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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

71 Colleges
$32,049 Avg Salary
$25,045 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 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.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

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 Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 71 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

Our analysis found Focus Personal Training Institute to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a degree in the Middle Atlantic Region . FPTI is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of New York.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from FPTI carry an average student debtload of $7,355.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Focus Personal Training Institute Report

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Columbia University in the City of New York is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

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#3

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Syracuse University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse.

Parks & Rec majors at Syracuse take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $555, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#4

Seton Hall University

South Orange, NJ

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Seton Hall University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the suburb of South Orange, Seton Hall is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Seton Hall accumulate an average of around $24,125 in student debt.

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#5

McDaniel College

Westminster, MD

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend McDaniel College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the small suburb of Westminster, McDaniel is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at McDaniel accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt.

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With a ranking of #6, St. Joseph’s College - New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. SJC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Brooklyn.

Parks & Rec majors at SJC take out an average of $20,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#7

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#8

St. John Fisher College

Rochester, NY

St. John Fisher College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, Fisher is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Parks & Rec majors at Fisher take out an average of $25,125 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at St. John Fisher College Report

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#9

Robert Morris University

Moon Township, PA

Robert Morris University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. RMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Moon Township.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from RMU carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. SRU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Slippery Rock.

On average, parks and rec graduates from SRU take out $26,500 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $375.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
12 Towson University Towson, MD
13 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
14 Howard University Washington, DC

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 Middle Atlantic region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 1,047
Pennsylvania 2,734
New York 2,477
Maryland 832
Delaware 342
District of Columbia 319

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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