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2025 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

47 Colleges in the United States
1,872 Bachelor's Degrees
a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #128 out of 1232 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 47 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation & leisure studies students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,872 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies during the <nil> academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of parks, recreation & leisure studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for parks, recreation & leisure studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Parks & Rec Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for 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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies.

10 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Parks & Rec

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Annual Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Annual Graduates

California State University - Long Beach is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Long Beach

4
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
43 Annual Graduates

University of Iowa is a good option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Iowa

5
49 Annual Graduates

Chico State is a large public university located in the medium-sized city of Chico.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Chico

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Arizona State University - Tempe

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
26 Annual Graduates

UNI is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Cedar Falls.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Northern Iowa

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
56 Annual Graduates

Sac State is a very large public university located in the large city of Sacramento.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Sacramento

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
18 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from San Francisco State University

10
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Utah

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
12 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
13 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
14 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
15 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies by Region

View the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree 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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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is one of 0 different types of Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies programs to choose from.

Notes and References

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