This profession, he said, is one of the 20 fastest-growing professions in the country. Therapeutic recreation professionals can work in many different job settings, including communities, schools and hospitals, Nunes said. Those in either of the recreation cognates must complete the courses in the university core and in the recreation professional core, which consists of 10 academic classes and three internships. They also must have a 2.5 GPA across the board, Nunes said. This is a College of Education mandate, and is a requirement both to get into and out of the major and to begin the second and third level internships.
Internships are a large part of both recreation cognates.
We basically start you in field experience from the first or second semester you re here, Nunes said. The first level internship consists of 30 hours of field experience which give a taste of recreation, a taste of sport, and a taste of therapeutic recreation, Nunes said. This internship enables students to see if the field is right for them. Recreation professionals must work weekends and holidays, and if students decide the career is not for them, they have the option to opt out of the major, Nunes said. Nunes said this is where students start identifying which area of recreation they are going into.