Imagine learning in a place where the classroom walls fall away and the natural world becomes your living laboratory.
Bachelor of Science / 120 Credits
Community enjoyment of the outdoors is central to a healthy, vibrant quality of life, but protecting the land, water, and air that sustain us takes skilled, thoughtful leadership. The Parks and Conservation Management program prepares students to meet that challenge, balancing human needs with long-term environmental stewardship.
Set in the heart of the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, our campus is a living classroom where nature, community, policy, and practice meet every day. Students don’t just study parks—they work within them, which includes building and maintaining backcountry infrastructure.
Through hands-on learning and applied coursework, students build the technical skills, ethical grounding, and leadership ability needed to manage public lands, recreation areas, and planned communities with care and purpose.
Graduates leave prepared to protect natural landscapes, enhance visitor experiences, and make conservation issues understandable and meaningful for the communities they serve.
Program Details
- Recreation and Leisure
- Visitor Management Services
- Park & Rec Design
- Environmental Resources Analysis
- Risk Management
- Diversity & Inclusion by Design
- Park Ranger
- Conservation Officer
- Recreational Supervisor
- Outdoor Recreational Planner
- Interpretive Naturalist
- Parks & Recreation Director
- Outdoor Outfitters
- Community Center Manager
By the end of the program students will be able to:
- Apply best practices in natural resource conservation and stewardship
- Translate complex environmental issues into information the public can understand and act upon
- Examine the relationships among recreation users, environmental ethics, and natural systems
- Design and implement management plans grounded in ethics, leadership, and effective teamwork
- Conduct social research that supports assessment, planning, and evidence-based decisions
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Semester 1 |
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BIO 110 |
Biology I |
3 |
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ENG 101 |
Effective College Writing I |
3 |
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FYS 101 |
First Year Seminar |
3 |
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REC 105 |
Recreation & Leisure in the US |
3 |
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Math Skills |
3 |
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Semester 2 |
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ENG 102 |
Effective College Writing II |
3 |
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Humanities |
3 |
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Social Science |
3 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Semester 3 |
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Liberal Arts Elective |
3-4 |
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Liberal Arts Elective |
3-4 |
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Humanities |
3-4 |
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Elective |
3 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Semester 4 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Elective |
2-4 |
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Elective |
2-4 |
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Semester 5 |
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NRS 320 |
Environmental Resource Analysis |
3 |
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PRK 340 |
Facilities Management |
3 |
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PRK 360 |
Diversity & Inclusion By Design |
3 |
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Human Dimension Cluster |
3 |
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Liberal Arts and Science Elective |
3-4 |
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Semester 6 |
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MAT 335 |
Financial Decision Making |
3 |
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PRK 355 |
Visitor Management Services |
3 |
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REC 310 |
Risk Management and Liability |
3 |
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Human Dimension Cluster |
3 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Semester 7 |
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PRK 475 |
Park & Recreation Design |
3 |
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Human Dimension Cluster |
3 |
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Natural World Cluster |
3 |
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Natural World Cluster |
3 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Semester 8 |
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PRK 490 |
Integrated Park Management |
4 |
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or SUS 496 |
Sustainability Capstone |
4 |
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Human Dimension Cluster |
3 |
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Natural World Cluster |
3 |
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Natural World Cluster |
3 |
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Elective |
3-4 |
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Where the Learning Happens
See It For Yourself
Questions? Let's get in touch.
David Simmons
Faculty
Assistant Professor of Parks & Forestry