Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is about average in terms of popularity for associate degrees programs. That is, it ranks #21 out of the 38 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, it might take a little more work to find colleges and universities that offer the degree program.
For its 2022 ranking, College Factual looked at 129 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the most popular for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students pursuing a associate degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,613 associate degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for Your Associate Degree
The parks and rec associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future.
As an aid in helping you pick the right school for you, we created our Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region ranking.
We have also developed a number of other rankings to help guide you in your decision-making process.
To begin with, if this is not the degree level you are most interested in, you may want to check out one of the others noted above.
If you would prefer to limit your search to a specific state or region of the county, see our rankings by location.
On top of that, you can visit our other rankings for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies.
Most Popular Schools for Associate Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region
Below you'll see a list of the most popular colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
21 Most Well Attended Schools for Parks & Rec Students Working on Their Associate
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at Mt. San Antonio College if you want to pursue an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public college with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #3 in quality for associate degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies in California.
There were about 474 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Mt. SAC in the most recent year we have data available.
Riverside City College is a popular decision for students interested in an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Located in the large city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a fairly large student population. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #2 in quality for associate degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies in California.
There were roughly 178 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Riverside City College in the most recent year we have data available.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at College of the Canyons if you want to pursue an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Located in the large suburb of Santa Clarita, College of the Canyons is a public college with a very large student population.
There were approximately 177 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at College of the Canyons in the most recent data year.
You'll be surrounded by many like-minded peers at International Sports Sciences Association if you wish to pursue an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. ISSA is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Carpinteria. This isn't the only ranking where the school placed. It's also #4 in quality for associate degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies in California.
There were about 121 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ISSA in the most recent year we have data available.
There were roughly 120 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at Cabrillo College in the most recent year we have data available.
Pasadena City College is a very large public college located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena.
There were approximately 93 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Pasadena City College in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the suburb of Glendora, Citrus College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
There were about 90 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Citrus College in the most recent year we have data available.
Fresno City College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Fresno.
There were about 84 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Fresno City College in the most recent year we have data available.
Diablo Valley is a large public college located in the suburb of Pleasant Hill.
There were approximately 73 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Diablo Valley in the most recent year we have data available.
Moorpark College is a large public college located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorpark.
There were roughly 69 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Moorpark College in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the large suburb of Rancho Cucamonga, Chaffey College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
There were approximately 61 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at Chaffey College in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Santa Maria, Allan Hancock College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
There were approximately 49 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at Allan Hancock College in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Chula Vista, SWC Chula Vista is a public college with a large student population.
There were approximately 48 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at SWC Chula Vista in the most recent data year.
SCC is a moderately-sized public college located in the midsize city of Orange.
There were approximately 44 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at SCC in the most recent data year.
College of the Desert is a fairly large public college located in the city of Palm Desert.
There were approximately 43 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at College of the Desert in the most recent data year.
Long Beach City College is a very large public college located in the city of Long Beach.
There were roughly 43 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Long Beach City College in the most recent year we have data available.
Cerritos College is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Norwalk.
There were roughly 42 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Cerritos College in the most recent year we have data available.
Cypress College is a large public college located in the suburb of Cypress.
There were roughly 42 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at Cypress College in the most recent data year.
Clovis Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the city of Fresno.
There were about 42 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies individuals who graduated with this degree at Clovis Community College in the most recent year we have data available.
MJC is a large public college located in the city of Modesto.
There were roughly 42 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at MJC in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the town of Reedley, Reedley College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
There were roughly 42 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Reedley College in the most recent data year.
Rest of the Top Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).