Parks, Recreation, & Tourism
Enhancing life, improving health, & building connections
The Department of Parks, Recreation, & Tourism has been officially leading the nation in the management of recreation & leisure since 1984 but our roots run way deeper. We offer courses and degree options for undergraduate and graduate students that prepare them for careers in research, conservation, sports, parks, and wilderness management, tourism, and hospitality. Our graduates effect change from local recreation to the our Nation's national parks. Indeed, 5 of the Nation's most world-renowned National Parks are the backdrop of our classrooms. The connections our students and faculty form to each other, the land, and their profession elevate our program to change the world.
Find a Program that works for you
Undergraduate Program
The undergraduate degree offers 3 areas of emphasis:
Master's Program
Our master's program offers specialization in areas involving tourism, commercial recreation, natural resource management, therapeutic recreation, or experiential education.
PhD Program
The PhD program consists of a major in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, an area of concentration, and a research core that includes dissertation research.
Celebrating Greatness
Gary Nichols Inducted into River Runner’s Hall of Fame
Gary Nichols, a former instructor for PRT, has been inducted into the River Runner’s Hall of Fame. During his 41-year career at the University of Utah Outdoor Education department, Nichols introduced more than 10,000 students to the outdoors, with the goal of fostering appreciation for Utah's rivers to help preserve them for future generations.
Experience the great outdoors with U-EXPLORE
Classes are open to any U student. Intensive, short duration, 2-credit experiential learning classes with over 90 different sections of classes each year, delivered by professional and experienced instructor teams. If your tired of being stuck in the classroom, answer the call of adventure, see what makes Utah unlike anywhere else, and get credit while you do it..
Message from the Chair
"There was a time when 'I’d rather be….' bumper stickers were incredibly popular. With the exception of some sarcastic iterations, the stickers reflected some recreational activity that the person would rather be doing; …fishing, skiing, sailing, kayaking, reading, traveling, watching football…you get the idea. The implication of the stickers was that people were happiest when they were doing what they loved to do, and that was usually something recreation focused. In my time studying and teaching the social psychology of recreation behavior and its subsequent health outcomes, I’ve come to deeply understand that people work so that they can engage in their favorite activities. Our recreation is a better reflection of our true identities than anything else, and we have higher quality of life and are generally happier when we make time for recreation..."
Dart Schmalz, PhD
Professor and Dept. Chair
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Undergraduate Advisor
Director of Graduate Studies
Phone: 801-581-5940
Email: jim.sibthorp@health.utah.edu
Why Utah?
Located on the northeastern edge of Salt Lake City, our 1,500-acre campus reaches to the foothills of the majestic Wasatch Mountains. Over 25,000 students represent all 50 states and many foreign countries. More than 2,000 clinical, adjunct, research, and visiting faculty serve the student body.
Utah is the West at its best: four distinct seasons, ready access to all outdoor activities including superb skiing at eight world-famous resorts just minutes from campus. Utah is home to five national parks and countless national, regional, state, and local recreation areas. Salt Lake City, with a metropolitan population of 650,000, is the hub of the Intermountain West.
Our Vision
We envision a global community that values and celebrates parks, recreation, and tourism. To that end, we contribute to individual, community, and environmental health through education, research, and action informed by the preventive, developmental, and restorative properties of parks, recreation, and tourism.
Our Mission
We create, share, and apply knowledge about parks, recreation, and tourism to inspire students, inform policy, serve social needs, promote sustainability, and advocate for the health of people, communities, and the environment.
Our Values
- Student centeredness
- Student involvement
- Community connections
- Informed and engaged citizenship
- Excellence in and integration of scholarship, teaching, and service
- Outdoor, experiential, and traditional instruction
- Speculative as well as applied knowledge
- Ecological literacy
- Career development and professional advancement of our graduates
- Independent and lifelong learning