2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the #15 most popular in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 413 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular associate degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for parks and rec majors pursuing a associate degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for an Associate in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness
Our 2023 rankings named Mt. San Antonio College the most popular school in the United States for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 500 students majoring in parks and rec at Mt. SAC, 34% are male and 66% are female.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of the Canyons. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Santa Clarita, College of the Canyons is a public college with a fairly large student population.
About 77% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 23% are male.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Riverside City College is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Riverside, Riverside City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 170 students majoring in parks and rec at Riverside City College, 54% are male and 46% are female.
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The in-demand associate degree programs at Cabrillo College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the suburb of Aptos, Cabrillo College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Women make up 78% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Out of the 413 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Bryan University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Bryan University is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Tempe.
Women make up 43% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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International Sports Sciences Association came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. ISSA is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Carpinteria.
About 22% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 78% are male.
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With a ranking of #7, Pasadena City College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Pasadena City College is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena.
Of the 103 students majoring in parks and rec at Pasadena City College, 65% are male and 35% are female.
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Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 94 students majoring in parks and rec at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale, 81% are male and 19% are female.
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Fresno City College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Fresno City College is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.
About 34% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 66% are male.
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Diablo Valley College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Pleasant Hill, Diablo Valley is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 87 students majoring in parks and rec at Diablo Valley, 25% are male and 75% are female.
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El Paso Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #11 on the list. El Paso Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of El Paso.
Of the 77 students majoring in parks and rec at El Paso Community College, 38% are male and 62% are female.
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Citrus College ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. Citrus College is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Glendora.
Women make up 41% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Long Beach City College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Long Beach City College is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.
Of the 74 students majoring in parks and rec at Long Beach City College, 54% are male and 46% are female.
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Blinn College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the distant town of Brenham, Blinn College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 65% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Monroe College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Bronx, Monroe College is a private for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Of the 69 students majoring in parks and rec at Monroe College, 78% are male and 22% are female.
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Moorpark College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. Moorpark College is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Moorpark.
About 50% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 50% are male.
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With a ranking of #17, Hudson Valley Community College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. HVCC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Troy.
Women make up 29% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Clovis Community College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Fresno, Clovis Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Women make up 55% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Kingsborough Community College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, KCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 51 students majoring in parks and rec at KCC, 69% are male and 31% are female.
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Columbus State Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Columbus State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Columbus.
Of the 49 students majoring in parks and rec at Columbus State, 61% are male and 39% are female.
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East Los Angeles College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #21 on the list. East Los Angeles College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Monterey Park.
Women make up 51% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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Norco College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking. Norco College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Norco.
Women make up 59% of the parks and rec majors at the school.
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De Anza College landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the small city of Cupertino, De Anza College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 46 students majoring in parks and rec at De Anza College, 54% are male and 46% are female.
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With a ranking of #24, Shasta College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Redding, Shasta College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Of the 44 students majoring in parks and rec at Shasta College, 32% are male and 68% are female.
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College of the Desert ranked #24 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Palm Desert, College of the Desert is a public school with a large student population.
Of the 44 students majoring in parks and rec at College of the Desert, 59% are male and 41% are female.
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Remaining Award Winners
This list represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 413 different United States parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Foothill College | Los Altos Hills, CA |
| 52 | Moreno Valley College | Moreno Valley, CA |
| 52 | Modesto Junior College | Modesto, CA |
| 52 | Orange Coast College | Costa Mesa, CA |
| 55 | Bakersfield College | Bakersfield, CA |
| 55 | Los Angeles Valley College | Valley Glen, CA |
| 55 | Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa, CA |
| 58 | Golden West College | Huntington Beach, CA |
| 58 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | Perkinston, MS |
| 58 | Odessa College | Odessa, TX |
| 61 | Central Texas College | Killeen, TX |
| 61 | Portland Community College | Portland, OR |
| 61 | Austin Community College District | Austin, TX |
| 61 | Del Mar College | Corpus Christi, TX |
| 61 | Monroe Community College | Rochester, NY |
Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 66 | Saddleback College | Mission Viejo, CA |
| 66 | Nassau Community College | Garden City, NY |
| 66 | Niagara County Community College | Sanborn, NY |
| 66 | San Diego Mesa College | San Diego, CA |
| 66 | Santa Barbara City College | Santa Barbara, CA |
| 71 | Los Angeles City College | Los Angeles, CA |
| 71 | Monterey Peninsula College | Monterey, CA |
| 71 | College of San Mateo | San Mateo, CA |
| 74 | San Diego Miramar College | San Diego, CA |
| 74 | Rio Hondo College | Whittier, CA |
| 74 | County College of Morris | Randolph, NJ |
| 74 | Chaffey College | Rancho Cucamonga, CA |
| 74 | Imperial Valley College | Imperial, CA |
| 74 | Finger Lakes Community College | Canandaigua, NY |
| 74 | West Hills College-Lemoore | Lemoore, CA |
| 81 | Los Angeles Harbor College | Wilmington, CA |
| 81 | Montgomery County Community College | Blue Bell, PA |
| 81 | Jefferson Community College | Watertown, NY |
| 81 | Gavilan College | Gilroy, CA |
| 81 | Oxnard College | Oxnard, CA |
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies by Region
View the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Majors Related to Parks & Rec
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.
- 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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