Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies
Imagine a job leading a wilderness trip for kids, designing health and fitness programs for teens, providing recreational opportunities for college students, organizing sports tournaments for baby boomers…
Recreation, Park and Leisure Studies is designed to prepare students to enter a professional career in a field that provides individuals, families and communities the opportunities to develop a happy, healthy, and satisfying lifestyle. This holistic approach allows you to examine many disciplines as you explore the motivation of individuals within the four domains of physical, cognitive, emotional and social development across the life span. Discover how people use recreation and leisure to improve their quality of life.
- Explore the program
- Curriculum and requirements, University Catalogs
- Faculty
Program highlights
- A small program offers personal attention and individualized career planning.
- Learning abroad opportunities with faculty led trips to Kenya and Costa Rica.
- The Twin Cities Community is a nationally recognized hub of recreation with hundreds of parks, trail systems, lakes, rivers and our very own National Park!
- Professional Experiences through directed study and internships with recreational professionals.
Careers with meaning
Potential employers include:
- State and national parks
- YWCA/YMCA
- DNR
- Fitness/Wellness Centers
- Military Recreation
- Travel and Tourism
- Residential Camps
- Event Planning
- Campus Recreation
- Wilderness Inquiry
- Outward Bound
- Public Municipal Parks
- Environmental Centers
- Outdoor Outfitters
- Cruise Lines
Explore careers in recreation, park, and leisure studies.
Coursework
The program provides a strong academic foundation using a hands-on experiential approach to build the skill sets that students will need in their careers. Field trips, service learning, international study, and internships allow students to work with professionals throughout their academic program.
Two focus areas are offered:
Recreation Administration
Outdoor Recreation Immersion Semester (ORIS)
Students individually design their coursework based on their career goals allowing for greater flexibility and specialization.
