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2025 Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools

24 Colleges in the United States
877 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded
A degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #459 out of 1506 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 24 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 877 degrees in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy School

Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools The therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy rankings. We derive our Best Overall Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy
Bachelor's Degrees in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy
Master's Degrees in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

The therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy in the United States

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Schools in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

1
Temple crest
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In PA
66 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Temple University is a good option for students interested in a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Temple is a very large public university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #97 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Temple is a great university overall.

There were about 66 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Temple University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NC
52 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat East Carolina University if you wish to pursue a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #275 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 52 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from East Carolina University

3
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In UT

University of Utah is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #213 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U of U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 28 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from University of Utah

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MI

Eastern Michigan University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #598 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Eastern Michigan is a great university overall.

There were about 9 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Eastern Michigan University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In PA
37 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Located in the distant town of Slippery Rock, SRU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 37th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 37 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at SRU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WI
62 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public university located in the small city of La Crosse. A Best Colleges rank of #380 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - La Crosse is a great university overall.

There were approximately 62 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at UW - La Crosse in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
41 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

University of Toledo is a large public university located in the large city of Toledo. A Best Colleges rank of #510 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Toledo is a great university overall.

There were approximately 41 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at University of Toledo in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from University of Toledo

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MI

GVSU is a very large public university located in the town of Allendale. A Best Colleges rank of #342 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means GVSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Grand Valley State University

9
Kean crest
Kean University
Union, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NJ
43 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Kean is a large public university located in the suburb of Union. A Best Colleges rank of #594 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Kean is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Kean in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Kean University

10
LaGuardia crest
LaGuardia Community College
Long Island City, NY
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NY

LaGuardia is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Long Island City. This college ranks 111th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 16 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at LaGuardia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from LaGuardia Community College

Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy by Region

View the Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy is one of 16 different types of Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Physical Therapy/Therapist 13,809
Occupational Therapy 10,592
Rehabilitation Science 1,258
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling 1,017
Other Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions 773
Art Therapy 770
Music Therapy 688
Orthotist/Prosthetist 331
Assistive/Augmentative Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering 138
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist 129

View All Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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