Recreation Management and Policy Major: Outdoor Leadership and Management Option (B.S.)

UNH’s Outdoor Leadership and Management (OLM) Program is designed for students who want to study and work in outdoor programs, parks, and public or commercial recreation settings. Our graduates are guides, leaders, directors, and managers of agencies that provide healthy outdoor activities for people across their lifespan. Our curriculum combines experiential learning in urban, rural, and backcountry landscapes with a classic liberal arts education. You’ll gain a solid foundation in the theories, philosophies, and methods of outdoor recreation leadership and management while gaining skills in outdoor activities, pursuits or disciplines such as climbing, canoeing, and backpacking. This program will prepare you for dynamic careers in outdoor education, adventure programming, outdoor recreation management, parks and protected areas management, youth and after-school programming, conservation, and other outdoor fields.   

Outdoor Leadership and Management Option
Course Requirements:

Professional Internship

A supervised internship (RMP 764) is required of all majors and serves as their major capstone requirement. The internship is designed to create a bridge between theory and practical application. Students, working with their advisers and the internship coordinator, select an appropriate setting based on their professional and career interests. They must register for a minimum of an 8 credit, 400 hour internship that is under the supervision of a qualified professional. Specific requirements are identified in the Internship Manual available from the Department of Recreation Management and Policy.

• Students will know and demonstrate the nature and scope of the outdoor industry, including outdoor education, adventure leadership, and parks and protected-areas management.
• Students will know and demonstrate the techniques and processes used by professionals and staff in the outdoor industry.
• Students will know and demonstrate the foundation of the outdoor industry in history, science, and philosophy.
• Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to design, implement, and evaluate services that facilitate targeted human experiences and that embrace personal and cultural dimensions of diversity in outdoor settings.
• Students will demonstrate entry-level knowledge about operations, strategic management, and administration in the outdoor industry.
• Students will demonstrate the potential to succeed as professionals at supervisory or higher levels in the outdoor industry through participation in structured practicum and internship experiences.