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

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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 medium-sized city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college 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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station

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 very large public school located in the medium-sized 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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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a great place for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Located in the distant town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region 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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Central Oklahoma. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. UCO is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edmond.

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Northern Arizona University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #6 on the list. 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 landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Wichita Falls.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at MSU Texas Report

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.

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Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools 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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