2025 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master's Degree Schools
If you're seeking a Master's Degree in
parks, recreation & leisure studies, you will have fewer peers than average since the major degree program is the #211 one in the country in terms of popularity.While this may limit the number of schools that offer the degree program, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 174 master's degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for Your Master's Degree
The parks & rec master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree 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.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to parks, recreation & leisure studies students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other parks, recreation & leisure studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How much debt parks, recreation & leisure studies students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized parks, recreation & leisure studies related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for parks, recreation & leisure studies students working on their master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The parks & rec 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 Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master's Degree Schools.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the United States
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for parks, recreation & leisure studies students seeking a a master's degree.
Top Schools for a Master's in Parks & Rec
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to check out University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign.
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies master's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of about $3,369 over the average income of parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates.
More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
It is hard to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you wish to pursue a master'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.
Master's students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn about $42,647 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Indiana University - Bloomington
Northwest Missouri State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Northwest is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Maryville.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Northwest Missouri State University
SUNY Cortland is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the distant town of Cortland, SUNY Cortland is a public school with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from SUNY Cortland
Located in the town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Southern Illinois University Carbondale
