BS in Parks, Recreation and Sport
Degree Program Description
The field of parks, recreation and sport is a multi-billion dollar industry, which encompasses important environmental and social issues such as conservation, community building, human development, health and well-being, and the quality of life. The Parks, Recreation and Sport program provides students with opportunities to develop knowledge and skills for designing, managing, and evaluating various leisure services across a variety of user groups. The undergraduate degree program is comprehensive, yet tailored to meet the needs of students based on current job requirements and professional trends including leadership, communication. problem solving, accounting, and economics. All of our areas of emphasis are accredited with eligibility to sit for the Certified Park and Recreation Professional certification. A wide range of careers in Parks, Recreation and Sport include: outdoor education, park management, park ranger, resource manager, back country guide, visitor relations, recreation supervisors, facility managers, health and fitness, golf course management, park planner, cultural arts, aquatics, account executives, customer relations, game-day operations, compliance, fund raising, sales, and marketing.
Major Program Requirements
Satisfactory completion of 120 credits is required: a minimum of 108 credits in course work and a 12-credit internship with a cumulative GPA of 2.0. Professional preparation includes course work in a professional core, professional option requirements and electives, and an internship. Students must also complete all degree, department, college and university graduation requirements, including university general education.
Students transferring into Parks, Recreation and Sport from other MU degree programs or from other institutions must have a 2.0 GPA (past term and cumulative) for all work attempted.
| Major core requirements (minimum grade of C- in core) | ||
| Communications | 9 | |
| ENGLSH 1000 | Exposition and Argumentation | 3 |
| COMMUN 1200 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| or AG_ED_LD 2220 | Verbal Communication in Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources | |
| Communication Elective | 3 | |
| COMMUN 2100 | Media Communication in Society | 3 |
| or SOCIOL 2310 | Culture and Mass Media | |
| or THEATR 1400 | Acting for Non-Majors | |
| or ENGLSH 2030 | Professional Writing | |
| or SCI_AG_J 3240 | Communicating on the Web | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts | 6 | |
| Biological, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences | 12-13 | |
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra | 3 |
| STAT 1200 | Introductory Statistical Reasoning | 3 |
| or STAT 1300 | Elementary Statistics | |
| or STAT 1400 | Elementary Statistics for Life Sciences | |
| or STAT 2500 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics I | |
| or ESC_PS 4170 | Introduction to Applied Statistics | |
| Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science with at least 1 Lab | 6-7 | |
| Business Core | 9 | |
| ACCTCY 2010 | Introduction to Accounting | 3 |
| or ACCTCY 2026 | Accounting I | |
| or ACCTCY 2036 | Accounting I | |
| or ACCTCY 2136H | Honors Accounting I | |
| ECONOM 1014 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| or AG_EC 1041 | Applied Microeconomics | |
| or ECONOM 1051H | General Economics - Honors | |
| MRKTNG 3000 | Principles of Marketing | 3 |
| or AG_EC 2183 | The Agricultural Marketing System | |
| or AG_EC 3224 | New Products Marketing | |
| Social and Behavioral Science | 12-13 | |
| HIST 1100 | Survey of American History to 1865 | 3 |
| or HIST 1100H | Survey of American History to 1865 - Honors | |
| or HIST 1200 | Survey of American History Since 1865 | |
| or HIST 1200H | Survey of American History Since 1865 - Honors | |
| or HIST 2210 | Twentieth Century America | |
| or HIST 2440 | History of Missouri | |
| or HIST 4000 | Age of Jefferson | |
| or HIST 4220 | U.S. Society Between the Wars 1918-1945 | |
| or HIST 4230 | Our Times: United States Since 1945 | |
| or POL_SC 1100 | American Government | |
| or POL_SC 1100H | American Government - Honors | |
| or POL_SC 2100 | State Government | |
| PSYCH 1000 | General Psychology | 3 |
| SOCIOL 1000 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| or RU_SOC 1000 | Rural Sociology | |
| H_D_FS 2400W | Principles of Human Development - Writing Intensive | 3-4 |
| or H_D_FS 2400 | Principles of Human Development | |
| or H_D_FS 2400HW | Principles of Human Development - Honors/Writing Intensive | |
| or H_D_FS 2400H | Principles of Human Development - Honors | |
| Professional core (required for all options, minimum grade of C- in core) | 25 | |
| P_R_TR 1010 | Introduction to Leisure Studies | 3 |
