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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California

22 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 #14 most popular major in California with 11,237 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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 & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 California

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 analysis found Concordia University, Irvine to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the large city of Irvine, Concordia University, Irvine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in California. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Point Loma Nazarene University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#4

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of San Francisco. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

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

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of the Pacific is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Stockton.

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

California Baptist University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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

San Jose State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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California State University - Long Beach 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 #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#9

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. National University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at National University Report

With a ranking of #10, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Cal State East Bay is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - East Bay

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
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 22 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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