Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism

Program Overview

The Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Program in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Education and Health Professions is a fully online graduate program designed to prepare industry professionals for leadership roles in the fields of outdoor recreation tourism, outdoor adventure tourism, sport (professional and collegiate) tourism, and sustainable destination management. The program emphasizes applied learning, focusing on the development of creative and analytical skills necessary to thrive in a competitive recreation and sport tourism industry.

Requirements for M.S. in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism

Admission to the Master of Science in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism:
Must meet admission requirements to the Graduate School including at least a 3.0 GPA on last 60 hours of undergraduate degree or conferral of a post-baccalaureate graduate degree. Additionally, applicants must submit a statement of interest and resume. No GRE/GMAT is required.

Requirements for the Master of Science in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism:
In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, the following program requirements must be satisfied by candidates for the Master of Science in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism degree.

Candidates for the degree are required to complete 30 credit hours of coursework.
All candidates must successfully complete a capstone project and internship.

The program coursework includes 30 credit hours. All courses are offered online using distance technology. There are no pre-requisites for the courses in order to foster the ability of working professionals to complete the degree program in any sequence. This ensures completion rates remain as high as possible.

Course Requirements

ORST 51003	Trends in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Management (Trends in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Management)	3
RESM 58903		3
ORST 51203	Applied Consumer Behavioral Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport (Applied Consumer Behavioral Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport)	3
ORST 51303	Applied Data Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism (Applied Data Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism)	3
ORST 5180V	Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Field Experience (Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Field Experience)	6
ORST 51403	Analysis of Recreation and Sport Tourism Industry Segments (Analysis of Recreation and Sport Tourism Industry Segments)	3
ORST 51503	Foundations of Sustainable Recreation and Sport Tourism (Foundations of Sustainable Recreation and Sport Tourism)	3
ORST 51603	Organization and Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism (Organization and Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism)	3
ORST 51703	Capstone in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism (Capstone in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism)	3
Total Hours		30

Courses

ORST 51003. Trends in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Management. 3 Hours.

Examination of contemporary issues and trends in the outdoor adventure, recreation, and sport tourism industry. Guest speaker sessions from industry leaders lead to the examination of, and proposed strategies for addressing the industry's current challenges. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the ORSTMS degree. (Typically offered: Fall)

ORST 51203. Applied Consumer Behavioral Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport. 3 Hours.

Evaluation of social and environmental influences on human behavior as it pertains to being consumers in outdoor recreation and/or sport sectors. (Typically offered: Fall)

ORST 51303. Applied Data Analysis in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism. 3 Hours.

Overview of assessment and evaluation methods within the outdoor recreation and sport tourism industry. Data sources, tools, analysis, and data-based decision making will be introduced and utilized for decision-making. (Typically offered: Fall)

ORST 51403. Analysis of Recreation and Sport Tourism Industry Segments. 3 Hours.

Course components will focus on policies, services, business practices, and entrepreneurial aspects of the recreation and sport tourism industry to include public, for-profit, and non-profit organizations. (Typically offered: Spring)

ORST 51503. Foundations of Sustainable Recreation and Sport Tourism. 3 Hours.

Introduction to sustainable recreation and sport tourism development including history, theory, practice, planning and management concepts within the context of sustainable systems. (Typically offered: Spring)

ORST 51603. Organization and Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism. 3 Hours.

This course will focus on aspects of budgeting, organizational structure, partnerships, forecasting, revenue generation, marketing, organizational behaviors, personnel management, politics, legal issues and evaluation specifically for outdoor recreation and sports tourism. (Typically offered: Fall)

ORST 51703. Capstone in Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism. 3 Hours.

This hand-on experience will require students to solve administrative and other problems that may arise within a recreation and sport organization. Particular examination of strategic planning, personnel management, financial management are integrated to construct creative decision-making processes. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer)

ORST 5180V. Outdoor Recreation and Sport Tourism Field Experience. 1-6 Hour.

This experiential-based course requires 37.5 hours of work per credit hour in an outdoor recreation or sport setting focusing on tourism. (Typically offered: Fall, Spring and Summer) May be repeated for up to 6 hours of degree credit.