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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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

86 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.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 86 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. The factors used to develop this ranking include those related to how in-demand the school is, the overall quality of the school, and post-graduation wages, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of Virginia - Main Campus to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Virginia - Main Campus

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend North Carolina State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. NC State is a very large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at American Public University System Report

#4

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arkansas. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the small city of Fayetteville, UARK is a public college with a very large student population.

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

#5

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Out of the 86 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the # 5 spot on the list. UF is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Gainesville.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #6 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

United States Sports Academy ranked #7 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. The Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Daphne.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at United States Sports Academy

Florida International University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the large suburb of Miami, FIU is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Florida International University Report

#9

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University 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 suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public school with a very large student population.

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

#10

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Clemson University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Clemson.

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

#11

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

James Madison University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. JMU is a very large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.

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#12

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Wake Forest University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Wake Forest University Report

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC
14 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
15 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
16 University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
17 Augusta University Augusta, GA

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 3,436
West Virginia 1,238
South Carolina 1,339
Florida 2,340
Virginia 1,729
Arkansas 1,012
Mississippi 1,128
Louisiana 703
Alabama 959
Kentucky 1,141
Georgia 1,981
Tennessee 2,462

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

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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