Therapeutic Recreation

Rhonda Nelson Ph.D., CTRS, Program Director
1700 N. Broad Street
Suite 304
Philadelphia, PA 19121
Main Office Phone: 215-204-2703
Fax: 215-204-1386
http://chpsw.temple.edu/rs/therapeutic-recreation

The Therapeutic Recreation Program is composed of three degrees: a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation, an M.S. in Recreation Therapy, and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Health Ecology.  Additionally, the Therapeutic Recreation Program offers an accelerated MS degree program (5 year BS to MS degree program), which provides the opportunity for qualifying students studying recreation therapy as an undergraduate to begin taking graduate level courses within their undergraduate curriculum and therefore complete an MS in Recreation Therapy in a total of 5 years (4 year BS + 1 year MS).  Recreation therapists use recreation and leisure activities to facilitate recovery, health, and wellness in individuals with disabilities. The primary goal of the undergraduate program is to prepare entry-level recreation therapists to use play and recreation generally, and recreation therapy specifically as a means of psychosocial adaptation, health promotion, rehabilitation, and life quality for children, adults, and the elderly who have illness and disability.  The curriculum is focused on assuring that graduates have proficiency in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to function as recreation therapists in traditional and emerging service delivery settings.  Alumni of Temple's therapeutic recreation degree programs can be found in a wide range of health and human services agencies.  They are employed in diverse settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, schools, and community recreation agencies. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment opportunities are expected to increase approximately 17%, as fast as the average for all other occupations.  A growth in employment opportunities will be most prevalent in the areas of aging/nursing care facilities, as well as with students with disabilities in schools and in outpatient medical facilities vs. inpatient care.

Mission of the Program

The Therapeutic Recreation Program strives to be a world class academic and research unit committed to advancing the role of play, recreation, and leisure opportunities in health promotion, rehabilitation and disease prevention for diverse individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities across the life span.  The program provides exceptional educational experiences, conducts discipline-expanding research, and contributes to society via programs that explore and test evidenced-based innovations in practice and policy.  The program's mission includes:

• Instilling knowledge, values, ethics and skills that will guide students in their future academic pursuits and their professional practice in therapeutic recreation at the local, national and international levels;
• Being a leading contributor to the ever-changing knowledge base in health, leisure, and disability studies through research and other scholarly activities;
• Providing innovative and responsive educational opportunities, research and service in collaboration with local, regional, and national agencies and organizations; and,
• Fostering interdisciplinary collaborations to promote a better understanding of the importance of physically and socially active lifestyles to health, well-being and quality of life.

Central to the overall mission of the Therapeutic Recreation Program is a commitment to access and diversity.  This is realized through a commitment to ensuring equal access to all qualified applicants (students and faculty) and a commitment to promoting equal access to recreation and leisure opportunities for all people regardless of age, economics, race, gender, culture, sexual orientation, religion or abilities.

Certification

Following satisfactory completion of all coursework and internship requirements, graduates with the Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation are eligible to sit for the national certifying examination in therapeutic recreation administered by Educational Testing Services and the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification.

Therapeutic Recreation - Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Therapeutic Recreation is awarded to students upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 121 semester hours of credit with a minimum GPA of 2.0 overall and 2.5 in the major. Students completing this degree are eligible to sit for the national credentialing examination for recreation therapists.

Summary of Requirements

1. University Requirements.

• All students are required to complete the General Education (GenEd) curriculum. Please note that the University GenEd curriculum has specific rules regarding the completion of this university requirement (for example, the number of classes a student may take in one department to satisfy GenEd Requirements), so careful review of the GenEd web site (http://gened.temple.edu/students/requirements/) is encouraged. 

• Math 0701 (4 s.h.) and/or English 0701 (4 s.h.), if required by placement testing. 

• All Temple students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses as part of the major.  Writing Intensive classes required for Therapeutic Recreation include THRC 3096: Assessment and Documentation in Therapeutic Recreation, THRC 3196: Research and Evaluation in Therapeutic Recreation and THRC 4196: Therapeutic Recreation Clinical Procedures.

• Students are also encouraged to review University requirements for successful progression through the academic careers.  Knowledge of course repeat policies, including the withdrawal policy, academic standing, rules on taking courses elsewhere, etc., can be found in the Academic Policies section of the Undergraduate Bulletin.

2. Therapeutic Recreation Program Requirements. Students must complete a set of specific courses in the major, including Health Related Professions Core, Cognate Core, Therapeutic Recreation major courses, and two credit-earning field-based clinical internships (THRC 3185 and THRC 4185). Students may choose from a list of approved external related electives, which are courses related to the major, and required for certification, but offered outside of the department. Students must also complete other non-credit earning requirements as part of the major, including 120 hours of professional/volunteer experiences relevant to the major, criminal and child abuse clearances, health immunization and physical documentation, and certification in First-Aid/CPR.

• Health Related Professions Core (6 s.h.). Two (2) courses are required:

       a. Select one from HRPR 1101, HRPR 1201, or THRC 0813; and

       b. HRPR 2103

• Cognate Core (16 s.h.). Five (5) courses are required:

        Kinesiology 1223, Psychology 1061, Psychology/Sociology 1167, Psychology 2301 and Psychology 2201

Students must successfully pass all Health Related Professions courses and Cognate Core courses with a minimum grade of C or higher.  Students not demonstrating the ability to meet this academic requirement will not be permitted to progress to the Upper-Division Therapeutic Recreation Core and related electives in the curriculum until the minimum grade of C is achieved. 

• External Related Electives (3 s.h.)

Students will seek advisement from the Undergraduate Program Coordinator/Academic Advisor in the Therapeutic Recreation Program for approved external related electives.

• Lower-Division Therapeutic Recreation Coursework (6 s.h.). Two (2) courses are required:

Therapeutic Recreation 1102, 2103

• Upper-Division Therapeutic Recreation Coursework (48 s.h.). Thirteen (13) courses are required:

        a. Therapeutic Recreation 2104, 3096, 3103, 3111, 3196, 4111, 4196

        b. Two Internship Experiences: THRC 3185 (3 s.h.), THRC 4185 (12 s.h.)

        c. Therapeutic Recreation Electives: Choose Four (4) from the following: THRC 2201, 2203, 2205, 3203, 4205, 4211, 4213

All Therapeutic Recreation courses must be completed with a grade of C or higher.  In accordance with college policy, students may only repeat a course once to achieve the minimum grade of C.

Suggested Semester by Semester Plan

The following grid displays required courses. Please note that, unless specified otherwise, students may select from a number of university-approved courses in the various areas of the GenEd curriculum.

GenEd Requirements for Newly Admitted Freshman Students

Note:  Students may lighten their academic load in the fall and spring semesters by taking classes during the summer sessions.  Please see your advisor to explore summer course offerings and suitable options.

GenEd-to-GenEd Transfer Curriculum

The following course sequencing for Fall and Spring transfers is based on meeting Temple University's GenEd-to-GenEd Transfer requirements for students with an approved associate degree from a community college with an approved GenEd-to-GenEd agreement.  (See GenEd Transfer programs at www.temple.edu/bulletin/Academic_programs/general_education/transfer.shtm). If your transfer courses do not include coursework in anatomy and physiology, human growth and development, and abnormal psychology, you will be required to take these courses as part of your B.S. degree. In some instances, the general elective requirements identified may be used to meet this requirement. Students should check with their academic advisor and faculty mentor regularly to make certain they are meeting all requirements to be eligible for graduation. 

FALL TRANSFER

SPRING TRANSFER