Program Overview

Introduction to Tourism, Recreation & Adventure Leadership (TRAL) Program

The Tourism, Recreation & Adventure Leadership (TRAL) program offers a comprehensive range of courses designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for success in the tourism, recreation, and adventure leadership professions.

Course Offerings

The TRAL program includes the following courses:

• TRAL 110: Introduction to White Water Kayaking (2 Credits)
  • Students will learn fundamentals of white water kayaking in sheltered and moving water based on internationally recognized teaching and skills certification systems.
• TRAL 111: Introduction to Canoeing (2 Credits)
  • Students will learn fundamentals of canoeing in sheltered and moving water based on internationally recognized teaching and skills certification systems.
• TRAL 115: Outdoor Living Skills (2 Credits)
  • Educates and introduces students on how to travel safely in the backcountry through proper preparation, risk awareness, Leave No Trace ethics, terrain recognition, navigation, and camp craft.
• TRAL 118: Laboratory for Outdoor Living Skills (1 Credit)
  • Practical field application of concepts learned in Outdoor Living Skills.
• TRAL 130: Introduction to Outdoor and Adventure Professions (3 Credits)
  • Explores outdoor and adventure professions, introducing students to practical and conceptual aspects of land and water trips in outdoor tourism, adventure, and educational settings.
• TRAL 132: Foundations and History of Outdoor and Adventure Professions (3 Credits)
  • Examines the history, evolution, and theoretical underpinning of outdoor and adventure professions as an important and evolving feature of Western culture.
• TRAL 173: Intermediate Rock Climbing (2 Credits)
  • Introduces a variety of basic skills, gear, and systems that will allow students to safely participate in a single pitch rock climbing environment.
• TRAL 215: Group Facilitation (4 Credits)
  • Introduces facilitation, leadership, and management of groups, exploring group facilitation theory, techniques, and models.
• TRAL 217: Intermediate Rock (2 Credits)
  • Builds upon foundational rock climbing skills, covering more complex anchor systems, belay techniques, vertical rescues, releasable rappels, and movement through various rock-specific terrains.
• TRAL 218: Rock Site Management (2 Credits)
  • Affirms intermediate rock foundational skills, focusing on building upon those skills by covering more complex anchor systems, belay techniques, vertical rescues, releasable rappels, and movement through various rock-specific terrains.
• TRAL 230: Wildland Firefighting (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on the fundamentals of firefighting, providing an overview of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group S-130 firefighter training and S-190 Wildland Fire Behavior.
• TRAL 251: Recreation Resource Management (4 Credits)
  • Overview of recreation resource management, including the study of land and water resources used for outdoor recreation.
• TRAL 260: Intermediate Paddlesport (2 Credits)
  • Learn how to successfully paddle as a competent group member within moving water and whitewater environments up to class III.
• TRAL 270: Pre-Internship Seminar (1 Credit)
  • Exploration of career goals, internship opportunities, and the variety of practice areas in the tourism, recreation, and adventure leadership professions.
• TRAL 280: Outdoor Leadership Fundamentals (3 Credits)
  • A week-long outdoor expedition focusing on water-based and land-based skills while developing a comprehensive understanding of expedition behavior.
• TRAL 299: Special Topics (0-16 Credits)
  • Topics of current importance in tourism, recreation, and/or adventure leadership education.
• TRAL 301: ACA Level 2-4 Kayaking Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of white water kayaking based on the internationally recognized American Canoe Association (ACA).
• TRAL 302: ACA Level 2-4 Rafting Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of white-water rafting based on the internationally recognized American Canoe Association (ACA).
• TRAL 303: ACA Level 2-4 Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) based on the internationally recognized American Canoe Association (ACA).
• TRAL 304: ACA Level 2-4 Canoe Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of canoeing based on the internationally recognized American Canoe Association (ACA).
• TRAL 305: ACA Level 2-4 Swift Water Rescue (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of swift water rescue (SWR) based on the internationally recognized American Canoe Association (ACA).
• TRAL 306: AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of single pitch climbing based on the internationally recognized American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA).
• TRAL 307: PMBIA Level 1 Mountain Bike Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of mountain biking based on the internationally recognized Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Association (PMBIA).
• TRAL 308: Intermediate Mountain Biking (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on essentials of mountain biking, emphasizing safety, enjoyment, and skill acquisition for entry-level through intermediate individuals.
