2025 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
50
Colleges in the United States
2,818
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$34,246
Avg Early-Career Salary
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is about average in terms of popularity for degree programs. That is, it ranks #166 out of the 395 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.
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. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for parks, recreation & leisure studies schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
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.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 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 parks & rec degrees they offer, see the list below. 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
It is difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the small 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 about 150 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, parks & rec degree recipients typically make about $35,429 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Indiana University - Bloomington
Every student who is interested in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small 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 year we have data available. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn a boost of around $6,213 above the average earnings of parks, recreation & leisure studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Every student who is interested 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 data year. After graduation, parks & rec degree recipients generally make an average of $35,532 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Long Beach
University of Iowa is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the small 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 year we have data available. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from University of Iowa get an earnings boost of around $2,857 over the average income of parks, recreation & leisure studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Iowa
Chico State is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Chico. This university ranks 64th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 103 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, parks & rec degree recipients generally earn about $33,920 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Chico
Located in the 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 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.
There were about 15 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation & leisure studies program at Arizona State University - Tempe make $8,903 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Arizona State University - Tempe
UNI is a moderately-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. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from University of Northern Iowa get an earnings boost of about $2,987 above the average earnings of parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Northern Iowa
Sac State is a fairly 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 about 75 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from California State University - Sacramento receive an earnings boost of around $6,092 above the typical earnings of parks, recreation & leisure studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Sacramento
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 schools 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 data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career earnings of $28,427.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from San Francisco State University
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 roughly 42 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their degree from University of Utah earn $2,763 more than the typical parks & rec student.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Utah
