Graduate Programs
Spotlight
Shu Cole, Ph.D.
Graduate Coordinator
Welcome to our Graduate Program’s web site! As the Graduate Coordinator, I encourage you to explore the site, where you can find useful information about every graduate program offered in the department. Here at RPTS, faculty and staff work hard to enhance the academic quality of our graduate programs. We strive to meet the academic needs of our graduate students by fostering a culture of collaboration with faculty. In addition, The City of Bloomington and surrounding Monroe County is rich in cultural and natural resources. I hope you will find IU Bloomington is an exciting and supportive place to live and learn. Remember faculty and staff at PRTS are here to help you to achieve your academic and personal goals.
As a graduate student in our department, you can prepare for a leadership position in these fields that have become central to our lives, lifestyles, and communities.
Graduates with advanced degrees from the department can be found in administrative and research careers in a wide variety of recreation, park resources, leisure services, and academic settings. Our faculty members provide academic leadership and excellence through teaching, research, and service. We have a humanistic, multidisciplinary approach emphasizing innovation, collaboration, and technology. Research is an important and integral activity in all of our programs. Students are encouraged to fully utilize resources available to them to develop their research skills independently, with advice and guidance from faculty.
Our department embraces lifelong opportunities for discovery, learning, and participation that contribute to healthy lifestyles for Living Well in Indiana and around the world, in keeping with the mission of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Our almuni have a dynamic impact on local, national, and global studies.
Graduate Degrees in Recreation and Leisure Behavior
We offer two advanced degrees:
- Master of Science in Recreation (M.S.)
- Doctor of Philosophy in Leisure Behavior (Ph.D.)
Master of Science in Recreation (M.S.)
Students in the Master of Science Program can pursue one of five majors:
- Outdoor Recreation- offers students the choice of a specialty in resource management, outdoor interpretation, outdoor leadership, or outdoor recreation
- Park and Recreation Management- provides a generalist approach to prepare leaders in a wide variety of career settings
- Recreational Sport Administration- prepares students for administration and programming of sport and leisure activities
- Therapeutic Recreation- emphasizes research and preparation for practice in a specialized clinical setting
- Tourism Management-prepares students for leadership positions in tourism planning and management or for further graduate study leading to careers in research and teaching
- Coming soon: Online Master of Science in Parks and Public Land Management
Doctor of Philosophy in Leisure Behavior (Ph.D.)
The Ph.D in Leisure Behavior is administered through the University Graduate School. A member of the graduate faculty is appointed to chair the student's doctoral advisory committee. Early in the first academic year the student will select two or three additional faculty members, including one representing the minor area. The doctoral advisory committee works with the student to prepare a course of study (prescription of courses) which must be approved by this committee.
