Mission
of the Department -- Road to Success
The goals of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences are to
generate and disseminate new and existing knowledge concerning the development,
management, and sustainable use of natural resources for recreation and tourism.
This is achieved through an integration of research-based approaches to
undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education that includes the social and
policy sciences and natural resource management disciplines.
The Department offers undergraduate and graduate RPTS degrees with emphasis in park and recreation
administration, natural resource
management and policy analysis, and tourism resources development. The first
emphasis deals primarily with the public sector, while the third is concerned
chiefly with the private sector. Natural resource management and policy analysis
involves both sectors. The Department also offers degrees is Community Development.
Although enrollment varies from year to year, currently there are
approximately 375 undergraduate and 65 graduate students. While the majority of
our undergraduate students are Texas residents, graduate students come from all
corners of the United States and from many other countries. To date the
department has awarded over 1500 B.S. degrees, and 105 M.S., 115 M.Agr., and 125
Ph.D. degrees. |
Student
Support
The Department sponsors two active undergraduate professional
organizations, the RPTS Club and RPTS Aggie Reps. Club membership is open to all students in the department. The club's
primary aim is to develop student leadership and provide opportunity for
fellowship among students and faculty. The student group sponsors
academic and social activities, including guest speakers, golf tournaments,
camping trips, barbecues and other outings. The organization is also a member of
Texas A&M's Intramural program, thus providing members with opportunities
for athletic competition. The club is an affiliate of the student chapters of
the Texas Recreation and Park Society and the National Recreation and Park
Association.
Students selected as Aggie Reps hone their leadership skills by organizing and conducting professional development events which benefit all students, and development new student recruitment strategies and events.
To facilitate the development and placement of future professionals, the
department maintains a job file for graduating students, and provides
opportunities for students to meet leisure agency and tourism business
representatives. In addition, internship opportunities to help
students prepare for future employment are available. |
Faculty
and Staff
The Department has an internationally recognized history of accomplishment in
instruction, research, and public service. The faculty and staff continually
strive to maintain this tradition. The Department has assembled a superior teaching and research faculty. The
department's multi-disciplinary and distinguished faculty has generated hundreds
of books, scientific journal articles and technical reports, and has provided
intellectual leadership in recreation, park and tourism sciences throughout the
world.
|
Facilities and Services
All the classrooms in Francis Hall were renovated
during the Summer of 1999 to offer optimal learning conditions and access to electronic media for instruction. There are three computer labs in the building
that contain 35 microcomputer workstations reserved for the exclusive use of
recreation, park and tourism students. A wireless internet connection was installed in 2005 which serves all of Francis Hall.
The department's Extension program is located in a suite of offices on the
second floor. The purpose of the Extension unit of the department is to provide
Texas citizens with information necessary to improve the quality of their
decisions in the areas of parks, recreation and tourism. Both undergraduate and
graduate students are often involved in the public education projects of
Extension, as the need for answers are transmitted to researchers and the
results of research are disseminated to citizens. For students involved in
Extension projects, the exposure to real world, real time problems are
invaluable experiences. |
