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2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

32 Colleges in California
5,606 Bachelor's Degrees
$29,758 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #13 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual looked at 32 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,606 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California The parks & rec bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

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

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Parks & Rec

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
372 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat San Diego State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from San Diego State University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
191 Annual Graduates

San Francisco State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from San Francisco State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
310 Annual Graduates

California State University - Long Beach is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State University - Long Beach

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
35 Annual Graduates

Saint Mary's College of California is a good option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the large suburb of Moraga, SMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Saint Mary’s College of California

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
374 Annual Graduates

Sac State is a very large public university located in the city of Sacramento.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State University - Sacramento

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
229 Annual Graduates

Chico State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Chico.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State University - Chico

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
542 Annual Graduates

Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Fullerton.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State University - Fullerton

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
175 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

9
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of San Francisco

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
397 Annual Graduates

CSUN is a very large public university located in the large city of Northridge.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from California State University - Northridge

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 34 510
Hawaii 30 159
Oregon 30 532
Nevada 30 253
Alaska 29 26

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 5,204
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 402

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 2,516

Notes and References

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