognate course list. Suggested programs of study for all options are presented below.