Core Curriculum and Emphases

The recreation, sport and park administration program

• Is the only program on campus specifically preparing graduates for administration and management of recreation, sport, and park programs/services in human services settings such as municipal recreation and youth serving agencies, for-profit commercial recreation businesses from travel and tourism to retail (Recreation Management Emphasis).
• Is the only program on campus and the first recreation program in Missouri to offer a curriculum which prepares graduates for careers in wellness and health promotion settings (Wellness/Health Promotion Emphasis).
• Offers a degree emphasis focusing on youth sports league development, collegiate athletics careers, and entry into professional sport management (Sport Administration Emphasis).
• Offers a degree emphasis in parks and outdoor recreation for majors interested in camps, outdoor education, adventure recreation, and other outdoor resource related careers (Parks and Outdoor Emphasis).

Field experience

Field experience is an important aspect of your professional preparation. You will complete a 100-hour practicum and a 10-15 week (400-600 hours) full-time internship experience supervised by both an agency and university supervisors. Each requires weekly documentation of experiences and intern research into the agency's operation. Practical experiences are also required in other professional core courses through service learning. Other additional volunteer and paid career related experiences are strongly encouraged to build a students professional qualifications and work experience for the job market.

Student organizations

Active and experiential involvement with leisure service professionals in seminars, conferences and workshops is encouraged as a means of extending your curricular preparation and of providing lifelong learning and networking opportunities.