Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University
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    Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University

    Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    United States of America
    United States of America, University Park
    University Rank:#82
    Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University

    The Recreation is a Bachelor degree offered by Pennsylvania State University across its Main Site, Any Penn State Campus, Abington, University Park, World Campus, and Greater Allegheny campuses in United States of America. The program is delivered on campus as a Full Time course in English and requires approximately 4 years to complete. Students study across its Main Site, Any Penn State Campus, Abington, University Park, World Campus, and Greater Allegheny campuses while gaining the knowledge and practical experience expected for this area of study. The next intake is available from June 1, 2027.

    About Bachelor of Recreation

    Faculty in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management (RPTM) teach and conduct research and outreach in the areas of recreation, park management, golf management and tourism to address how humans derive benefits from leisure activities. RPTM faculty teach and conduct research in variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives to better understand the natural, psychological, social, economic, and cultural systems that influence human behavior in the context of recreation, parks and tourism. Our interdisciplinary, systems approach enables us to address issues of human well being, and sustainable development through curricula and innovative research programs. Our mission is to transform human health and well-being through engaging people in recreation, park, tourism and leisure activities.

    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RECREATION, PARK, AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

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    Our world-class faculty members help make a difference for you by:

    • Engaging students in hands-on learning.
    • Providing opportunities for international experiences.
    • Encouraging involvement in and out of the classroom and in professional organizations.

    Our mission is to transform human health and well-being through engaging people in recreation, park, tourism, and leisure opportunities. We aim to educate and inspire you to make contributions to society, and our conceptual approach serves as the foundation of what and how we teach. In particular, we integrate topics such as diversity, environmental sustainability, human development, health and well-being, social innovation and entrepreneurship, community, and economic development.

    The program prepares students for supervisory and administrative positions with park systems, environmental centers, commercial recreation and tourism agencies, golf courses, hospitals and assisted living facilities, private voluntary agencies, schools and colleges, and other commercial, nonprofit, and public organizations that provide recreation and leisure services. The program combines a broad educational foundation with specific courses designed to accommodate career interests in recreation, park, and tourism management. The program helps students gain the theoretical, managerial, technical, and experiential skills they need to become the next generation of leaders in the field. Additionally, students obtain real-world experience through our internship experiences.

    Four (4) options are offered:

    Commercial Recreation and Tourism Management Option

    Available at the following campuses: Abington, Greater Allegheny, University Park, World Campus

    This option focuses on management in the private/commercial, non-profit, and public sectors of recreation/leisure services. The private/commercial focus will be of interest to students seeking careers in a variety of commercial settings such as resorts; theme parks, convention centers; sports and fitness facilities, including arenas and stadiums; tourism promotion/planning agencies; and employee recreation departments within corporations. This focus will also appeal to students wishing to become entrepreneurs.

    Community Recreation Management Option

    Available at the following campuses: Abington, Greater Allegheny, University Park

    For those interested in the community, public, or non-profit sectors for positions within municipal, state, and federal government agencies; recreation divisions of the armed services; YMCA agencies; United Way agencies; scouting organizations; university-affiliated units such as student unions, intramural and alumni services; and other non-profit organizations.

    Professional Golf Management Option

    Available at the following campuses: University Park

    Accredited by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, the Professional Golf Management Option prepares students for careers in the golf industry. Students will be prepared to assess leadership and management principles including customer service, interpersonal skills, business communication, conflict resolution, time management, negotiating, project management, marketing, and community relations. In addition to the core curriculum, the program has a strong business focus and is drawn from several nationally recognized academic disciplines on campus.

    Outdoor Recreation Management Option

    Available at the following campuses: University Park

    This option prepare students for careers in Park Management and Environmental Interpretation (PMEI), Adventure Recreation, or in both fields. The Adventure Recreation pathway emphasizes outdoor experiential leadership, including wilderness experiences and personal development. The PMEI pathway focuses on natural and cultural history environmental interpretation and education and the social science of conservation. The third pathway provides a flexible route for students to combine parts of the Adventure Recreation and PMEI pathways to create a meaningful personalized set of courses that could include study abroad experiences and prepare students for international contexts of recreation management. The Outdoor Recreation Management option is of interest to students seeking employment in a variety of outdoor recreation and park settings (local, state, and national from urban to wilderness) offering outdoor activities and personal development to the public.

