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

5 Colleges in South Dakota
309 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,640 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 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 309 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 South Dakota 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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality 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 collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

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 colleges 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 South Dakota list to help you make the college 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 South Dakota

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

Top South Dakota Schools for a Bachelor's in Parks & Rec

1
Augustana Sioux Falls crest
Augustana University
Sioux Falls, SD
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Augustana University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Augustana Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Sioux Falls.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Augustana University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to look into South Dakota State University. Located in the remote town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from South Dakota State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
30 Annual Graduates

Northern State University is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the remote town of Aberdeen, NSU is a public university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Northern State University

4
32 Annual Graduates

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

5
Basic Certificate Highest Degree Type
36 Annual Graduates

BHSU is a small public university located in the distant town of Spearfish.More information about a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Black Hills State University

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

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Missouri 35 1,095
Kansas 33 636
Minnesota 33 931
Iowa 32 1,345
Nebraska 31 375
North Dakota 30 220

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 268
Recreation Administration 31
Outdoor Education 10

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 42

Notes and References

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