|
 If
you still have questions about the Graduate Program of the Recreation,
Parks and Tourism Department (RPT) and admission after viewing the RPT
graduate student web pages and the SFSU Graduate School webpages, then
responses to these frequently asked questions may be helpful to you. You
may also contact faculty at the Faculty/Advising
page.
The following questions are covered. Scroll down for the answer
to your question.
1. Does RPT require applicants
to take the GRE?
2. How long on average do students take to complete the program?
3. How flexible in creating a program to suit the needs of your students?
4. Am I allowed to apply to the master's program with less than 2 yrs
experience?
5. Do new students need to take the GRE?
6. How many students are in the program? How
many minority students are there?
7. Any requirements on where these letters should come from for RPT application?
8. Where are majority of students placed? What is your job placement rate?
9. Is a thesis required? Is there an internship option available instead?
10. Do you offer fee waivers or graduate assistantships in your department
?
11. Are there opportunities to incorporate study and internships abroad?
12. Can a new graduate student take an 800 level class right away?
13. Must I show an advising slip to RPT graduate class instructors?
14. I must show computer competency, but how can I do that?
1. Does RPT require applicants to take the GRE?
Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA in a related
baccalaureate degree for last 60 semester units (90 quarter units);
or submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score of 4.0 or above on the Analytical
Writing portion. Students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher do not need to
take the GRE.
2. How long on average do students take to
complete the program?
There are two broad tracks/paths that are followed
in our program. The "Fast Track" represents full time students
with no prerequisites, who take the comprehensive exam (not ARP or Thesis)
who do not change emphasis. Fast Track students graduate in about 5
semesters. The "Professional Track" is for students who work
full time and can only take a maximum of two classes per semester, or
other students who wish to complete an Applied Research Project or Thesis.
The Professional Track takes about 6-7 semesters to graduate. .
3. How flexible is your department in creating
a program to suit the needs of your students?
We are very flexible, in general with the 9 units
of specialization classes you must complete. You can customize your
program, with approval of your RPT advisor, to include a variety of
classes from RPT and other departments at SFSU, to meet your educational
and career goals. Students must, however, complete the core classes.
4. Am I allowed to apply if I do not
have 2 full years of related experience and was not a recreation,
parks or tourism major (but have taken a few related classes)? If
so, what will this mean for me as a graduate student?
Applicants for candidacy for
the Master of Science in Recreation must meet all SFSU requirements,
as listed on the SFSU application process website and meet the following
RPT admission criteria.
If you do not have at least one year of paid or
volunteer recreation, parks, tourism or closely related work experience
and you do not have a bachelor's degree in recreation, parks, tourism
or closed related field, then you do not qualify for admission at this
time. You could gain additional work experience and then reapply. If
you have just one year of related work experience then the Department,
at it's discussion, may admit you and require at least one year of additional
directly related work experience before you can advance to classified
status. Check with your RPT graduate coordinator about the applicability
of your work experience.
There are four general patterns
which student applicants fall into:
A) The student has an undergraduate
degree in recreation, parks, tourism or a closely related field AND
has professional parks, recreation or tourism work experience. Usually
in this case you are admitted as a qualified candidate (classified
status) and have no admission requirements or prerequisites. You are
able to take undergraduate or graduate classes.
B) The student does not have an undergraduate
degree in recreation, parks, tourism or a closely related field, but
has significant professional parks, recreation or tourism work experience.
In this case you may be admitted with the condition that you take up
to four prerequisite classes before you can advance to candidacy.
In this case you can take undergraduate and lower division graduate
classes only.
C) Student has an undergraduate degree in recreation,
parks, tourism or closely related field but does not have two
years full time professional work experience in our profession or a
closely related field. In this case you may be admitted under the condition
that you acquire additional work experience (usually at least 1 year
full time experience) in the field prior to advancement to candidacy.
In this case you can take undergraduate and lower division graduate
classes only.
D) The student does not have an undergraduate
degree in recreation, parks, tourism or a closely related field and
does not have have two years full time professional work experience
in our profession or a closely related field. In this case a student
might need to work for a year in the recreation field and then apply
to the program for admission.