    Disciplines

    Penn State Abington The Abington College

    Requirements and Admission Criteria for Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University

    Entry Requirements

    Penn State requires the submission of specific academic credentials to complete your application. Review the secondary and post-secondary requirements for your country below.

    If you are a first year student applying to Penn State:

    Click Apply to start your Penn State application. Before starting, you can also review the Applying Online Worksheet for more details and helpful hints about the application.

    Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the Save and Continue button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

    After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR). As you begin the SRAR process, a new window will open allowing you to complete your SRAR. SRAR will focus on your high school coursework. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. Therefore, have a copy of your secondary school records available as you complete your SRAR. You will need to enter every class and every grade earned for the last three years, as well as those classes in progress.

    After completing your SRAR, you will be directed back to the Penn State application in order to complete the Program of Study portion of the application. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for first-year students.

    After completing this section of the application, you will provide some additional information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

    If you are a transfer student applying to Penn State:

    All international transfer students will be required to submit official high school transcripts in order to complete the application. International transfer students will not complete the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) for either their high school or college coursework.

    If you have accepted your offer of admission to Penn State:

    If you completed SRAR and are accepted to Penn State, please provide the following for grade verification:

    • Official transcript from years 9, 10, 11, and 12. If the transcript is issued in a language other than English, it must be accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.
    • Official copy of the Tawjihi, accompanied by a separate line-by-line English translation.

    English Requirements

    • IELTSMin 6.5
    • TOEFLMin 80

    Career Opportunities after Completing Bachelor of Recreation

    Four options are offered to help prepare students for management positions in public or private agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. The options offered are:

    1. Commercial Recreation and Tourism Management
    2. Community Recreation Management
    3. Professional Golf Management
    4. Outdoor Recreation Management

    Management positions include, but are not limited to resorts, event management businesses, golf courses, golf industry businesses, park systems, environmental centers, university intramural and sport club programs, recreation services for the armed forces, and health care facilities. Our multidisciplinary graduate program is designed to educate students about research, theory, and practice related to leisure and recreation as experienced at the individual, societal, and cross-cultural levels. Both the M.S. program and Ph.D. program help students develop an understanding of the social, environmental, psychological, and economic aspects of human behavior in recreation and leisure activities and also allow students to concentrate their studies in:

    • Recreation/tourism management and marketing
    • Commercial recreation and tourism
    • Outdoor recreation and protected area management
    • Community recreation
    • General leisure behavior

    A degree from RPTM is suited for you if you have career interests in supervisory and administrative positions in tourism & event management, entertainment, sport & fitness venue management, professional golf management, community recreation, non-profit administration, outdoor experiential leadership, park management, environmental interpretation, natural resource management and youth & senior recreation services.

    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES OF THE RECREATION, PARK, AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

    Opportunities for Graduate Studies

    Whether you are looking for a master's degree or your doctorate in RPTM, our multi-disciplinary graduate program is designed to educate students about research, theory and practice related to recreation, parks, tourism and leisure. Both the master of science (M.S.) and the doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) programs help you develop an understanding of the social, environmental, psychological and economic aspects of human behavior in relation to the experience and delivery of recreation, park, tourism and leisure activities.

    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

    Professional Resources

    • Professional Golfers' Association of America
    • Kurt Hahn Consortium for Values and Experiential Learning
    • Denali National Park and Preserve
    • Shaver's Creek Environmental Center
    • National Park and Recreation Association
    • Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society

    Tuition and Fee Information for Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University

    Application Fee 75

    How to Apply for Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University

    Step 1: Choose Your Application Method

    Apply through MyPennState

    The first step of the application process is to create a Penn State account, if you do not have one already. MyPennState is where future students can access the online application.

    If you are new to MyPennState, you will need to establish a Penn State User ID and password, which you will access during the MyPennState profile creation process. Once you have your log in information, you can sign in to begin work on your application.

    When creating the profile, please use the name that is on your passport. Because materials are filed alphabetically under the family name on the application, it is important that all correspondence and records consistently use the same name (family and given) and spelling. If this name does not match your academic records, please notify us of the difference. Please note: In the U.S., the family name is usually referred to as the last name, and the given name is referred to as the first name.

    Additionally, Penn State requires a current, valid email address, as that is our primary means of communication with international students. To ensure deliverability, please make Penn State (psu.edu) an eligible sender to the account.

