2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 709 associate degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students working on their associate degree.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

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, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students seeking a an associate degree.

Top Middle Atlantic Region Schools for an Associate in Parks & Rec

1

Union County College
Cranford, NJ

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

21 Annual Graduates

Union County College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Union County College is a moderately-sized public college located in the suburb of Cranford.More information about a associate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Union County College

2

Monroe College
Bronx, NY

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

74 Annual Graduates

Monroe College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Monroe College is a moderately-sized private for-profit college located in the large city of Bronx.More information about a associate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Monroe College

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies colleges for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania	36	78
New York	36	439
New Jersey	35	114
Maryland	33	40
Delaware	21	6

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	616
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	60
Recreation Administration	20
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	7
Outdoor Education	6

Most Popular Majors Related to Parks & Rec

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service	1,573

Notes and References

• 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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch. More about our data sources and methodologies.