2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the #169 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 75 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo to be the best school for parks, recreation and leisure studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $272.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, parks and rec graduates from UIUC carry an average student debtload of $19,274. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $226.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brigham Young University - Provo. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Provo.
The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at BYU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $12,419.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Brigham Young University - Provo
Out of the 75 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a very large student population.
On average, parks and rec graduates from IU Bloomington take out $18,947 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $478.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Winona State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools in the United States. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.
Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation and leisure studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.
Eastern Washington University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation and leisure studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the town of Cheney, EWU is a public school with a large student population.
Northwest Missouri State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation and leisure studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Northwest is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Maryville.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northwest Missouri State University
University of Missouri - Columbia came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the city of Columbia.
On average, parks and rec graduates from Mizzou take out $22,468 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $277.
Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Missouri - Columbia Report
San Jose State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
University of Northern Iowa ranked #11 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Parks & Rec majors at UNI take out an average of $22,350 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA |
| 13 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 14 | Ithaca College | Ithaca, NY |
| 15 | Ohio University - Athens Campus | Athens, OH |
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies by Region
View the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Rankings
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Related Rankings by Major
One of 4 majors within the area of study, parks, recreation and leisure studies has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Parks & Rec
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Physical Education | 67,146 |
| Recreation Administration | 3,122 |
| Outdoor Education | 265 |
| Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 174 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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