Outdoor Recreation
Administered by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
The Outdoor Recreation technical option develops the knowledge and skills needed for planning and managing natural resource-based outdoor recreation opportunities and resources.
Job Opportunities
The Outdoor Recreation technical option prepares students for positions with federal, state, regional, county and municipal parks, recreation and land management agencies as well as with private firms and non-profit organizations.
Faculty Contacts
- Carla Barbieri, carla_barbieri@ncsu.edu, 919-513-0351
- Jason Bocarro, jnbocarr@ncsu.edu, 919-513-8025
- Bethany Cutts, bbcutts@ncsu.edu, 919-515-5749
- Michael Edwards, mbedwards@ncsu.edu, 919-513-0060
- Myron Floyd, myron_floyd@ncsu.edu, 919-513-8026
- Lincoln Larson, lrlarson@ncsu.edu, 919-515-8947
- Yu-Fai Leung, leung@ncsu.edu, 919-513-3489
- Duarte Morais, dbmorais@ncsu.edu, 919-926-8052
- Erin Seekamp, erin_seekamp@ncsu.edu, 919-513-7407
- Kathryn Stevenson, kathryn_stevenson@ncsu.edu, 919-515-2739
Curriculum
Prerequisites
Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree
Required Courses
Master of Science in Natural Resources and Master of Natural Resources Core Curriculum (required)
| Course | Description | Credit Hours | |
| NR 500 | Natural Resource Management | 3 | |
| NR 571 | Current Issues in Natural Resource Policy | 3 | |
| ST 5** | A graduate level statistics course | 3 | |
| FOR 801 | FER Graduate Seminar (or equivalent seminar course) | 1 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 10 |
Technical Option Core Curriculum (required)
| Course | Description | Credit Hours | |
| PRT 701 | Research Methods in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management (PA 515 may be substituted when necessary) | 3 | |
| PRT 550 | Human behavior and the environment | 3 | |
| PRT 555 | Environmental Impacts of Recreation and Tourism | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 |
Additional Courses/ Requirements
PRT 500 (Conceptual Foundations of Recreation) is required for students without a four-year undergraduate degree in parks and recreation. These credits may be used as part of the technical option elective credits.
Students with no previous GIS course at the undergraduate or graduate level are required to take GIS 510 or equivalent graduate level GIS course. These credits may be used as part of the technical option elective credits.
PRT 693 (Master’s Supervised Research) or PRT 610 (Special Topics in Recreation Resources is required for the Master of Natural Resources degree.
PRT 695 Thesis Research (1 to 6 credits) is required for the Master of Science in Natural Resources and Core Curriculum
Additional courses (PRT 595 and 795’s) as specified by the student’s advisory committee. Students who do not have a background in park, recreation, natural resources or a related field may be required to take up to 6 credits of undergraduate course work that cannot be counted towards the MNR degree program.
Technical Option Electives
| Course | Description | Credit Hours |
| PRT 500 | Conceptual Foundations of Recreation | 3 |
| PRT 595 | Children and Nature | 3 |
| PRT 595 | Park & Interpretive Services | 3 |
| PRT 730 | Tourism, Community Health & Sustainability | 3 |
| GIS 510 | Fundamentals of Geographic Information Science and Technology | 3 |
Technical Option Electives
The total elective hours will depend on whether the Master of Science in Natural Resources or the Master of Natural Resources degree is sought and on the number of thesis credits earned by Master of Science in Natural Resources students which varies from 1 to 6. Generally the number of elective credits is 6 for Master of Natural Resources students and varies from 3 to 6 for Master of Science in Natural Resources students.
Total (minimum) Credit Hours:
Master of Science in Natural Resources – 31 Credits
Master of Natural Resources Core Curriculum – 34 Credits
Recent Thesis Titles
- Comparison of Chattooga River Rafters and Kayakers and Their Effects on Each Other’s Experiences.
- The Relationship between Past Experience and Multiple-User Trail Conflict.
- Examining the effects of race, ethnicity, gender, age, and socioeconomic
status on U.S. national park visitation: An application of the multiple hierarchy stratification perspective. - Factors related to horseback riders’ willingness to volunteer for trail maintenance in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Development and testing of a behavior observation procedure to monitor visitor-horse interactions on Assateague island national seashore.
- An evaluation of methods for estimating ground cover and soil compaction as visitor impact indicators.
Projects
Recent Project Titles:
- Evaluation of The National Association of State Park Directors’ State Park Leadership School.
- Exploring Local Knowledge and Capacities to Address Climate Risk and Adaptation Along the North Shore of Minnesota.
- Social Media and the National Park Service: A Case Study of Visitor Preferences at Crater Lake National Park.
- The Effectiveness of Trail Drainage Features: A Field Assessment Tool and an Examination of Influential Factors.
- Connecting Outdoor Recreation Providers with Urban and Diverse Populations.
- Exploring Relationships between Social Networks and Vested Interest in a Municipal Parks and Recreation Participatory Planning Process.