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

24 Colleges in Ohio
2,057 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,878 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #13 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 24 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Ohio ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,057 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * 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 Ohio Your choice of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality parks & rec program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Ohio ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

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

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

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

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Annual Graduates

Ohio State University - Main Campus is a wonderful option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Columbus.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Ohio State University - Main Campus

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
257 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to take a look at Miami University - Oxford. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Miami University - Oxford

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
119 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to look into Ohio University - Athens Campus. OHIO Athens is a very large public university located in the town of Athens.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Ohio University - Athens Campus

4
43 Annual Graduates

University of Dayton is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. UDayton is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Dayton.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Dayton

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Annual Graduates

Kent State is a very large public university located in the suburb of Kent.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Kent State University at Kent

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Annual Graduates

Baldwin Wallace College is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Berea.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Baldwin Wallace University

7
63 Annual Graduates

Mount Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the fringe town of Alliance.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Mount Union

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
161 Annual Graduates

BGSU is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Bowling Green.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

9
Xavier crest
Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Annual Graduates

Xavier is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cincinnati.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Xavier University

10
27 Annual Graduates

OWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Delaware.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Ohio Wesleyan University

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 35 2,011
Illinois 34 1,560
Indiana 33 1,608
Wisconsin 31 869

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 1,946
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 56
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 42
Recreation Administration 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 1,179

Notes and References

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