Master of Science Program
Degree Descriptions and Distinctions
Parks, Recreation and Tourism offers either a thesis (research) or non-thesis (professional) preparation program. The research track is best suited to individuals who intend to pursue advanced studies beyond the master’s degree. The professional option is intended for students who are anticipating an administrative or professional position and who are interested in extending the scope of their studies in the discipline accordingly.
Students can pursue research in areas relating to youth and family development and well-being, sustainable tourism and natural resource management, leisure for health and well-being, and outdoor recreation studies.
Degree Objectives
- Graduates with Master’s degrees should be capable of effectively speaking and writing about the PRT profession and related research.
- Graduates of the MS program should be capable of effectively using contemporary research, theory, and literature to address concerns and issues faced by the parks, recreation, and tourism field.
- Graduates with Master’s degrees should be professionally prepared to assume supervisory level positions in parks, recreation, and tourism professions.
- Graduates with Master’s degrees should be sufficiently prepared to benefit from advanced studies at the doctoral level.
Variations from Prescribed PRT Core Courses
While the core courses are generally considered mandatory for graduate students, under rare circumstances deviations from this recommended sequence may be approved by students’ supervisory committees.
Supervisory Committee
Master of Science students' supervisory committees consist of three members. The chair and one other committee member must be from the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. The third member represents the student’s area of concentration or specialization. The majority of the members including the chair must be tenure-line or graduate faculty at the University of Utah. Recommendations by the student for committee members are subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies or Chair of PRT.
Required Courses & Credit Hours
MS Thesis Option Curriculum
Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Core
- PRT 6000: History and Philosophy of PRT (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 6030: Seminar in Managing and Facilitating Recreation Experiences (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 7800: Graduate Seminar (1 Credit Hour)
Research Core
- PRT 6010: Behavioral Science Foundations (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 7102: Introduction to Research Methods (3 Credit Hours)
- 3 hours of statistics (PRT/KINES 7103) or equivalent research tools course (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 6970: Thesis Research (6 Credit Hours)
Specialization
- Area of Specialization negotiated with supervisory committee (up to 50% can be approved by advisor) (14 Credit Hours)
36 Total Credit Hours
MS Non-Thesis Option Curriculum
Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Core
- PRT 6000: History and Philosophy of PRT (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 6030: Seminar in Managing and Facilitating Recreation Experiences (3 Credit Hours)
Research Core
- PRT 6010: Behavioral Science Foundations (3 Credit Hours)
- PRT 7102: Introduction to Research Methods (3 Credit Hours)
Capstone Experience
- PRT 6860: Non-Thesis Project (Must contain service learning & a significant project) (9 Credit Hours)
Specialization
- Area of Specialization negotiated with supervisory committee (up to 50% can be approved by advisor) (15 Credit Hours)
36 Total Credit Hours
Defenses and Written Examinations
Master’s students in the thesis and non-thesis options complete different capstone projects. Students in the thesis option complete a proposal defense and final oral examination of their research thesis. Students in the non-thesis option complete a proposal defense and present their final projects to their committee and, when appropriate, to community partners.
Thesis Option
Developing a thesis topic and conducting research is a multi-step process. It is important to begin the process early.
Proposal defenses and final oral examinations may be held only between August 15 and May 15 since many faculty members are only on 9-month contracts and are not available during the summer months.
Students must have completed the majority of their coursework and have no more than 6 credits remaining when they propose their study. Thesis students must propose their research to their supervisory committee prior to commencing the research itself. This is a formal defense and as such, a polished proposal and professional quality presentation should be the standard. Copies of the thesis proposal must be in the hands of the student’s supervisory committee a minimum of two weeks before the proposal defense. Proposals must meet the standards for theses and dissertations as presented in Appendix A of PRT General Information for Graduate Students.
