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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland

24 Colleges
$29,850 Avg Salary
$25,061 Avg Student Debt

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

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #18 most popular major in Maryland with 832 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland ranking. Our analysis looked at 24 schools in Maryland to see which programs were the most popular 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 .

#1

Towson University

Towson, MD

Our 2023 rankings named Towson University the most popular school in Maryland for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Towson is a very large public school located in the small city of Towson.

Parks & Rec majors at Towson take out an average of $20,664 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $270, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland list. UMCP is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of College Park.

Parks & Rec majors at UMCP take out an average of $21,615 in student loans while working on their egree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $366, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Maryland - College Park

#3

Salisbury University

Salisbury, MD

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Salisbury University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the suburb of Salisbury, Salisbury is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from Salisbury carry an average student debt load of $21,604. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $377.

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#4

Frostburg State University

Frostburg, MD

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Frostburg State University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Frostburg State is a small public school located in the suburb of Frostburg.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Frostburg State take out is $26,000.

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

#5

McDaniel College

Westminster, MD

The excellent programs at McDaniel College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Maryland. McDaniel is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Westminster.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from McDaniel carry an average student debt load of $26,000.

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University of Maryland Eastern Shore came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland ranking. UMES is a small public school located in the fringe town of Princess Anne.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at UMES take out is $29,264. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $338.

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Bowie State University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Maryland list. Bowie State University is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Bowie.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from Bowie State University carry an average student debt load of $31,000.

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#8

Mount St Mary's University

Emmitsburg, MD

Mount St Mary’s University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #8 on the list. The Mount is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Emmitsburg.

After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from The Mount carry an average student debt load of $23,399.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mount St Mary’s University

Anne Arundel Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the suburb of Arnold, AACC is a public college with a large student population.

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Community College of Baltimore County did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. CCBC is a large public school located in the large suburb of Baltimore.

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

Explore all the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 1,047
Pennsylvania 2,734
New York 2,477
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

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 24 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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