| P_R_TR 1011 | Academic Planning and Career Orientation in Parks, Recreation and Tourism | 1 |
| P_R_TR 2281 | The Business of Sport | 3 |
| P_R_TR 2750 | Methods in Research and Evaluation | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3210W | Personnel Management and Leadership in Leisure Services - Writing Intensive | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3215 | Program Development in Leisure Services | 3 |
| P_R_TR 4208 | Administration of Leisure Services | 3 |
| Diversity Course | 3 | |
| Parks, Health and Wellness Course | 3 | |
| Professional emphasis requirements (minimum grade of C- in emphasis courses) | 12 | |
| Recreation Management emphasis | ||
| P_R_TR 2111 | Introduction to Planning and Evaluating Leisure Environments | 3 |
| P_R_TR 2355 | Private and Commercial Recreation Principles and Practice | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3220 | Introduction to Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities | 3 |
| P_R_TR 4333 | Park Management | 3 |
| Natural Resources Recreation Management emphasis | ||
| NAT_R 1070 | Ecology and Renewable Resource Management | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3230 | Introduction to Parks and Outdoor Recreation Services | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3231 | Principles of Interpretive Outdoor Recreation | 3 |
| P_R_TR 4340 | Advanced Recreation Land Management | 3 |
| Sport Management emphasis | ||
| P_R_TR 1080 | Introduction to Sport Management | 3 |
| P_R_TR 2080 | Global Sport Environments | 3 |
| P_R_TR 3282 | Governance and Policy in Sport and Leisure | 3 |
| P_R_TR 4385 | Legal Aspects of Sport | 3 |
| Tourism Development emphasis | ||
| HSP_MGMT 1100 | Introduction to Hospitality Management | 3 |
| HSP_MGMT 4110 | Hospitality Sales and Marketing Management | 3 |
| P_R_TR 4357 | Tourism Planning and Development | 3 |
| Internship | ||
| P_R_TR 3189 | Pre-Internship Seminar in Parks, Recreation and Tourism | 1 |
| P_R_TR 4940 | Parks, Recreation and Tourism Internship | 12 |
| Professional option electives | 15 | |
| Advisor-approved courses specific to the student's selected academic option Can include: Any course from the College of Business, Any AG_EC course, Any HSP_MGMT course, AG_ED_LD 2250 or 2260, 2000+ levels of a foreign language, ROTC courses | ||
| General Electives | 5-6 | |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ENGLSH 1000 or MATH 1100 | 3 | MATH 1100 or ENGLSH 1000 | 3 |
| COMMUN 1200 or AG_ED_LD 2220 | 3 | ECONOM 1014 or AG_EC 1041 | 3 |
| P_R_TR 1010 | 3 | SOCIOL 1000 or RU_SOC 1000 | 3 |
| P_R_TR 1011 | 1 | Humanities & Fine Arts | 3 |
| Humanities & Fine Arts | 3 | Missouri State Law Requirement | 3 |
| Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| PSYCH 1000 | 3 | ACCTCY 2010, 2026, 2036, or 2136H | 3 |
| STAT 1200, 1300, 1400, 2500, or ESC_PS 4170 | 3 | MRKTNG 3000, AG_EC 2183, or AG_EC 3224 | 3 |
| P_R_TR 2281 | 3 | P_R_TR 2750 | 3 |
| Communication ElectiveCOMMUN 2100. SOCIOL 2310, THEATR 1400, ENGLSH 2030, SCI_AG_J 3240 | 3 | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Biological or Physical Science with Lab | 4 | Emphasis-Area Course | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| H_D_FS 2400 or 2400W | 3-4 | P_R_TR 3215 | 3 |
| Professional Elective | 3 | Emphasis-Area Course | 3 |
| Emphasis-Area Course | 3 | Professional Elective | 3 |
| Diversity Course | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| Parks, Health and Wellness | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15-16 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| P_R_TR 4208 | 3 | P_R_TR 4940 | 12 |
| P_R_TR 3210W | 3 | ||
| P_R_TR 3189 | 1 | ||
| Emphasis-Area Course | 3 | ||
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| Professional Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 12 | ||
| Total Credits: 120-121 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree. Degree Audits are not available for all programs; however, please consult with the appropriate college or school for audit information.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, by clicking on the Request Degree Audit link. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to http://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via http://www.transfer.org. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to http://registrar.missouri.edu/degree-audits/index.php.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
- If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in Academic Exploration and Advising Services (AEAS) by calling (573)884-9700.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center in the lower level of the Student Success Center. No appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.