The second defense is of the completed research thesis itself. When the student and the supervisory committee consider the thesis to be complete, the supervisory committee will conduct the final oral examination of the thesis. This is the final formal defense and as such, a polished proposal and professional quality presentation should be the standard. Copies of the thesis must be in the hands of the student’s supervisory committee a minimum of two weeks before the final defense. Theses must meet the standards for theses and dissertations as presented in Appendix A of PRT General Information for Graduate Students.
During the defenses, students, faculty, or other interested parties may be in attendance. However, only those who have read the document may ask questions during the defense. Defenses must be open to the public and publicly announced two weeks prior to the defense date; an electronic version of the document must also be made available at this time.
- The conceptualization, method and design of the research must be of acceptable quality as a scientific or scholarly endeavor, as judged by the majority of members of the student’s supervisory committee.
- The thesis research need not be original. Research that is a replication or extension of a previous study is appropriate for a thesis as long as the rationale for completing the study is compelling.
- Action or applied research may be completed for a thesis if the rationale is compelling.
- Supervisory committees will decide on the grade that should to be awarded for the thesis credits as part of their deliberations at students’ defenses.
- Reviews of the history of investigation in the students’ area of inquiry must be included as part of the literature review, along with evaluation of seminal works in that area.
- The literature review must be characterized by synthesis and evaluation. It must also conclude with research questions or aims sufficient to guide the investigation.
- Fundamentally, the difference between the thesis and dissertation is one of outcome rather than process. While dissertation research is expected to produce unique contributions to theory-based knowledge, thesis research may verify or extend existing knowledge or may inform applied research problems.
Non-Thesis Option
Developing a project topic and compiling the components of the final document is a multi-step process. It is important to begin the process early.
Proposal defenses may be held only between August 15 and May 15 since many faculty members are only on 9-month contracts and are not available during the summer months.
Before students begin their projects, they must formally propose their projects to their supervisory committee. Students must have completed the majority of their coursework and have no more than 6 credits remaining when they propose their projects. Students are also encouraged to formally present their projects to the agency or organization if they are working toward developing a new resource or other deliverable to or for an agency prior to starting the project. This is a formal defense, and as such, a polished proposal and professional-quality presentation should be the standard. Copies of the non-thesis proposal must be in the hands of the student’s supervisory committee a minimum of two weeks before the proposal defense. Students must receive project proposal approval from their supervisory committee before starting the project.
Final copies of the project should be distributed to the supervisory committee members a minimum of two weeks before the final defense. In order to graduate, projects must be deemed “acceptable” by every member of the committee. Students should plan to have their final defenses completed and pass confirmations sent to the Graduate Program Manager no later than the third day of finals week.
Students who opt for the non-thesis (professional) option will identify a particular area of professional interest and complete a tangible project that contributes to their professional development in an area of expertise. The objective of these projects is to improve services and/or knowledge for a sponsoring parks, recreation, or tourism agency/organization by contributing a product, plan, technique, device, or procedure that has resulted from the student's studies in her or his area of special expertise. The project will be of sufficient quality to add to the body of knowledge in PRT or to provide a new resource to a sponsoring organization.
Master’s students are expected to be adept at reading and synthesizing contemporary literature, research, and theory. Therefore, master’s projects are expected to be informed by suitable evidence on a given topic. For many projects the evidence will come from the current state of knowledge on their topics, often in the form of a comprehensive literature review. Other projects will necessitate the collection and analysis of primary data. Regardless of the sources of evidence used, it is expected that students will ground their projects via germane literature, theory, research, and/or data. Projects commonly follow one of three formats:
Option A: Grounded primarily via existing literature, research, and theory
- Chapter 1: Explanation of the problem that the project intends to address
- Chapter 2: Synthesis of the existing literature relevant to the problem
- Chapter 3: Recommendations and action items that follow from chapter 2
- The Project Itself. The project itself may take many forms. Examples include: A risk management plan, a targeted curriculum, a smart phone application, a website redesign, or developing an assessment system.
