Recreation Management and Policy: Recreation Administration (M.S.)
The Recreation Administration option prepares professionals with advanced knowledge and skills to plan, administer, and evaluate recreation and outdoor education programs and services across a variety of sectors, including: sports and fitness, community recreation, campus recreation, nonprofit administration, commercial recreation and events, tourism, camps, outdoor education, adventure programming, outdoor recreation, parks and protected areas, conservation, natural resources, and senior or youth-serving agencies. Postgraduate employment opportunities include working as guides, leaders, directors, planners, and managers of agencies and programs that provide healthy recreation and outdoor activities for people across the lifespan.
Specializations are available in campus recreation, outdoor education, and leadership through our partnerships with UNH Campus Recreation (http://campusrec.unh.edu/) and The Browne Center (https://brownecenter.com/). A specialization is available in adaptive sports through our partnership with Northeast Passage (www.nepassage.org).
Applied research opportunities are available through our Applied Recreation Research Collaborative (ARRC Lab), which provides public, private, and non-profit recreation resource managers and practitioners with data-driven solutions to inform decision-making and policy.
Degree Requirements
The 30 credit Recreation Administration option consists of required and elective coursework. In consultation with a faculty adviser, students will select either a thesis or non-thesis track. Full-time students typically take two years to progress through the RA option degree requirements. If a student takes leveling courses, they may need to complete more than two years. Part-time students typically complete the program in three years.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Competencies | ||
| RMP 800 | Concepts of Recreation and Leisure | 3 |
| RMP 806 | Recreation Administration and Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| Required Research Competencies | ||
| RMP 998 | Special Topics (Research Methods) | 3 |
| SW 962 | Data Analysis and Statistics | 3 |
| or EDUC 881 | Introduction to Statistics: Inquiry, Analysis, and Decision Making | |
| Capstone Course (choose 1 track) | 6 | |
| Thesis Track: | ||
| Master's Thesis (Sections I & II - 6 cr total) | ||
| Non-Thesis Track: | ||
| Independent Study (counts as elective course for non-thesis track; can take twice) | ||
| Colloquium Seminar | ||
| Elective Courses in RMP Dept (Thesis track takes 4 electives; Non-thesis track takes 5 electives. Both tracks may also take electives outside Dept) | 12 | |
| Recreation Resource Management | ||
| Adaptive Sports and Recreation Facilitation | ||
| Advocacy, Aging, and Active Living | ||
| Program Administration in Recreational Sport | ||
| Law and Public Policy in Leisure Services | ||
| Entrepreneurial and Commercial Recreation | ||
| Non-Profit Administration and Leadership | ||
| Fund Development and Grantwriting | ||
| Graduate Internship | ||
| Teaching Practicum | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Total Credits | 30 | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Elective Options Outside of RMP Department (not all-inclusive list): | ||
| Exploration in Entrepreneurial Management | ||
| Marketing Research | ||
| Organizations, Leadership, and Environments | ||
| The Social Power of Leadership in the 21 Century | ||
| Managerial Decision Making | ||
| Marketing/Building Customer Value | ||
| Economics of Competition | ||
| Creating Winning Strategies | ||
| Health Analytics | ||
| Health Content and Youth Risk Behaviors | ||
| Inclusive Teaching Through Sport | ||
| Athletic Administration | ||
| Social Issues in Contemporary Sports | ||
| Advanced Topics in Coaching | ||
| Psychological Factors in Sport | ||
| Inclusion in Physical Education | ||
| Therapeutic Applications of Adventure Programming | ||
| Psych Factors of Adventure Ed | ||
| Historical Foundations of Outdoor Experiential Education | ||
| Program Models and Evaluation in Outdoor Education | ||
| Environmental Health | ||
| Social and Behavioral Health | ||
| Public Health Economics | ||
| Policy and Practice of Community Health Assessment | ||
| Health and the Built Environment | ||
| Social Impact Assessment | ||
| Social Conflict | ||
| Introduction to Addiction: Assessment and Intervention | ||
| Implications of Race, Culture, and Oppression for Social Work Practice | ||
- Knowledge of the roles and interrelationships of diverse leisure service delivery systems, as well as professionalism in the discipline.
- Knowledge of the psychological, sociological, and social psychological theories and philosophies related to recreation and leisure.
- Ability to translate and apply theory to park and recreation programs and services.
- Knowledge of the historical and cultural perspectives of recreation and leisure.
- Ability to apply financial, budgetary, planning, marketing, program evaluation, and human resource knowledge and skills to meet present and future organizational needs and challenges.
- Ability to implement leadership skills that advance the recreation profession and broader society.
- Ability to design and conduct research, analyze and interpret data, and apply research findings to the park and recreation industry.
- Knowledge of the interrelationships of allied professions with the recreation industry.
- Ability to promote the benefits of recreation and leisure to enhance individual, social, economic, and environmental well-being and quality of life.
- Skill in communicating effectively in written form in the context of both conceptual and technical writing assignments.