The
Master of Science in Leisure, Tourism and Environment is a collaborative
endeavour of World Leisure and Wageningen University. The study is characterised
by an advanced, world-wide, trans-disciplinary, critical and innovative
approach. It focuses on the relationship between leisure and environment, with
special attention for on tourism. Even though the word leisure is not known
everywhere in the world, leisure is of all times, places and societies. All over
the globe more and more people are spending a growing proportion of their time
and money on leisure. This growth relates to international and domestic tourism,
indoor and outdoor sports, outdoor recreation, arts and culture provision and
participation, mass media use and everyday leisure activities close to or at
home. The economic importance of leisure and tourism services is growing
tremendously. In 2000 international tourism alone counted for a global
expenditure equivalent of US$ 476 billion, with an increase rate of around 5 per
cent per year and domestic tourism and the leisure industries at a much higher
level. Tourism and leisure are also important elements in labour markets, with
tourism accounting for more than 100 million jobs world-wide. There is a growing
awareness that leisure in all its manifestations has considerable consequences
for cultural, political, technological, economical and geographical
transformations throughout the world. In this respect tourism is a potent agent
of cultural globalisation. Leisure can provide a major contribution to quality
of life and social well being. Leisure and tourism have been long recognised for
their role in community and regional development. Furthermore, tourism and
leisure developments can have major environmental impacts. In the master degree
course Leisure, Tourism and Environment consumption and production is analysed
in this broad and encompassing sense. The principle focus of the study however
is on the way these processes come together to produce particular types of
leisure and tourism environments. Special attention is paid to areas of concern
such as landscape, space, place and locality. What motivates tourists to visit
remote destinations? How do they affect local culture and economies? To what
extent are places transformed into commodified leisure landscapes? How do host
communities, stakeholders and visitors in terms of identity and authenticity
perceive those landscapes? Careful planning and management are needed to
establish flexible balances in the variety of leisure environments. The
interventions should be based on philosophical judgements - where do we wish the
world to move to - and on scientific and practical experience, insights,
knowledge and awareness. Moreover, in contrast to the more traditional
scientific emphasis on leisure in terms of activities, this study has an
experiential approach towards leisure in the first place. Much attention is paid
to the analysis of significance and meaning of leisure choices, both in
consumption and production. The study is truly international and comparative.
Through the annual contribution of about 25 to 30 faculty members from the
global network of World Leisure experts and scholars, it brings together an
extraordinary broad range of academic experience. The mission of the master
programme is to bring students and academics from all parts of the world
together in a multi-cultural setting. Furthermore the study deals with both
rural and urban environments in developed capitalist societies, former socialist
societies and the third world.
The
master programme starts every year on the first Monday in September and requires
18 or 24 months (depending on the need to do an internship) for completion. The
first residential period is 11-12 months, followed by, for those who need, a
training period (internship) and then a period for the writing of a thesis.
Students who can afford financially, very often decide to come back to the
Netherlands for a couple of months to complete their thesis in Wageningen
(second residential period). Supervision for those who can not afford to come
back is realised through intensive e-mail communication.
The language of instruction is English. The programme comprises of 120 credits (ECTS;
six credits is equivalent to a workload of 160 hours). Students with a minimum
of 2 years of relevant professional experience in the field of leisure and
tourism can get dispensation for the internship and thereby shorten the
programme to 96 ECTS.
The core of the programme is the thesis research (average 36 ECTS). Preceding
the thesis, a selection of graduate courses is compiled for each individual
student in close communication with the study advisor, bearing in mind the
requirements and subject of the thesis research. This selection consists of four
compulsory core and advanced courses on the subject matter of leisure, tourism
and environment (24 ECTS), a course on advanced research methods and techniques
(6 ECTS), and a minimum of three optional courses in which a student can
concentrate on a specific field of study (18 ECTS). Further, applicants may be
asked to do one or more refresher courses at home and/or to improve their
English proficiency, before they come to Wageningen.
1. Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Concepts and Approaches
2. Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Experiences and Environment
3. Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Social Change and Globalisation
4. Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Sustainable Development
5. Advanced Methods and Techniques in Leisure, Tourism and Environment
6. Academic Master Cluster (two sub courses: skills and case study)
7. A minimum of three optional courses
8. Internship Leisure, Tourism and Environment
9. Thesis Leisure, Tourism and Environment
It
is widely recognised that leisure and tourism are the world’s largest generator
of employment. Tourism alone generates 7% of the worlds jobs. In the Netherlands
more than 300.000 jobs are related to the leisure and tourism sector. It is
anticipated that the steep growth of the past 50 years will continue in the next
decades. Most graduates of our master programme find a job in the fields of
research, policy & planning, and consultancy & development. A small part of our
graduates continues the academic career in a Ph.D. study at a university. A
large share find a job at a consultancy agency or research institute. Many
graduates work in the field of policy & planning in governmental,
non-governmental or private organisations on the local, regional and (inter-)
national level. Finally a large share of our graduates finds a job in
intermediary organisations, where various sectors (leisure & tourism,
conservation, agriculture, etc.) or interests (entrepreneurs, governments,
communities etc.) are linked together.
Students entering the master programme are expected to have basic knowledge in
the fields of methods and techniques of social research (including statistical
analysis and some practical experience with SPSS or a comparable statistical
package), leisure & tourism, and human geography (or comparable or related
cultural and/or socio-spatial disciplines). Our master programme offers
opportunities, however, to compensate minor deficiencies in these areas.
Students with a minimum of two years of relevant work experience in the field of
leisure and tourism can get dispensation for the internship and thus reduce the
master programme from 120 to 96 credits. And, of course, high English
proficiency (speaking, reading, writing) is required. Students from non-English
speaking countries must provide results of a Toefl test or equivalent.
More
information
To obtain more information about the study programme:
International
students can contact
The study counsellor for international students:
Mrs M.M. Vries - de Heer
WL-WICE at Wageningen University (WUR)
Generaal Foulkesweg 13
6703 BJ Wageningen
The Netherlands
Telephone : + 31 317 484367 / 484414
Fax : + 31 317 485441
E-mail :
ria.vries@wur.nl
Dutch students can contact:
The study counsellor for Dutch students:
Drs Ir K.B.M. Peters
WUR-SRA (Chair Group Socio-Spatial Analysis)
Generaal Foulkesweg 13
6703 BJ Wageningen
The Netherlands
Telephone : + 31 317 486025
Fax : + 31 317 485441
E-mail :
karin.peters@wur.nl
More detailed information can be found on the web too.
Go to
http://www.wur.nl and choose:
(1) Education (2) Wageningen University (3) M.Sc. Programmes
(4a) Programmes (4b) Study Handbook (5) 2004 Master MLE (6) M.Sc. Common part
After step 3 you can go to “Fellowships” too.
This provides you, among others, the programme overview, and you can click on
the various courses [SAL-......] and there you will find brief information on
faculty, course content, schedules, et cetera.
See also:
http://www.wice.info
or
http://www.worldleisure.org/wice.html