- References and Appendices
Option B: Grounded primarily via the collection, analysis, and interpretation of primary data
- Chapter 1: Explanation of the problem that the project intends to address.
- Chapter 2: Synthesis of the existing literature relevant to the problem. This chapter is
typically shorter than for option A. - Chapter 3: Explanation of data collection, data analysis, and summary of results.
- Chapter 4: Recommendations and action items that follow from Chapter 3. Note that in this format, the data collection, analysis, and interpretation typically represent the project itself.
- References and Appendices
Option C: Grounded Through a Combination of Literature, Research, Theory, and Evaluation Data
- Chapter 1: Explanation of the problem that the project intends to address
- Chapter 2: Synthesis of the existing literature relevant to the problem. This chapter is typically shorter than for option A and often ends in a summary of why the project activity should take the form it does in the next chapter.
- Chapter 3: Explanation of the project activity. The project activity may take many forms. Examples include: Running a recreational program of some type (event, trip, community program), implementing a marketing campaign, or testing an intervention.
- Chapter 4: Data collection, analysis, and recommendations for improvement that follow
from an evaluation effort. - References and Appendices
Checklist of Steps for Completing Master's Degree
- Receive letter of acceptance to the graduate program from the University Admissions Office.
- Prior to registration for classes, consult the director of graduate studies or your assigned academic advisor for initial direction related to content awareness, matriculation status, and courses to be taken the first semester.
- Establish supervisory committee and complete the program of study form, "Supervisory Committee and Program of Study"* before completing 50% of your area of specialization courses. The student must circulate this form to his or her supervisory committee at least one week in advance of the scheduled committee meeting. Submit two copies of the completed form, with committee members' initials indicating their willingness to serve and their approval of your program of study, to the Department’s Graduate Program Manager. Alternatively, the committee may be cc’d if submission is electronic.
No more than 9 hours of non-matriculated course work may appear on the "Program of Study" form and all classes must be numbered 5000 or higher. No prerequisite courses may appear on this document and up to six semester hours of transfer credit may be accepted by students' supervisory committees if "A" or "B" grades were received for that work. - If a non-thesis option is chosen, prepare for a your project proposal and defense. The final project must be presented to your supervisory committee. Once approved, notify the Graduate Program Manager so that your final examination approval is entered.
- Thesis students should consult the Handbook for Theses and Dissertations available from the Thesis Office, before beginning to write their proposal.**
- If the thesis option is chosen, secure approval of thesis proposal at supervisory committee meeting.
- If the thesis option is chosen and data collection from human subjects is required to complete the proposed study, obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for the thesis study. This process can take two or more months and requires on-line training prior to submission.
- After the research study is complete and deemed ready for defense by the committee chair, the meeting must be scheduled and announced to the public. The thesis document must be made available in advance to all interested parties.
- If the thesis option is chosen, complete thesis research and successfully defend the thesis before the student’s supervisory committee and graduate faculty within the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Passed defenses will be entered into the graduate tracking system by the Graduate Program Manager upon notification by the student and his/her chair. Note: passing of the final defense also initiates submission of your official program of study to the graduate school.
- If the thesis option is chosen, after passing the final oral examination, submit the required materials to the Thesis Office**
- If the thesis option is chosen, submit a list of the semesters in which you were enrolled for thesis hours (PRT 6970) to the chair of your supervisory committee to enable him or her to remove "T" grades for those hours. The student's supervisory committee will be responsible for assigning grades for these hours.
- Following completion of the thesis, the student and his or her supervisory journal article and/or abstract. This professional paper must be submitted for publication. Publication of the professional paper, however, is not required for the degree.
- All students are required to complete an application for graduation the semester before they intend to graduate.
*Supervisory Committee and Program of Study form is available on the PRT Graduate Student Canvas page.
**Thesis Office Resources and Electronic Submission is available at https://gradschool.utah.edu/thesis/