Recreation Management and Policy: Therapeutic Recreation Administration (M.S.)

The Therapeutic Recreation Administration option prepares advanced personnel for administrative responsibilities in clinical-based practice & administrative leadership in community-based recreation services that meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. Graduate education serves Therapeutic Recreation Specialists who wish to move into administrative positions such as supervisor/manager/director, senior therapist, treatment coordinator, assisted-living manager, and senior center supervisor.

A specialization in community-based TR is also available through our partnership with Northeast Passage, including coursework and practice experiences related to in-home/community health promotion programming, TR service delivery in the school system, and adaptive sports (recreational and competitive).

Students without an academic or clinical background in therapeutic recreation may use the M.S. program to satisfy the academic requirements for the national credentialing examination used by the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) and for New Hampshire state licensure. While the graduate program does not require prerequisite courses to qualify for admission, the credentialing examination does require coursework outside the M.S. curriculum requirements and the department requires leveling coursework upon acceptance to the M.S. program.

Degree Requirements

The 30 credit Therapeutic Recreation Administration option consists of required and elective coursework. In consultation with a faculty adviser, students will select either a thesis or portfolio track. Full-time students with a TR undergraduate degree take up to two years to progress through the degree requirements; full-time students without a TR undergrad degree need more than two years. Part-time students take longer to complete the degree.

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Thesis track choose 4 electives; Porfolio track choose 6 electives. Both track may also choose electives outside Dept.

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Not an all inclusive list.

This graduate program is approved to be taken on an accelerated basis in articulation with certain undergraduate degree programs.

General Accelerated Master's policy, note that some programs have additional requirements (e.g. higher grade expectations) compared to the policy.

Please see the Graduate School website and contact the department directly for more information.

• Students will know the roles and interrelationships of diverse leisure service delivery systems, as well as professionalism in the discipline.
• Students will know and apply the psychological, sociological, and social psychological theories and philosophies associated with leisure and recreation behavior.
• Students will develop the ability to translate and apply relevant theory to park and recreation programs and services.
• Students will know the historical and cultural perspectives associated with the park and recreation field, and will apply issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion to park and recreation management.
• Students will apply financial, budgetary, planning, marketing, program evaluation, and human resource knowledge and skills to meet present and future organizational needs and challenges.
• Students will implement leadership skills that advance the park and recreation profession and broader society.
• Students will design and conduct research, analyze and interpret data, and apply research findings to the park and recreation profession.
• Students will explore the interrelationships of allied professions with the park and recreation profession.
• Students will know how to promote the benefits of recreation and leisure to enhance individual, social, economic, and environmental well-being and quality of life.
• Students will demonstrate effective conceptual and technical communication skills, both in oral and written form.