2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southeast Region
142Colleges in the Southeast Region
19,760Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$30,102Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #15 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.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 142 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 19,760 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School
The parks & rec program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings by Degree Level
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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 Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southeast Region
The schools below may not offer all types of parks & rec degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Emory University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.
There were about 91 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Emory University receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,184 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
University of Florida is a great decision for students interested in a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UF is a great university overall.
There were roughly 306 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from University of Florida make $6,951 more than the standard parks & rec student.
Clemson University is a great choice for students interested in a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Clemson is a very large public university located in the suburb of Clemson. A Best Colleges rank of #107 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Clemson is a great university overall.
There were roughly 227 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Clemson in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Clemson University make $6,543 more than the average parks & rec grad.
James Madison University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 326 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from James Madison University make $7,489 more than the average parks & rec graduate.
American Military University is a very large private for-profit university located in the town of Charles Town. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means American Military University is a great university overall.
There were about 683 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at American Military University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies major at American Public University System earn $20,767 above the average graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were roughly 401 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill receive $6,563 more than the typical parks & rec graduate.
Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.
There were about 275 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UofSC in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from University of South Carolina - Columbia make $9,818 more than the typical parks & rec student.
UGA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 303 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, parks & rec degree recipients typically earn an average of $29,679 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.
There were about 117 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus make $19,851 more than the standard parks & rec graduate.
UT Knoxville is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Knoxville. This university ranks 2nd out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were roughly 414 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career wages of $30,686.
Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #92 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 193 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from North Carolina State University receive an earnings boost of about $6,524 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.
Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #117 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means GMU is a great university overall.
There were about 113 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at GMU in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from George Mason University receive $4,107 more than the standard parks & rec graduate.
The Citadel is a small public college located in the midsize city of Charleston. This college ranks 6th out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.
There were roughly 58 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at The Citadel in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Citadel Military College of South Carolina earn a boost of around $8,694 above the typical earnings of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
Located in the large suburb of Miami, FIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 274 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at FIU in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Florida International University make $2,093 more than the standard parks & rec student.
Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 185 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, parks & rec degree recipients typically earn around $25,506 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the small city of Winchester, Shenandoah is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 9th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 21 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Shenandoah in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Shenandoah University earn $8,629 more than the average parks & rec student.
U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Coral Gables. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U Miami is a great university overall.
There were about 100 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from University of Miami get an earnings boost of around $5,659 above the typical income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.
UofL is a very large public university located in the city of Louisville. This university ranks 2nd out of 38 schools for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.
There were about 271 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UofL in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from University of Louisville earn a boost of around $4,392 over the typical income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
UARK is a very large public university located in the small city of Fayetteville. This university ranks 1st out of 34 schools for overall quality in the state of Arkansas.
There were about 296 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UARK in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies major at University of Arkansas make $7,382 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Florida State is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee. A Best Colleges rank of #121 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Florida State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 219 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, parks & rec degree recipients usually make around $31,776 at the beginning of their careers.
William & Mary is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg. A Best Colleges rank of #111 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means William & Mary is a great school overall.
There were approximately 125 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at William & Mary in the most recent data year. After graduation, parks & rec degree recipients usually earn around $27,366 in the first five years of their career.
Rest of the Top Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southeast Region
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southeast Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
college factual
The parks & rec program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
