"The mission of the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration is to provide quality professional preparation, scholarly and professional service, and applied research built upon the liberal arts foundation of the University. Our commitment is to undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, the University, the leisure service profession and the community, emphasizing human service partnerships. Through a commitment to teaching excellence our nationally accredited curriculum emphasizes practicum and internship experiences and leads to the attainment of professional competencies and certifications necessary for gainful employment, career advancement and enhanced leisure lifestyles."
General Information
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RPL Majors, Faculty, & Staff outside the department's building (Finch) on the campus of CMU |
CMU offers the first professionally accredited major in the field of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Service Administration in the State of Michigan. Our Department's national accreditation has been received under the auspices of the National Council on Accreditation (by the National Recreation and Park Association and the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation respectively).
Students may select any of the four areas of concentration within our Major. These concentrations are:
Regardless of the concentration selected, students majoring in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration will be required to enroll in a common core of courses that will emphasize the philosophical framework of the profession. Students will acquire professional competencies to effectively design, organize, implement, manage, administer, and/or evaluate recreational programming assuring it effectively meets the diverse needs of the individuals or community serviced.
The department places a strong emphasis on the practical aspects of a student's hands-on training and application of course work by offering an extensive internship program which is performed following the completion of professional coursework to finalize degree requirements. The combination of the professional internship and our curriculum provides the student with the competencies necessary to direct and/or administer leisure services supporting individual, family, and community wellness assuring an enhanced quality of life for all.
Goals & Attainments
As the second largest recreation and park administration program in the United States, the faculty, staff, and students of the RPL department at Central Michigan University continue to make great achievements. The successes are published annually, and are available below: