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

30 Colleges in North Carolina
2,903 Bachelor's Degrees
$28,705 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 30 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,903 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.

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 North Carolina 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 include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different 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 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.

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

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 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.

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 North Carolina

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

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

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
365 Annual Graduates

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a good decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to take a look at Wake Forest University. Located in the large city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University 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 Wake Forest University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
155 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to look into North Carolina State University. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from North Carolina State University

4
92 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Elon University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Elon is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Elon.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Elon University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
336 Annual Graduates

Appalachian State is a fairly large public university located in the town of Boone.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Appalachian State University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
103 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Carolina University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
193 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

8
Campbell crest
Campbell University
Buies Creek, NC
99 Annual Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Buies Creek, Campbell 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 Campbell University

9
85 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Pembroke, UNC Pembroke is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Pembroke

10
Barton College crest
Barton College
Wilson, NC
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Annual Graduates

Barton College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Wilson.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Barton College

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

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 34 890
Florida 34 1,760
Virginia 34 1,296
Alabama 33 743
Georgia 33 1,646
West Virginia 32 1,002
Tennessee 32 2,175
South Carolina 32 1,116
Kentucky 31 861
Louisiana 31 551
Arkansas 30 720

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 2,542
Recreation Administration 245
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 90
Outdoor Education 26

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 1,454

Notes and References

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