2025 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Tennessee
16
Colleges in Tennessee
2,372
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 16 schools in Tennessee to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,372 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee
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 Tennessee Schools in Parks & Rec
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a 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. A Best Colleges rank of #226 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UT Knoxville is a great university overall.
There were approximately 410 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,856.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to take a look at University of Memphis. UofM is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Memphis. A Best Colleges rank of #807 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UofM is a great university overall.
There were about 494 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients generally make an average of $33,207 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Memphis
Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to check out East Tennessee State University. Located in the small city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #802 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means ETSU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 161 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ETSU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, parks & rec degree recipients usually make around $29,541 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Tennessee State University
It's hard to beat Middle Tennessee State University if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Murfreesboro. A Best Colleges rank of #1036 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Middle Tennessee State University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 208 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career income of $32,886.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Middle Tennessee State University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
11th
Most Popular In TN
46
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
Located in the town of Lebanon, CU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 20th out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were approximately 46 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at CU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Cumberland University
Located in the midsize city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #959 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UT Chattanooga is a great university overall.
There were approximately 212 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn about $29,772 for their early career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Belmont is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #237 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Belmont is a great university overall.
There were approximately 65 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Belmont University receive an earnings boost of approximately $4,422 above the average earnings of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Belmont University
Located in the town of Cookeville, Tennessee Tech University is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1174 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Tennessee Tech University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 103 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee Tech University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, parks & rec degree recipients typically earn around $35,775 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Tennessee Technological University
Austin Peay State University is a medium-sized public university located in the midsize city of Clarksville. This university ranks 25th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were about 179 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Austin Peay State University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, parks & rec degree recipients typically make an average of $33,515 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Austin Peay State University
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Milligan, Milligan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 31st out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were about 20 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Milligan in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Milligan University
