Major: Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management
At the local public pool, parents watch nervously as their five-year-olds learn to swim. At the state park, stressed-out investment bankers hike for the first time in years. Recreation is an important part of everyone’s life.
If you major in parks, recreation, and leisure facilities management, you’ll learn how to help people live healthy, happy, active lives by running parks, community centers, swimming pools, and other sites. And you’ll learn to do so safely and efficiently.
Students in this major learn to develop and manage parks and other places where people participate in recreational activities.
Did You Know?
- Some skill-based certifications, such as first aid, aquatic facility management, or challenge-course programming, can come in very useful when managing a recreation facility.
Are You Ready To...?
- Create a mock recreation master plan for an entire city
- Evaluate the economic impact of building a community center in a small town
- Learn how to manage both large and small staffs
- Analyze the legal issues behind operating a national park
- Mock up an annual budget for a commercial gym
- Work on a recreation program as part of an internship at a Veterans Administration hospital
- Read about swimming pool safety
- Learn how to lead people in a wilderness setting
- Program a living-history demonstration
It Helps to Be...
Interested in working with many kinds of people. People of all backgrounds and ages with diverse needs and interests use recreation facilities on a regular basis.
College Checklist
- Is the program accredited by the National Recreation and Park Association Council on Accreditation?
- Does the program offer specializations in such areas as parks and natural resources management?
- What recreation facilities are available on campus?
- What sorts of internship opportunities will you have?
- Will the program help you find work after graduation?
“Leisure … makes life worth living.”
Lowell Caneday, Professor of Leisure Studies, Oklahoma State University
Course Spotlight
One of the most important classes you take for your major isn’t exactly a class. Most programs require an internship in which you’ll get hands-on experience in the field.
You might spend a semester working a state park, a hospital, or another place where recreation happens. Before you begin, you might prepare for the adventure in a special course designed especially to help you make the most of this central experience.
