Undergraduate Degree

The Department of Community Sustainability offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism. By combining a body of specialized professional knowledge with the study of natural, social, management and behavioral sciences, the program provides an opportunity for students to obtain a broad, interdisciplinary education which emphasizes a professional area of knowledge integrated with the tenets of sustainability. The major is designed to prepare students for professional positions related to the management and enjoyment of the outdoors. Such positions include management of public parks, forests and protected areas, non-profit lands and facilities such as camps, and commercial enterprises that provide goods and services to outdoor enthusiasts. Meeting people’s outdoor leisure needs, enhancing the quality of life, and providing sustainable economic and social development are hallmarks of the major.

Students in the Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism major will acquire an understanding of natural resource recreation and tourism that integrates sustainability and effectively links theory with practice while engaging the community. This includes the concepts of leisure, tourism, recreation and sustainability, as well as operation of recreation delivery systems, policy, administration, management, planning and evaluation.

Government, non-profit and for-profit entities offer a variety of career opportunities in the parks, recreation and tourism field. These opportunities include careers in park and land management, recreation and conservation law enforcement, nature and cultural interpretation, non-profit camp and adventure organization management, commercial recreation enterprise management of cruise ships, resorts, marinas, adventure travel firms, outfitting and guiding services and in coordinating and promoting tourism systems at from the local, state and federal levels through convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and industry associations. Graduates are also well prepared for graduate studies relating to the park, recreation and tourism field, as well as a broad range of social and natural science disciplines.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism

1. The University requirements for bachelor's degrees as described in the Undergraduate Education section of this catalog; 120 credits, including general elective credits, are required for the Bachelor of Science degree in Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
   
   The University's Tier II writing requirement for the Sustainable Parks, Recreation and Tourism major is met by completing Community Sustainability 301. That course is referenced in item 3. below.
   
   The completion of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources mathematics requirement may also satisfy the University mathematics requirement.
2. The requirements of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for the Bachelor of Science degree.
   
   Certain courses referenced in requirement 3. below may be counted toward College requirements as appropriate.
3. The following requirements for the major:

   a.	All of the following courses (26 credits):
   	CSUS	200	Introduction to Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	273	Introduction to Travel and Tourism						3
   	CSUS	276	Sustaining Our National Parks and Recreation Lands						3
   	CSUS	300	Theoretical Foundations of Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	301	Community Engagement for Sustainability (W)						3
   	CSUS	429	Program Evaluation for Community Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	433	Grant Writing and Fund Development						3
   	CSUS	476	Natural Resource Recreation Management						4
   	CSUS	492	Capstone in Community Sustainability						1
   b.	One of the following courses (3 or 4 credits):
   	FOR	419	Application of Geographic Information Systems to Natural Resources Management						4
   	GEO	221	Introduction to Geographic Information						3
   c.	Six of the following courses (18 to 21 credits):
   	CSUS	426	Conservation Planning and Adaptive Management						3
   	CSUS	430	Non-Profit Organizational Management for Community Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	445	Community-Based Environmental and Sustainability Education						3
   	CSUS	472	Designing and Managing Programmed Experiences						3
   	CSUS	473	Social Entrepreneurship and Community Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	477	Nature-based Tourism						3
   	CSUS	493	Professional Internship in Community Sustainability
   	MGT	325	Management Skills and Processes						3
   d.	Choose any three courses from the following Thematic Areas (5 to 9 credits):
   	Aquatic Ecologies
   	CSUS	354	Water Resources Management						3
   	CSUS	453	Watershed Planning and Management						3
   	FW	110	Conservation and Management of Marine Resources						3
   	FW	207	Great Lakes: Biology and Management						3
   	Environmental Policy
   	AFRE	265	Ecological Economics						3
   	CSUS	310	History of Environmental Thought and Sustainability						3
   	CSUS	464	Environmental and Natural Resources Policy in Michigan						3
   	CSUS	465	Environmental and Natural Resource Law						3
   	SOC	478	Climate Change and Society						3
   	General Ecology and Biology
   	FW	101	Fundamentals of Fisheries and Wildlife Ecology and Management						3
   	PLB	105	Plant Biology						3
   	PLB	106	Plant Biology Laboratory						1
   	PLB	218	Plants of Michigan						3
   	Management Foundations
   	ACC	230	Survey of Accounting Concepts						3
   	ADV	200	The World of Advertising						2
   	CAS	114	Creativity and Innovative Entrepreneurship						3
   	FI	320	Introduction to Finance						3
   	GBL	323	Introduction to Business Law						3
   	MKT	327	Introduction to Marketing						3
   	PR	260	Principles of Public Relations						3
   	Terrestrial Ecologies
   	CSS	210	Fundamentals of Soil Science						3
   	FOR	101	Michigan Forests						3
   	FOR	202	Introduction to Forestry						3
   	FOR	204	Forest Vegetation						3
   	FOR	215	Introduction to Wildland Fire						2
   	FOR	222	Forestry Field Methods						2