RPTM student comes full circle—from Four Diamonds child to dancer—with THON
Tucker Haas will soon graduate with a degree in recreation, park, and tourism management, but his journey with Penn State began many years ago as a Four Diamonds child. This year as a dancer for THON, he wants other undergrads to understand the value of giving back.
Can expeditions in nature support growth and mental health?
Among young people who participated in programs through Outward Bound post-pandemic, 92% reported improved mood and 81% felt more confident. Pete Allison works with OBI to study how expeditions in nature can support growth and mental health.
Meeting and Event Management Certificate
Events play a key role across all fields and industries, from building key relationships with stakeholders, marketing, fundraising, annual conferences, to celebrating cultural heritage. This certificate program is designed to prepare students with strategic event management skills and is open to all Penn State students in residence, regardless of major.
RPTM students lead AURORA backpacking trips
RPTM 330: Adventure-Based Program Leadership, is among a slate of courses providing the foundation for effective outdoor and adventure-based leadership and education at Penn State. Many students who end up leading AURORA trips were once student participants themselves and are excited for the opportunity to pay it forward with incoming first-year students.
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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Doug Wentzel, a program director, instructor and naturalist at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, has been awarded the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators’ Keystone Award for lifetime contributions to environmental education. The award recognizes an educator who has dedicated their life to advancing the quality and opportunity for environmental education in Pennsylvania.
