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Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

8 Colleges
$31,896 Avg Salary
$23,205 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for You

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the #169 most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in the Southwest Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

Check out the parks and rec programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top Southwest Region Schools in Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies

Our 2023 rankings named Texas A&M University - College Station the best school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Texas A&M College Station accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great place for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.

On average, parks and rec graduates from ASU - Skysong take out $24,363 in student loans while working on their degree.

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The excellent programs at Southeastern Oklahoma State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the distant town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University

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Out of the 8 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus landed the # 4 spot on the list. OSU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Stillwater.

Parks & Rec majors at OSU take out an average of $22,206 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Central Oklahoma. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. UCO is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edmond.

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Northern Arizona University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. Located in the small city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from NAU carry an average student debtload of $24,437.

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#7

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

MSU Texas ranked #7 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. MSU Texas is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

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Oral Roberts University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #8 on the list. ORU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Tulsa.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Oral Roberts University Report

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Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation and leisure studies colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 12
Arizona 98
Oklahoma 53
New Mexico 0

One of 4 majors within the area of study, parks, recreation and leisure studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

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 8 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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