Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management

The B.S. in Parks, Tourism & Recreation Management degree is designed to prepare students for professional positions developing and managing nature-based recreation experiences and park resources for public land management agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the nature-based tourism industry. Students pursuing this degree must choose between an option in Recreation Resources Management or Nature-Based Tourism. The Recreation Resources Management option provides the educational background necessary for evaluating and managing wild lands to protect their recreational, heritage, and ecological values. The Nature-Based Tourism option is designed to combine an understanding of social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic contexts surrounding tourism in a natural resource setting. All students learn the processes and conceptual skills needed to determine alternative management strategies, make management decisions, and carry out management programs. Included are courses leading to an understanding of the basic ecological characteristics of recreational lands. Students also take courses dealing with human behavior and management. Emphasis is placed on presenting problems that would be encountered while managing national parks and forests, state and regional parks, wilderness areas, and other recreation resources of international and national significance.

Undergraduate Degrees Available

Subject Type Option Track
Parks, Tourism &Rec Management Bachelor of Science
Parks, Tourism &Rec Management Bachelor of Science Nature-Based Tourism
Parks, Tourism &Rec Management Bachelor of Science Outdoor Recreation Services
Parks, Tourism &Rec Management Bachelor of Science Recreation Resource Mgmt

Department Faculty

Professor

  • Bill Borrie, Professor of Park and Recreation Management
  • Wayne Freimund, Professor, Parks and Protected Area Management
  • Norma Nickerson, Research Professor; Director of ITRR

Associate Professor

  • Keith Bosak, Associate Professor of Nature Based Tourism and Recreation
  • Elizabeth Covelli Metcalf, Associate Professor of Recreation Management & Human Dimensions of Natural Resources; Undergraduate Program Director, PTRM

Assistant Professor

  • Jennifer Thomsen, Assistant Professor of Park, Recreation, and Tourism Management

Emeritus

  • Steve McCool, Professor Emeritus of Wildland Recreation Management