Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management
Transforming Health and Wellness — Through Engaging People in Recreation
Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State strives to positively impact health and wellness through recreation, park, tourism, and leisure opportunities — often affectionately referred to by many as the aspirational “bucket list” activities of their lives.

Undergraduate Program
Undergraduate Program
Explore the undergraduate degree that examines the broad spectrum of ways in which leisure activities, tourism and participating in life changing “experiences” impact our health and well-being.
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Graduate Program
Graduate Program
The graduate program explores how the social, environmental, psychological, and economic aspects of a broad array of leisure activities and pursuits can truly transform people’s lives and sense of well-being.
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Research
Research
Our team of esteemed research professionals collaborates closely with students and industry partners to examine how people engage in a full spectrum of recreational activities and how it affects their lives, the lives of others, and the environment around them.
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World Campus
World Campus
The RPTM program on World Campus can help prepare you for a career in one of the world’s largest service-sector industries, all from the comfort of your home. It has been built to help you gain the theoretical, managerial, practical and technical skills needed to succeed in the field.
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Research led by doctoral candidate Colby Parkinson suggests that location-based service data could help address human behavior that may have implications for sustainability. Specifically, cities and recreation areas can improve their understanding of demand and potential overuse by examining the number of days people spend in pre-defined areas, the relative number of people who use amenities and the spillover from amenities to other areas.