Graduate work in Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo provides the opportunity for students to study a variety of topics. Working with faculty advisors, students select, in addition to the core courses, elective courses related to one or more of three areas of concentration:
- Administration and Management of Services
- Leisure Behaviour and Cultural Studies
- Recreation and Leisure Resources.
Students may elect either in-depth study in one area of concentration or a broader approach to a specific topic that cuts across two or three concentrations. For example, a student interested in persons with disabilities might examine the management of agencies and programs serving people with physical disabilities by taking courses from the Administration and Management of Services concentration. Another student might pursue a more eclectic program related to persons with disabilities by completing courses from more than one concentration. These three areas of concentration are not reflected on a student's official transcript. Rather they represent a broad attempt to capture the interests and expertise of RLS faculty and students.
Administration and Management of Services
This concentration focuses on administrative and managerial principles, theories, practices, and financial, human, and physical resource relationships. These provide a conceptual framework for the design, organization, and delivery of recreation and leisure services in a variety of human settings within public, private, and volunteer sectors. Topics within this concentration include, among other things: recreation and leisure policy; program planning, implementation and evaluation; and fiscal and personnel operations.
Leisure Behaviour and Cultural Studies
Focusing on individual and group leisure behaviour in a variety of cultural contexts, this concentration uses the theoretical and methodological research orientations of the social sciences. This concentration is concerned with, among other things: socio-cultural differences in leisure behaviour; social psychology of leisure behaviour; cultural development and the arts; and symbolic dimensions of leisure behaviour and cultural participation.
Recreation and Leisure Resources
This concentration is concerned with the nature and use of natural and built resources with reference to leisure activities. Among other topics, this area focuses on: processes and techniques employed in the acquisition, development, management, and use of recreation facilities and resources; the relationship between the resource base and human involvement in and enjoyment of recreation activities; travel, tourism, and commercial recreation as sources of demands on facilities and resources.