2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the #15 most popular in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 557 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for parks and rec majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness
Our analysis found American Public University System to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.
Out of the 557 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Rice University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Rice University Report
Out of the 557 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Maryville University of Saint Louis landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Southern Methodist University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Methodist University Report
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Florida helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a very large student population.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Florida
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #6 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.
South Dakota State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public college with a large student population.
Saint Cloud State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St. Cloud State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Saint Cloud State University
With a ranking of #9, Clemson University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Clemson University Report
With a ranking of #10, Citadel Military College of South Carolina did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. The Citadel is a small public school located in the midsize city of Charleston.
With a ranking of #11, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public college with a very large student population.
University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report
Dickinson State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. DSU is a small public school located in the remote town of Dickinson.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dickinson State University Report
Emory University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Emory University Report
With a ranking of #15, Simpson College did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Simpson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Indianola.
The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Northwestern Oklahoma State University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. NWOSU is a small public school located in the remote town of Alva.
Syracuse University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Syracuse University
With a ranking of #19, Seton Hall University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Seton Hall is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of South Orange.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Seton Hall University
James Madison University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at James Madison University Report
Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the midsize city of College Station.
With a ranking of #22, University of North Dakota did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Grand Forks, UND is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Dakota
University of South Carolina - Columbia came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UofSC is a very large public school located in the city of Columbia.
With a ranking of #24, University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. UNCW is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Wilmington.
With a ranking of #25, North Carolina State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Rest of the Top 50 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools
Remaining Award Winners
This list shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 557 different United States parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools we analyzed.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students that almost earned our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies by Region
View the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness 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, & Fitness Studies Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Parks & Rec
Parks & Rec Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Physical Education | 67,146 |
| Recreation Administration | 3,122 |
| Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 3,106 |
| Outdoor Education | 265 |
| Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 174 |
Majors Similar to Parks & Rec
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 142,610 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | 98,583 |
| Legal Professions | 61,055 |
| Military Technologies & Applied Sciences | 4,477 |
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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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