Course Information Suite

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

www.rst.illinois.edu

Head of Department: Cary D. McDonald
Department Office: 104 Huff Hall, 1206 South Fourth Street, Champaign, (217) 333-4410

The Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism originated at the University of Illinois in 1940. Today, this program continues to rank nationally among the top three in the field, and takes pride in producing a large number of exceptional professionals in the field. The Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism offers a bachelor of science degree with three areas of concentration: recreation management, sport management, and tourism management. The curriculum prepares students to design, manage, and deliver leisure services to a variety of populations in diverse settings and provides a firm foundation from which students may pursue graduate studies. A broad general education is emphasized and complemented with a core of professional courses. Beyond a strong core integrating leisure theory, management, and research, the program allows students to focus on a major market segment within the leisure and recreation field by choosing an area of concentration. A total of 128 hours is needed for graduation. For further information, contact the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, 104 Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth Street, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 333-4410.

Internship Program

All students in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism must satisfactorily complete the Internship Program prior to graduation. The program is designed to augment formal classroom instruction with active experiential learning under the guidance of a university and an agency-based supervisor.

The program consists of two courses and a pre-internship field experience. The pre-internship program requires students to accumulate a minimum of 300 Hours of practical work experience in leisure service settings. It is strongly recommended that students begin acquiring field experiences as early in their academic career as possible. Students register for RST 480 in the first semester of their senior year. During this semester, students make final arrangements for completing RST 484, the Recreation, Sport and Tourism Practicum the following semester.

The practicum is taken after the student satisfactorily completes all course work including RST 480, and fulfills the pre-internship field experience. RST 484 is taken in agencies that are approved by the department and contracted for this program. Since a limited number of assignments for practicums are available in the campus area, most students look forward to the opportunity of an off-campus assignment. Students have been placed across the United States and even abroad.

Requirements Including General Education

The Campus Senate, the faculty General Education Board, and the colleges and departments are working to implement enhanced General Education requirements. Some changes in requirements are expected. Thus, new students should confirm their General Education requirements by consulting college and departmental offices, handbooks, or advisors. The Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism also requires that certain courses from the approved lists be taken as noted below. The prescribed courses prepare the student for upper division study and may be used to satisfy General Education requirements provided they are on the appropriate General Education list.

Hours Communication Arts
6-7 Composition I and an approved speech performance course; or CMN 111 and 112
3 Advanced Composition (RST 410 fulfills requirement)

Hours Quantitative Reasoning I & II
6 From approved campus list (RST 370 fulfills Quant II req.)

Hours Humanities and the Arts
6 From approved campus list

Hours Social and Behavioral Sciences
9 From approved campus list (RST 100 and RST 330 fulfills the 6-hour social science req.)

Hours Natural Sciences and Technology
6 From approved campus list

Hours Cultural Studies1
3 From Western cultures approved campus list (RST 242 or RST 330 fulfills the Western culture req.)
3 From U.S. minority cultures or non-Western cultures approved campus list
  Foreign Language: Completion through the third level of the same language in high school or college
41 Total General Education Hours

1. Courses in cultural studies may be completed through other categories where appropriate.

Hours Leisure Studies Core Requirements
3 RST 100 - Society and Leisure
1 RST 101 - Orientation to Leisure Studies
3 RST 216 - Leisure and Technology
3 RST 230 - Leisure and Diversity
3 RST 242 - Nature and American Culture
3 RST 316 - Leisure and Human Development
3 RST 330 - Leisure and Consumer Culture
3 RST 370 - Research Methods and Analysis
22 Subtotal

Hours Management Core Requirements
2 RST 110 - Leisure Service Delivery
2 RST 200 - Leadership in Leisure Services
3 RST 300 - Leisure Programming
3 RST 320 - Leisure Services Marketing
3 RST 340 - Leisure and Facility Management
3 RST 410 - Administration of Leisure Services
3 RST 420 - Human Resource Mgmt in Leisure Organizations
19 Subtotal

Hours Practicum Education Requirements
1 RST 480 - Orientation to Practicum
12 RST 484 - Leisure Studies Practicum
13 Subtotal

Areas of Concentration

Please consult the undergraduate academic adviser for approved courses in the following Areas of Concentration:

  • Recreation Management
  • Sport Management
  • Tourism Management

Summary of Degree Requirements

Hours Requirements
41 General Education
54 Recreation, Sport and Tourism Professional Core and Practicum
15-17 Area of Concentration
16-18 Free electives
128 Total Hours required for graduation