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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

60 Colleges
$26,246 Avg Salary
$15,794 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate 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. 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 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 60 schools in the Southwest Region 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.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for parks and rec majors pursuing a associate degree.

#1

Bryan University

Tempe, AZ

Our 2023 rankings named Bryan University the most popular school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, Bryan University is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 145 students majoring in parks and rec at Bryan University, 57% are male and 43% are female.

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

The in-demand associate degree programs at El Paso Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the city of El Paso, El Paso Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 62% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 38% are male.

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#3

Blinn College

Brenham, TX

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Blinn College is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Blinn College is a fairly large public school located in the town of Brenham.

Of the 71 students majoring in parks and rec at Blinn College, 35% are male and 65% are female.

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

#4

South Texas College

McAllen, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Texas College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the midsize city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 43% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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#5

Paris Junior College

Paris, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Paris Junior College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Paris Junior College is a small public school located in the town of Paris.

About 53% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 47% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Paris Junior College Report

#6

Odessa College

Odessa, TX

Odessa College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Odessa College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Odessa.

Of the 24 students majoring in parks and rec at Odessa College, 42% are male and 58% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Odessa College

#7

Del Mar College

Corpus Christi, TX

Del Mar 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 #7 on the list. DMC is a large public school located in the city of Corpus Christi.

Of the 22 students majoring in parks and rec at DMC, 45% are male and 55% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Del Mar College Report

#7

Central Texas College

Killeen, TX

Central Texas 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 #7 on the list. Central Texas College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Killeen.

About 36% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 64% are male.

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With a ranking of #7, Austin Community College District 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 large city of Austin, Austin Community College District is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 22 students majoring in parks and rec at Austin Community College District, 73% are male and 27% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Austin Community College District

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 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 #10 on the list. Located in the distant town of Miami, NEO A&M College is a public school with a small student population.

About 29% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 71% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students in the Southwest Region that almost earned our Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Tyler Junior College Tyler, TX
12 Navarro College Corsicana, TX

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 Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 1,071
Texas 7,380
New Mexico 141
Oklahoma 1,179

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 26 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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