RPTS 601 Interrelationships of Recreation and Leisure Concepts
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
History and philosophy of the field of recreation and parks; fundamentals of planning, development and management of resources allocated for recreation, parks and tourism purposes; development of the recreation movement with broad treatment of the role of recreation and parks in contemporary society.
RPTS 602 Social Science Foundations of Recreation, Parks and Tourism
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Sociological and social psychological dimensions of leisure, recreation and related behavior; nature and function of leisure for individuals and for society; implications for development and management of recreation resources.
Prerequisite: RPTS 601 or previous academic background in recreation and parks.
RPTS 603 Financing and Marketing Park and Recreation Resources
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Positioning park and recreation services; traditional and non-traditional sources of financing for developing services and facilities; philosophy and techniques of marketing services and facilities.
RPTS 604 Principles of Community and Community Development
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Examines different theories about community development as well as the concept of community; explores measurement and other methodological issues in the conduct of basic and applied community research.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
RPTS 605/RWFM 605 Community Organization and Natural Resources Management
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Understand ways communities manage natural resources; understand the roles of collaboration, participation, agency, power, and resilience in solving local resource management problems.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
Cross Listing: RWFM 605/RPTS 605.
RPTS 606 Overview of Tourism
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Theoretical introduction to the field of tourism sciences; the cooperative and dynamic nature of decision-making in tourism; the contributions made by various disciplines towards understanding the consequences of tourism trade and activity; and identification of critical issues in the study of travel and tourism.
RPTS 609 Social, Economic and Cultural Issues in Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Survey of socio-economic and cultural characteristics impinging on provision of outdoor recreation opportunities in urban and non-urban settings; implications of social and cultural factors on recreation resource use patterns, resource development and policy issues.
RPTS 614 Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality, Park and Event Management
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Methods of behavioral science applied to management and research in the experience industries including tourism, hospitality, park, recreation and event management.
RPTS 615 Analytic Techniques in Recreation, Parks and Tourism
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Analysis of current research; instruments and analytic techniques used in the selection and formulation of research problems.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
RPTS 616 Tourism Economics
Credits 3.
2 Lecture Hours.
3 Lab Hours.
Introduction to tourism economics including: tourism consumption and demand analysis; operating and capital budgeting; measurement of economic impacts through input/output analysis; forecasting; project management through PERT/CPM; decision making under uncertainty; benefit/cost analysis.
Prerequisites: RPTS 606 and STAT 651 or approval of instructor.
RPTS 620 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science
Credit 1.
1 Lecture Hour.
Contemporary research programs that represent the interdisciplinary field of prevention science; strengths and limitations of diverse theoretical and conceptual bases of research in prevention science; application of research findings to issues related to the prevention of mental, emotional, and physical health problems and the promotion of well-being. May be taken 3 times for credit.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing and either admission to the interdisciplinary graduate certificate in prevention science program or approval of instructor.
Cross Listing: COMM 671, HLTH 671 and SPSY 620.
RPTS 626 Social Impacts of Tourism
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Analysis of social, cultural and political impacts associated with travel behavior and tourism development, emphasizing a case study approach; theories and methods for assessing individual, community and organization impacts at local and regional levels; host/guest interactions; evaluation of processes of tourism planning and decision-making; and qualitative and quantitative measures for assessing social impacts.
Prerequisite: RPTS 606 or approval of instructor.
RPTS 636 Philosophy of Social Research
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Overview of the history and development of the philosophy of social science; Relationships science; issues in social research; Sociology of Knowledge; related debates in various disciplines and fields of study. May be taken 3 times for credit.
Prerequisite: Doctoral classification.
RPTS 641 Tourism Experience
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Discusses the theoretical foundations of tourism experiences from an interdisciplinary perspective, including the role of humans, nature/landscapes, built environments and technologies in staging tourism-experiences; draws implications for the design/planning, management and marketing of tourism venues such as events, festivals, museums, hotels/resorts, cruise ships, cities, theme parks as well as websites.
RPTS 646 Heritage Tourism
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Comprises a transdisciplinary examination of contemporary research and practice in heritage tourism and public culture; encourages to deploy a variety of disciplinary outlooks to explore the representation of peoples, places and pasts in a range of settings from the indigenous and sacred to the post industrial and post colonial.
RPTS 653/RENR 653 Conservation Psychology
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Theories and methods of psychology applied to conservation behavior for the improvement of relationships between people and natural systems; understand challenges and generate solutions related to the human psyche and wilderness, children and nature, role of culture.
Cross Listing: RENR 653/RPTS 653.
RPTS 654
Credits 4.
4 Lecture Hours.
Amazon Field School. Investigation of social and ecological complexities of biodiversity conservation in tropical ecosystems; biological and social science approaches to evaluate causes, consequences and solutions to biodiversity loss through ecology, culture and governance.
