LEISURE STUDIES

Head of the Department: Cary McDonald

Director of Graduate Studies: William Stewart

Correspondence and Admission Information: William Stewart, Department of Leisure Studies, 104 Huff Hall, 1206 South Fourth Street, Champaign, IL 61820; (217) 333-4410; E-mail: wstewart@uiuc.edu

URL: www.leisurestudies.uiuc.edu

GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

The Department of Leisure Studies offers programs of study leading to the master of science and the doctor of philosophy degrees. The master of science program educates students about leisure behavior, public parks and recreation systems, travel and tourism, and various private and semipublic settings providing leisu re services. The M.S. degree may also serve as the first step toward the Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. program is, in general, designed to develop educators and research personnel in the study of leisure behavior, the management of recreation and sport systems that provide leisure services, or both.

ADMISSION

The Graduate College admission requirements apply. Specifically, the admission requirements are a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate work and any graduate work completed. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for all graduate degrees. A minimum of 1,500 is required for the M.S. (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) and 1,700 for the Ph.D. A minimum score of 600 is required on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (250 on the computer-based test). Preference is given to applicants who will be full-time students and active degree candidates. Students may be admitted for the fall, spring, or summer semesters.

Graduate Teaching Experience

Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program.

MASTER OF SCIENCE

A candidate for the M.S. degree must spend at least one semester on campus and complete a minimum of eight units, three of which must be at the 400 level and two of the three in leisure studies; four of these units should be in the student's area of specialization. As part of the eight required units, students have the option of completing a thesis for two units, a professional paper for one unit in addition to one unit of coursework, or two units of additional coursework. A full-time student can complete the program in three or four semesters.

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree must spend at least two years in residence and satisfactorily complete a minimum of 20 units beyond the master's degree. These units include the credit for the Ph.D. thesis. Departmental requirements include satisfactory performance on the doctoral qualifying examination, the written preliminary examination at the completion of formal coursework, the oral preliminary examination on the proposed research for the thesis, and a final examination in defense of the doctoral thesis.

FINANCIAL AID

The department offers quarter-time and half-time assistantships in teaching, administration, and research, as well as tuition and fee waivers and the opportunity to apply for fellowships.