2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee
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
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:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's 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 bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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