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
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 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
10 Top Schools in Parks & Rec
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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