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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region

35 Colleges
$33,506 Avg Salary
$25,928 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies was ranked #15 in the country. In fact 73,813 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 35 schools in the New England 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 New England 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 Johnson & Wales University - Online to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a degree in the New England Region . Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, JWU Online is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at JWU Online accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $430, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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The excellent programs at University of Massachusetts Amherst helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the New England Region . Located in the suburb of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Parks & Rec majors at UMass Amherst take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $543.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson & Wales University - Providence. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the midsize city of Providence, JWU Providence is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

On average, parks and rec graduates from JWU Providence take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $430, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Hampshire - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. UNH is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Durham.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at UNH accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $551, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#5

Norwich University

Northfield, VT

Out of the 35 schools in the New England Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Norwich University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Norwich is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Northfield.

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

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University of Connecticut landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the large suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public college with a very large student population.

Parks & Rec majors at UCONN take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Northeastern University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

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#8

University of Vermont

Burlington, VT

With a ranking of #8, University of Vermont did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the city of Burlington, UVM is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from UVM carry an average student debtload of $23,785.

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Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region ranking. Northeastern University Professional Advancement Network is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.

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#10

Endicott College

Beverly, MA

Endicott College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the suburb of Beverly, Endicott is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Endicott accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $470, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Endicott College Report

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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 New England region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 569
Maine 200
Rhode Island 291
Massachusetts 1,195
Connecticut 332
Vermont 165

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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