2025 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
50
Colleges in the United States
2,818
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
A degree in
parks, recreation & leisure studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #218 out of 1506 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual looked at 50 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,818 degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School
Your choice of parks, recreation & leisure studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 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 Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
Best Schools for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the United States
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the parks & rec degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
10 Top Schools in Parks & Rec
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In IN
150
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
It's hard to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 150 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Indiana University - Bloomington
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In IL
145
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Any student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to check out University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 145 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
4th
Most Popular In CA
83
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies needs to check out California State University - Long Beach. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 83 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Long Beach
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In IA
55
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
University of Iowa is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were approximately 55 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Iowa
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In CA
103
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Chico State is a large public university located in the city of Chico. This university ranks 64th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 103 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Chico
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In AZ
Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.
There were approximately 15 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Arizona State University - Tempe
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In IA
36
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. This university ranks 3rd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were about 36 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Northern Iowa
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
75
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Sac State is a very large public university located in the large city of Sacramento. This university ranks 40th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 75 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Sacramento
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In CA
Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #225 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.
There were about 28 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from San Francisco State University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In UT
42
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a fairly 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 42 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Utah
