Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management

The graduate program is designed to prepare students for administrative, supervisory, research, and teaching positions in public and private recreation and park systems, in colleges and universities, in voluntary agencies and institutions, and in commercial ventures.

The program is oriented to meet the specific needs and research interests of the student. Students may pursue interests in the community, including public park and recreation systems, voluntary agencies, and private commercial enterprises; tourism; institution and community-oriented therapeutic settings concerned with many different disabilities and utilizing a variety of activity modalities; park planning, resource management, interpretive services, outdoor education, and outdoor recreation services.

Admission Requirements

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School application for admission. Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 Admissions Policies.

Scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are NOT required for admission to the M.S. and Ph.D. programs.

For admission to the graduate program, an applicant must hold either (1) a bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution or (2) a postsecondary degree that is equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate degree earned from an officially recognized degree-granting international institution. Applicants from majors other than recreation and parks are welcome to apply; however, additional course work is required. Students with a 3.00 junior/senior average (on a 4.00 scale) and with appropriate course backgrounds will be considered for admission.

Degree Requirements

Master of Science (M.S.)

Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-600 Research Degree Policies.

The master's program is designed for students who wish to continue their studies at the doctoral level at Penn State. 

The M.S. program requires a minimum of 30 graduate credits and a 3.00 (B) grade-point average for graduation. The master's degree must be completed within eight years from matriculation as a degree student. 

Prerequisites for graduate students who do not have an undergraduate degree in RPTM typically range from 3 to 9 credits, depending on the student's background and experience. Prerequisites for incoming graduate students with undergraduate majors in RPTM range from 0 to 6 credits. Incoming graduate students with undergraduate degrees in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management from Penn State are assumed to have met all prerequisite requirements. The graduate program director determines prerequisites for all incoming students. 

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-600 Research Degree Policies.

A master's degree is required to apply to the Ph.D. program.

The doctoral program builds on the master's program to achieve depth in scholarship and research. Students who have not completed a data-based thesis as part of their master's degree will be required to do so during the first three semesters as a doctoral student. The general requirements of the degree, sequentially, are:

1. course work,
2. qualifying examination by the third semester,¹
3. comprehensive examination (written and oral),
4. dissertation proposal presentation, and
5. final defense of dissertation.

Between the qualifying examination and completion of the degree program, a Ph.D. student must have attended Penn State in residence a minimum of two semesters over a twelve-month period. (This may include the semester in which the qualifying exam is taken.) Students have a limit of eight years after the qualifying exam to complete the doctoral program. A 3.00 (B) average is required for graduation.

Prerequisites for graduate students who do not have an undergraduate degree in RPTM typically range from 3 to 9 credits, depending on the student's background and experience. Prerequisites for incoming graduate students with undergraduate majors in RPTM range from 0 to 6 credits. Incoming graduate students with undergraduate degrees in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management from Penn State are assumed to have met all prerequisite requirements. The graduate program director determines prerequisites for all incoming students. 

1

The master's thesis and oral defense may be used for the qualifying examination for continuing students.

Dual-Titles

Dual-Title M.S. and Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

Admission Requirements

Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and The Graduate School before they can apply for admission to the dual-title degree program. After admission to their primary program, students must apply for admission to and meet the admissions requirements of the Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society dual-title program. Refer to the Admission Requirements section of the Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society Bulletin page.  Doctoral students should enroll in a dual-title graduate degree program early in their training, and no later than the end of the fourth semester (not counting summer semesters) of entry into the graduate major program.

Degree Requirements

To qualify for the dual-title degree, students must satisfy the degree requirements for the degree they are enrolled in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. In addition, students must complete the degree requirements for the dual-title in Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society listed on the Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society Bulletin page. 

The qualifying examination in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management satisfies the qualifying exam requirement for the dual-title degree program in Social Data Analytics.

In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for Ph.D. committees, the Ph.D. committee of a Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society dual-title Ph.D. student must include at least one member of the Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society Graduate Faculty. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. If the chair of the Ph.D. committee is not also a member of the Graduate Faculty in Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society, the member of the committee representing Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society must be appointed as co-chair. The Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society representative on the student’s Ph.D. committee will develop questions for and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination. 

Students in the dual-title program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that is approved in advance by their Ph.D. committee and reflects their original research and education in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Transdisciplinary Research on Environment and Society. Upon completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense) to earn the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation must be accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School. 

DUAL-TITLE PH.D. IN RECREATION, PARK, AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL DATA ANALYTICS

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.

The doctoral students in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management interested in having a degree that reflects interdisciplinary training in an array of tools, techniques, and methodologies for social data analytics, may apply to pursue a dual-title Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Social Data Analytics.

Social data analytics is the integration of social scientific, computational, informational, statistical, and visual analytic approaches to the analysis of large or complex data that arise from human interaction. The dual-title Ph.D. program provides additional training with the aim of providing scientists with the skills required to expand the field of social data analytics, creatively answer important social scientific questions, and communicate effectively with both academic and non-academic audiences.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Students must apply and be admitted to the graduate program in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and the Graduate School before they can be admitted to a dual-title degree program. Applicants interested in the dual-title degree program may note their interest in their applications to Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. Students admitted to the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management program will be admitted to the dual-title program in Social Data Analytics upon the recommendation of a Social Data Analytics Program faculty member in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. Students must apply and be admitted to the dual-title degree program in Social Data Analytics prior to the completion of the fourth semester of graduate study.

Additional admissions requirements are listed in the Admissions Requirements section of the Social Data Analytics Bulletin page.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for the dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, listed above. In addition, students pursuing the dual-title Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Social Data Analytics must complete the degree requirements for the dual-title Social Data Analytics Ph.D., listed on the Social Data Analytics Bulletin page.

The qualifying examination in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management satisfies the qualifying exam requirement for the dual-title degree program in Social Data Analytics.

In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for Ph.D. committees, the Ph.D. committee of a dual-title doctoral degree student must include at least one member of the Social Data Analytics Graduate Faculty. Faculty members who hold appointments in both programs’ Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role. If the chair of the committee representing Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management is not also a member of the Graduate Faculty in Social Data Analytics, the member of the committee representing Social Data Analytics must be appointed as co-chair. The Social Data Analytics representative on the student’s doctoral committee will develop questions for and participate in the evaluation of the comprehensive examination.

Students in the dual-title program are required to write and orally defend a dissertation on a topic that is approved in advance by their Ph.D. committee and reflects their original research and education in both Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and Social Data Analytics. Upon completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense) to earn the Ph.D. degree. The dissertation must be accepted by the Ph.D. committee, the head of the graduate program, and the Graduate School.

Dual-title students may be expected to regularly attend regular research seminars in the SODA program. 

Minor

A graduate minor is available in any approved graduate major or dual-title program. The default requirements for a graduate minor are stated in Graduate Council policy GCAC-218 Minors.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by the Fox Graduate School.

Courses

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM) Course List

Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of recreation, park, and tourism management issues.
2. Analyze and synthesize the literature from a variety of perspectives and disciplines in a specific area recreation, park, and tourism management.
3. Integrate and apply transdisciplinary concepts of recreation, park, and tourism management to contemporary issues in the field.
4. Design and implement independent research to address a contemporary issue in recreation, park, and tourism management.
5. Effectively communicate diverse and contrary perspectives regarding recreation, park, and tourism management orally and in writing.

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