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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

32 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #15 most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

The Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 32 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best master'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.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Concordia University, Irvine the best school in the Far Western US Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Washington University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the fringe town of Cheney, EWU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Eastern Washington University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Point Loma Nazarene University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Diego.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

#5

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 32 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of San Francisco landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of San Francisco Report

#6

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

Seattle University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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#7

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

Gonzaga University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Gonzaga University

Washington State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Wazzu is a fairly large public school located in the town of Pullman.

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University of the Pacific did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Stockton, Pacific is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of the Pacific

With a ranking of #10, California Baptist University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Riverside.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California Baptist University Report

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 11,237
Washington 673
Oregon 629
Hawaii 171
Nevada 273
Alaska 35

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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