• TRAL 309: Certification Practicum (2 Credits)
  • Allows students the opportunity to acquire nationally or internationally recognized certification in one or more disciplines.
• TRAL 310: PSIA-AASI Level 1 Ski Instructor (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on fundamentals of snowsports based on the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI) certifications.
• TRAL 311: Advanced Rock Climbing (2 Credits)
  • Focuses on the essentials of traditional and multi-pitch rock climbing, emphasizing safety, enjoyment, and skill acquisition.
• TRAL 351: Outdoor Recreation Management on Public Lands (3 Credits)
  • Explores current issues and problems in outdoor recreation management on public lands and approaches to address these.
• TRAL 352: Wilderness Management (3 Credits)
  • Examines wilderness as a land use concept, including wilderness history, preservation, planning, and management.
• TRAL 353: Nature, Eco, and Adventure Tourism (4 Credits)
  • Examines natural resource-based tourism issues in both domestic and international contexts.
• TRAL 354: Communities, Natural Areas, and Sustainable Tourism (3 Credits)
  • Introduces students to macro-level community and regional issues associated with tourism in natural areas.
• TRAL 357: Parks and Protected Areas Management (3 Credits)
  • Provides a broad yet comprehensive understanding of the theories, problems, and techniques of managing parks, wild and scenic rivers, wilderness, and other protected areas.
• TRAL 370: Design and Management of Outdoor Experiences (4 Credits)
  • Introduction to pedagogical, administrative, and organizational knowledge, skills, and dispositions for effective design and management of effective short and extended duration outdoor experiences.
• TRAL 374: Outdoor Adventure Education (3 Credits)
  • Examines the rationale for and methods used in the application of outdoor adventure education programs in education, recreation, corporate, and human service settings.
• TRAL 375: Experiential Education (4 Credits)
  • Theory, techniques, and practice of experiential education, including defining learning objectives, designing curriculum, developing teaching materials, and effectively teaching a variety of audiences.
• TRAL 377: River Expedition (5 Credits)
  • Develops the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to safely and effectively lead and participate in an extended water-based expedition of one week or longer.
• TRAL 379: Mountain Expedition (10 Credits)
  • Develops the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to safely and effectively lead and participate in an extended backcountry mountain expedition.
• TRAL 399: Special Topics (0-16 Credits)
  • Topics of current importance in tourism, recreation, and/or adventure leadership education.
• TRAL 401: Research and Scholarship (1-16 Credits)
  • Equivalent to TOL 401, this course is repeatable for 16 credits.
• TRAL 402: Independent Study (1-16 Credits)
  • This course is repeatable for 16 credits.
• TRAL 406: Projects (1-16 Credits)
  • Equivalent to TOL 406, this course is repeatable for 16 credits.
• TRAL 410: Internship (1-16 Credits)
  • Full-time supervised professional experience emphasizing functional proficiency under joint sponsorship of university and agency personnel.
• TRAL 432: Economics of Recreation and Tourism (3 Credits)
  • Applications of economic theory, concepts, and methods to outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism resources, projects, and plans.
• TRAL 456: Planning for Sustainable Recreation (4 Credits)
  • Concepts related to the creation and design of outdoor recreation plans, including techniques for collecting data pertaining to visitor experiences and preferences.
• TRAL 457: Planning for Sustainable Tourism (4 Credits)
  • Examines relationships among tourists, tourism developments, and the planning of tourist attractions and services.
• TRAL 476: Risk Management in Tourism, Recreation, and Adventure Leadership (3 Credits)
  • Risk management in tourism and outdoor leadership from an operational perspective, focusing on risk in tourism and outdoor education programs.
• TRAL 479: Nature and the Human Experience (3 Credits)
  • Examines the human experience with (and within) nature from biological, psychological, spiritual, and international/cultural perspectives.
• TRAL 493: Environmental Interpretation (4 Credits)
  • Interpretation of natural and cultural features in parks, museums, and similar settings, emphasizing learning and applying effective communication techniques.
• TRAL 499: Special Topics (1-16 Credits)
  • Topics of current importance in forest resources issues, education, policies, economics, management, business, social values, silviculture, and biometrics.
• TRAL 530: Outdoor Recreation Monitoring and Management (3 Credits)
  • Explores social and ecological impacts of recreation in protected areas, presenting monitoring approaches to assess impacts and evaluating alternative mitigation measures.
• TRAL 593: Environmental Interpretation (4 Credits)
  • Interpretation of natural and cultural features in parks, museums, and similar settings, emphasizing learning and applying effective communication techniques.