All candidates must have at least
one year of paid or volunteer professional work experienced in the profession
or your application will be denied.
The Department evaluates all candidates on an individual
basis upon receipt of your complete application.
5. Do new students need to take the
GRE?
The Graduate Essay Test (GET) is no longer offered
or used at SFSU. Instead all RPT applicants must submit a writing sample
(essay), during the admission process OR provide a score of 4.0 or higher
on the Analytical Writing component of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
The essay will be evaluated by the Department
faculty and used to determine if English writing proficiency is adequate
to meet Level One Written English Writing Proficiency standards, or
if remedial actions are required. The writing sample is different from
your Statement of Purpose. Once you have submitted a complete application
to the Department, we will email you two questions about current topics
in RPT that you must use for your essay (detailed directions will be
sent with the receipt of your complete application).
6. How many students are in the program?
How many minority students are there?
Currently we have about 30 graduate students. About
35% are minority students. About 15% are international students.
7. In the RPT application you require three
(3) letters of reference. Do you have any requirements on
where these letters should come from?
We strongly suggest that one letter is from an academic
source (professor, teacher, etc.), one is from a professional source
(past supervisor at work, etc.) and the final one can be from any source,
include a personal reference (friend or colleague).
8. Where are the majority of the students
placed? What is your job placement rate?
Our graduates find jobs in a very wide variety of
settings, ranging from community recreation departments, national/state
parks, wellness recreation clinics, ecotourism organizations, recreation
planning consultants, resorts, schools and leadership training firms.
The job opportunities are very broad and varied. Almost all our
grads are quickly able to find a professional job.
9. Is a thesis required? Is there an internship
option available instead?
Culminating experience is either a thesis, applied
research project or a comprehensive exam. You can do an internship,
but it does NOT satisfy culminating experience requirements.
10. Do you offer application fee waivers or
graduate assistantships in your department?
We do not offer fee waivers. In the RPT
we generally do not have full-time paid Teaching or Research Assistantships.
But we have a few paid part-time opportunities for these. In addition,
there are opportunities for paid positions with our associated programs,
like the Pacific Leadership Institute and our Summer Youth Sailing and
Kayaking Camps.
11. Are there opportunities to incorporate
study and internships abroad?
This is a possibility and can be setup with your
advisor's consent. But most current students we have take advantage
of the many employment and study opportunities found in the Bay Area.
The key question is will a class or international work assignment, contribute
towards your educational and career goals? Keeping this in mind,
you have electives that are flexible in terms of the classes you can
take.
12. Can a new graduate student take an 800 level
class right away?
Only classified graduate students (have completed all
prerequisites and work experience requirements) can take 800 level classes
such as RPT 810.
13. Must I show an advising slip to RPT graduate
class instructors? Is advising mandatory?
"Students enrolled in any graduate class offered by the
Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism must show the instructor
a copy of a recent (with 4 months) Advising Slip signed by your advisor,
indicating that you are approved to take that specific graduate class.
This must be done at the beginning of each semester."
Getting an advising slip may be as easy as emailing your
advisor at the beginning of the semester with your planned classes and
letting him/her know that these class are consistent with your jointly-developed
and previously approved program and class schedule, or if you have not
developed a 1-2 year graduate program plan and course schedule then
you will need to meet with the advisor. So if you have not already gotten
an Advising Slip within the last 4-5 months please contact your advisor
ASAP to get one, and then show it to your RPT class instructors.
14. I must show computer competence, but how
do I do that?
There are several options: A) A student can show your
advisor a transcript identifying a computer class you have passed; B)
Complete RPT 225 as a prerequisite; C) Show your advisor a letter on
company letterhead signed by your supervisor indicating you have shown
competence in the use of Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Graphics (like
in Excel) and Email software at work. You can gain skills to pass the
test by working with friends or take the free computer short courses
(3 hours) offered by Info Tech at SFSU (see http://www.sfsu.edu/~doit/train.htm)
on something you need to get more familiar with (like making bar charts
in Excel).
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