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2024 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

64 Colleges in the United States
3,106 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$31,801 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 64 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,106 degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools 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

Bachelor's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Master's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Doctor's Degrees in Parks & Rec

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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools in Parks & Rec

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
142 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
8.5% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in parks, recreation & leisure studies needs to look into University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 142 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $9,283 more than the average parks & rec grad.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
160 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$35,063 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were about 160 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their degree from Indiana University - Bloomington earn $3,262 more than the typical parks & rec graduate.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
91 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$34,586 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to look into California State University - Long Beach. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were about 91 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation & leisure studies program at California State University - Long Beach make $2,785 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Long Beach

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
29.1% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Brigham Young University - Provo if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means BYU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 110 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at BYU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation & leisure studies degree program at Brigham Young University - Provo get $11,099 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Brigham Young University - Provo

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
119 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
31.9% Growth in Graduates

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public university located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a great university overall.

There were approximately 119 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo earn a boost of approximately $20,899 above the average earnings of parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

6
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
40.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #151 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U of U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 76 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their degree from University of Utah make $3,910 more than the typical parks & rec graduate.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Utah

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
99 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
10.1% Growth in Graduates

Chico State is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Chico. This university ranks 79th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 99 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Chico State in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree recipients from California State University - Chico get an earnings boost of approximately $2,626 above the typical income of parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Chico

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$31,566 Median Starting Salary
$24,363 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were approximately 18 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients usually earn about $31,566 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Arizona State University - Tempe

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$32,498 Median Starting Salary

UNI is a moderately-sized public university located in the small city of Cedar Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #199 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.

There were approximately 60 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career income of $32,498.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Northern Iowa

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$29,238 Median Starting Salary
$24,125 Median Student Debt

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #51 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMN Twin Cities is a great university overall.

There were about 11 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career earnings of $29,238.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

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 Schools award.

Rank College Location
10 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
11 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
12 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
13 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
14 Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Stillwater, OK
15 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
16 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies by Region

View the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 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 4 different types of Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies programs to choose from.

Parks & Rec Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3,106

View All Parks & Rec Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Outdoor Education 265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

View All Parks & Rec Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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