University of Montana Catalog 2023-2024

Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management B.S.

The B.S. in Parks, Tourism & Recreation Management degree is designed to prepare students for professional positions developing and managing nature-based recreation experiences and park resources for public land management agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the nature-based tourism industry. Students pursuing this degree must choose between an concentration in Recreation Resources Management or Nature-Based Tourism. The Recreation Resources Management concentration provides the educational background necessary for evaluating and managing wild lands to protect their recreational, heritage, and ecological values. The Nature-Based Tourism concentration is designed to combine an understanding of social, cultural, political, environmental, and economic contexts surrounding tourism in a natural resource setting. All students learn the processes and conceptual skills needed to determine alternative management strategies, make management decisions, and carry out management programs. Included are courses leading to an understanding of the basic ecological characteristics of recreational lands. Students also take courses dealing with human behavior and management. Emphasis is placed on presenting problems that would be encountered while managing national parks and forests, state and regional parks, wilderness areas, and other recreation resources of international and national significance.

Bachelor of Science - Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management

General Education Requirements 

Information regarding these requirements can be found in the General Education Section of the catalog. 

Summary

Lower-Division Major Required Courses13-14
Lower-Division Outside Major Required Courses24-25
Upper-Division Major Required Courses25-30
Skills Courses3
Advanced Writing Requirement3
Total Hours68-75

Degree Specific Credits: 68-75

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0

Lower-Division Major Required Courses

Complete all of the following courses:
NRSM 121SEnvironmental Science and Sustainability3
or PTRM 141Y National Parks and American Culture
PTRM 150First Year Seminar in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management1
PTRM 210SNature Tourism & Commercial Recreation3
PTRM 217SParks & Outdoor Recreation Management3
Complete one of the following courses with a lab:3-4
Soils and Water
and Ecology, Physics and Taxonomy of Soils
Intro to Physical Geography: Climate, Landforms, and Vegetation
and Intro to Physical Geography Laboratory: Climate, Landforms, and Vegetation
Total Hours13-14

Minimum Required Grade: C-


Lower-Division Outside Major Required Courses

Complete all of the following courses:
ACTG 201Principles of Financial Accounting3
ACTG 202Principles of Managerial Accounting3
COMX 111AIntroduction to Public Speaking3
or THTR 120A Introduction to Acting I
ECNS 201SPrinciples of Microeconomics3
M 115Probability and Linear Mathematics3
PSYX 100SIntro to Psychology3
or SOCI 101S Introduction to Sociology
Complete one of the following courses:3
Principles of Living Systems
Principles of Biological Diversity
Introductory Ecology
Introduction to Botany
Complete one of the following courses:3-4
Introduction to Statistics
Social Statistics
Forest Biometrics
Total Hours24-25

Minimum Required Grade: C-


Upper-Division Major Required Courses

Complete all of the following courses:
BIOE 447Ecosystem Ecology3
or FORS 330 Forest Ecology
or NRSM 462 Rangeland Ecology
NRSM 422Natural Resource Policy and Administration3
PTRM 300Recreation Behavior3
PTRM 310Natural Resource Interpretation and Communication3
PTRM 380Recreation Administration & Leadership3
PTRM 482Wilderness & Protected Area Management3
or PTRM 451 Tourism & Sustainability
PTRM 484Capstone in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management3
PTRM 485Recreation Planning3
or PTRM 486 Entrepreneurship in Tourism and Recreation
PTRM 498Internship1-6
Total Hours25-30

 Skills Courses

Complete 3 credits from the following courses:3
Emergency Medical Responder Lecture
and Emergency Medical Responder Lab
Collaborations in Natural Resource Decisions
Principles of Marketing
Intro to GIS for Forest Mgt
Total Hours3

Minimum Required Grade: C-


Advanced Writing Requirement

Complete one of the following courses:3
Tourism & Sustainability
Wilderness & Protected Area Management
Total Hours3

Minimum Required Grade: C- 

 

Tracks

These are advising tracks only and not official programs as recognized by the University of Montana (UM) or the Montana University System. This information will not appear on your UM transcript, diploma, university lists, student data system, or university publication. You do not fill out a major change for a track.

Nature Based Tourism Recommended Electives

Rule: Can take these track courses

Note: Courses are not required in this track - please talk to a faculty advisor on what classes will be best for your area of interest.

ANTY 101HAnthropology & the Human Experience3
BMKT 325Principles of Marketing3
BMKT 337Consumer Behavior3
COMX 220SIntroduction to Organizational Communication3
COMX 351Principles of Public Relations3
ECNS 202SPrinciples of Macroeconomics3
FORS 202Forest Mensuration3
FORS 320Forest Environmental Economics3
FORS 351Env Remote Sensing3
GEO 101NIntroduction to Physical Geology3
GPHY 111NIntro to Physical Geography: Climate, Landforms, and Vegetation3
GPHY 311NBiogeography3
GPHY 433Community Resilience3
NRSM 379Collaborations in Natural Resource Decisions3
NRSM 389EEthics and Sustainability3
NRSM 475Environment & Development3
PHL 112EIntro Ethics and Environment3
PTRM 150First Year Seminar in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management1

Minimum Required Grade: C-

Outdoor Recreation Services

Rule: Can take these track courses

Note: Courses are not required in this track - please talk to a faculty advisor on what classes will be best for your area of interest.

BMGT 401Event Management3
COMX 115SIntroduction to Interpersonal Communication3
COMX 220SIntroduction to Organizational Communication3
COMX 421Communication in Nonprofit Organizations3
ENST 225SSustainable Communities3
ENST 230HNature and Society3
GPHY 121SHuman Geography3
NASX 180Event Planning3
NPAD 467Advanced Nonprofit Admin3
NRSM 379Collaborations in Natural Resource Decisions3
PTRM 150First Year Seminar in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management1
S W 300Human Behavior & Social Environment3
SOCI 346Rural Sociology3
SOCI 350The Community3

Minimum Required Grade: C-

Recreation Resource Management Track

Rule: Can take these track courses

Note: Courses are not required in this track - please talk to a faculty advisor on what classes will be best for your area of interest.

CHMY 121NIntroduction to General Chemistry4
COMX 421Communication in Nonprofit Organizations3
FORS 230Fire Management & Environmental Change3
FORS 240Tree Biology2
FORS 241NDendrology3
FORS 250Intro to GIS for Forest Mgt3
FORS 331Wildland Fuel Management3
FORS 333Fire Ecology3
FORS 347Multiple Resource Silviculture3
GPHY 121SHuman Geography3
GPHY 433Community Resilience3
NRSM 265Elements of Ecological Restoration3
NRSM 379Collaborations in Natural Resource Decisions3
NRSM 389EEthics and Sustainability3
NRSM 475Environment & Development3
PTRM 150First Year Seminar in Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management1

 Minimum Required Grade: C-