    Applying through the Common App

    Applying to Penn State via the Common App is available to first-year (freshman) international students. If applying through the Common App, Penn State will create a MyPennState profile when the application is submitted and you will receive instructions on how to access your profile. If you intend to apply with the Common App, you do not need create a MyPennState profile prior to submitting your application.

    Step 2: Access the Application and Review Important Dates

    While you can create a MyPennState profile at any time, the application for admission becomes available on the following dates:

    Fall/Summer Admission: August 1

    Spring Admission: June 1

    The application submission dates vary by applicant type and intended program of study. Some programs have specific deadlines or admissions requirements. Please refer to our Dates & Deadlines for more information about application deadlines, as well as our Admissions Requirements to review information about any additional materials required for your intended program of study.

    Step 3: Start Your Penn State Application

    If applying through MyPennState:

    Click Apply Online to start your Penn State application. 

    Your application work can be saved at each step of the process by clicking the "Save and Continue" button at the bottom of the page. This feature will allow you to move back and forth within the application or log off and return to complete your application at a later time.

    After completing your Academic History, you will need to provide your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR), unless otherwise directed. You will be directed to enter information about your secondary school coursework. Please have a copy of your secondary school records as you complete SRAR. It is important that this step is a complete and accurate representation of your school record. You will need to enter every grade for every course you have taken in the last three years, as well as your current schedule of classes.

    Students educated in South Korea will not complete SRAR. The document requirements for South Korea can be found by reviewing our International Credential Requirements.

    After this section, you will be directed back to the Penn State application to complete the Program of Study portion. Here, you will indicate your desired starting semester, your intended program of study, and your starting and ending campus. For further details on how to complete this portion based on your applicant type, please see the steps to apply for either first-year students or transfer students.

    After this portion, you will provide some additional application information, an activities resume, and a personal statement. You will be able to paste in this information from other sources, but note that the formatting may not always paste in as intended.

    If applying through the Common App:

    Complete the Common App, which will then direct you to MyPennState to complete SRAR. Applicants using the Common App may feel that they provided their high school record via the Common App, but Penn State requires the completion of SRAR via MyPennState. We strongly encourage you to obtain an official copy of your high school transcript to ensure accurate entry of your coursework completed and grades earned. The SRAR will include all of your high school coursework from your last three years of work and your current year schedule. If your final year grades are available when you enter SRAR, you can enter them at that time.

    Step 4: Submit Your Application

    The application requires a nonrefundable application fee of $75 for international students. Be sure to complete the last step after Summary and Review, which finalizes payment of your fee, and be certain it is successfully submitted. Once the application is submitted, you can verify its completion by accessing your MyPennState profile.

    Step 5: Submit Required Application Materials

    In order to complete your Penn State application, we need the following materials:

    • Application
    • Secondary school record
    • Post-secondary school records (if applicable)
    • First-year applicants only: Official test scores: SAT (code #2660) or ACT (code #3656)

      Writing Component and Subject Tests

      Please note: The writing component of standardized tests (SAT or ACT) is not required. The writing component will not be used as part of our evaluation. If your test scores include the writing component, by all means, have those scores sent to Penn State. Additionally, we do not require SAT Subject Tests.

    • English language proficiency, if your native language is not English

    Please see the admissions requirements for international students to review the details about the required application materials. Some programs require additional items to complete your application. Please review our Admissions Requirements for those details.

    Penn State does not require letters of recommendation, nor are they used in a student’s evaluation (unless required for a specific program).

    Step 6: Check Your Application Status in MyPennState

    You can always check the status of your application in MyPennState. We will communicate with you via MyPennState and through a series of emails regarding the missing items for your application. When everything has arrived, you will see a status in MyPennState confirming the completion of your application.

    Please note: It is your responsibility to check on the status of your application and send us any missing materials.

    Step 7: Receive Your Admission Decision

    Once we have reached a decision regarding your application, we will update your status in MyPennState and provide a printable PDF of your decision letter. Review our Dates & Deadlines to see when you should expect your decision.

    If accepted, you can accept your offer of admission in MyPennState to begin the process of becoming a Penn State student. Visit our Accepted Students section to review the next steps in this process. Once you accept your offer of admission to Penn State, those students completing SRAR will submit their official records for validation purposes as soon as possible.

    Bachelor of Recreation at Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    Pennsylvania State University
    United States of America

    United States of America, University Park

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