2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in North Carolina
30
Colleges in North Carolina
3,548
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$34,494
Avg 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 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 30 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,548 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School
Your choice of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Degree Level
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 Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in North Carolina
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.
10 Top North Carolina Schools in Parks & Rec
It's difficult to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were about 371 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients usually earn an average of $32,424 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Every student who is interested in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to look into Wake Forest University. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Winston-Salem. A Best Colleges rank of #76 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Wake Forest University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 83 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Wake Forest University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career earnings of $21,192.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Wake Forest University
North Carolina State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. NC State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 252 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 earn a boost of approximately $2,685 above the typical income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from North Carolina State University
Every student who is interested in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to look into Elon University. Located in the midsize suburb of Elon, Elon is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #190 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Elon is a great university overall.
There were approximately 108 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Elon in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make around $21,440 for their early career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Elon University
Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #401 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.
There were about 405 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make around $27,464 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Appalachian State University
ECU is a very large public university located in the small city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #275 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.
There were about 161 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make about $33,323 for their early career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Carolina University
UNC Greensboro is a large public university located in the city of Greensboro. A Best Colleges rank of #549 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.
There were about 256 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn around $29,697 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Campbell is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the fringe town of Buies Creek. This university ranks 49th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were about 98 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Campbell in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,167.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Campbell University
UNC Pembroke is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Pembroke. This university ranks 48th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were roughly 103 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Pembroke in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career wages of $25,623.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Located in the fringe town of Wilson, Barton College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 65th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were roughly 52 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Barton College in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make around $29,374 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Barton College
