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

16 Colleges in Tennessee
2,028 Bachelor's Degrees
$28,674 Avg Early-Career Salary
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #13 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,028 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2022-2023 academic year.

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 Tennessee 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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 colleges 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

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 Tennessee list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies.

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

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
313 Annual Graduates

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
424 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Memphis if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. UofM is a very large public university located in the large city of Memphis.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Memphis

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
108 Annual Graduates

East Tennessee State University is a great choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Tennessee State University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
153 Annual Graduates

Middle Tennessee State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the city of Murfreesboro.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Middle Tennessee State University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Lebanon, CU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Cumberland University

6
202 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

7
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Annual Graduates

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

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Tennessee Technological University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
140 Annual Graduates

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

10
Milligan crest
Milligan University
Milligan, TN
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Milligan, Milligan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Milligan University

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

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 34 3,089
Mississippi 34 890
Florida 34 1,760
Virginia 34 1,296
Alabama 33 743
Georgia 33 1,646
West Virginia 32 1,002
South Carolina 32 1,116
Kentucky 31 861
Louisiana 31 551
Arkansas 30 720

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 1,988
Recreation Administration 35
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 2

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 630

Notes and References

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