Cross Listing: VTMI 604 and WFSC 654.
RPTS 655/ECCB 655 Applied Biodiversity Science I
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Study in the areas of conservation genetics, metapopulations, landscape ecology, and ecosystem management.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
Cross Listing: ECCB 655/RPTS 655.
RPTS 658 Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Ecological, cultural, and historical dimensions of human-wildlife interactions; root causes of conflict; multidisciplinary frameworks of analysis; lessons learned from practitioners; examples of coexistence; case studies across taxa and continents.
Prerequisites: Graduate classification.
Cross Listing: RWFM 658 and ECCB 658.
RPTS 666 Parks, Tourism and the Natural Environment
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Parks, Tourism and the Natural and Cultural Environment . Analysis of natural and cultural resource management in the United States; emphasis on federal policy and the influence by political processes at the national, regional, and local levels; case studies to illustrate conceptual and legal frameworks in real world contexts, including the policy and politics of tourism and recreation, endangered species, contested history, and Native American traditions and sovereignty.
Prerequisite: RPTS 602 or approval of instructor.
RPTS 670 Youth Development Programs and Services
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Principles and practices of youth development supports, opportunities, programs and services; emphasis on the role of out-of-school time settings in youth development; programming considerations related to gender, disability and culture; introduction to evaluation and financing of youth development programs.
RPTS 671 Practice and Development of Effective Skills for Youth Development
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Development of skills and competencies needed to successfully manage paid and volunteer staff, design youth programs, address safety and risk management issues; build community support of public, non-profit, and for profit or commercial youth programs and agencies; history and scope of youth serving organizations; programming and staffing strategies; managing, mentoring and training staff; diverse approaches to program curriculum and design; behavior management and recognition of youth participants; youth protection; relevant laws and legal mandates; safety, health and wellness; youth advocacy and engagement; working with parents and community partners; and issues and innovations in youth development.
RPTS 672 Community Based Participatory Research
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Examination of historical and emerging philosophical, ethical and methodological issues; CBPR intersection with race, class, gender and other forms of oppression and critical methodologies; challenges for academics and community members to co-construct knowledge; orientation to democratic processes of social and organizational change; focus on inclusion of youth population in building partnerships; gain practical experience in participatory research methods.
RPTS 673 Grant Writing and Program Evaluation for Youth Development Organizations
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Development of knowledge and skills to successfully write grant proposals and design program evaluation plans for youth development organizations, including clarifying organization mission and program needs, locating funding opportunities, following grant guidelines and using different methods to evaluation programs.
Prerequisite: RPTS 670 or approval of instructor.
RPTS 674 Administration, Management and Leadership in Youth Programs
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Organizational behavior, administration and management of public, non-profit and for-profit youth programs and agencies; foundations of management and organizational behavior in the context of youth organizations; organizational culture; strategic planning; capacity building; evaluation; marketing and communication; human resource management; financial resource development; budgeting and fiscal management; contemporary issues facing the youth development field.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
RPTS 677 Youth Development Capstone Experience
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Application of recreation and youth development knowledge to a specific project or program of a cooperating youth development organization.
Prerequisite: Graduate classification; enrollment in the MRYD program.
RPTS 678 Latent Variable Model Applications
Credits 3.
3 Lecture Hours.
Introduction to structural equation modeling (SEM); background on conceptual issues, application of the method, and insight on SEM software; measurement theory, missing data analysis, non-normal data, confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, multi-group models.
Prerequisites: STAT 636, STAT 652, or approval of instructor.
Cross Listing: RENR 678 and RWFM 678.
RPTS 679 Research and Analysis of Issues and Trends in Youth Development
Credits 2.
2 Lecture Hours.
In-depth examination and analysis of a contemporary issue or trend in youth development from a bioecological sytems approach with applications to research and best practices.
RPTS 684 Professional Internship
Credits 1 to 4.
1 to 4 Other Hours.
Survey and application of principles of recreation and resources development; selected aspects of park and recreation management in professional setting within an approved recreation/park agency under the supervision of a member of the graduate faculty.
RPTS 685 Directed Studies
Credits 1 to 4.
1 to 4 Other Hours.
Investigations not included in student's research for thesis or dissertation; problems selected in administration or management, recreation or planning.
RPTS 689 Special Topics in...
Credits 1 to 4.
1 to 4 Lecture Hours.
0 to 9 Lab Hours.
Selected topics in an identified area of recreation and resources development. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: Approval of department head.
RPTS 691 Research
Credits 1 to 23.
1 to 23 Other Hours.
Research in recreation and resources development for thesis or dissertation.
RPTS 693 Professional Study
Credits 1 to 9.
1 to 9 Other Hours.
Approved research or professional paper undertaken as the terminal requirement for the Master of Science Non-Thesis or Natural Resources Development. May be taken more than once, but not to exceed 3 hours credit towards a degree.
Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
