College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in South Dakota

10 Ranked Colleges
$23,200 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2021-2022, 72,741 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In , parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $31,466 and had an average of $24,117 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Dakota, there were 326 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,046 and $23,943 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

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 “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota parks & rec students.

Top 10 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in South Dakota

1
NSU crest
Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern State University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota. Aberdeen, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks & rec degrees to 33 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full NSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

2
Mount Marty crest
Mount Marty University
Yankton, South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Mount Marty University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota. Located in Yankton, South Dakota, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 19 degrees to qualified ’s parks & rec students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mount Marty

3
University of Sioux Falls crest
University of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Sioux Falls landed the #3 spot on the list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks & rec degrees to 24 students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Sioux Falls

4
Augustana Sioux Falls crest
Augustana University
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Augustana University landed the #4 spot on the list. Augustana University is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 36 ’s parks & rec degrees to qualified students.

Full Augustana Sioux Falls Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

5
BHSU crest
Black Hills State University
Spearfish, South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Black Hills State University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota. Black Hills State University is a public institution located in Spearfish, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 34 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full BHSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

6
Presentation College crest
Presentation College
Aberdeen, South Dakota

Presentation College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. Presentation College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It awarded 12 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Presentation College

7
USD crest
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota

University of South Dakota came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. USD is a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 82 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of South Dakota

8
Dakota State crest
Dakota State University
Madison, South Dakota

Dakota State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. This small school is located in Madison, South Dakota, and it awarded 3 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dakota State

9
Dakota Wesleyan University crest
Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, South Dakota

Dakota Wesleyan University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. This small school is located in Mitchell, South Dakota, and it awarded 5 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Dakota Wesleyan University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

10
South Dakota State crest
South Dakota State University
Brookings, South Dakota

South Dakota State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, this fairly large public school handed out 78 degrees to qualified ’s parks & rec students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full South Dakota State Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options