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

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

80 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 Most Popular 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 80 schools in the New England Region 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 following schools top our list of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Southern New Hampshire University the most popular school in the New England Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. SNHU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Manchester.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at SNHU take out is $27,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $289.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern New Hampshire University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Rhode Island. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the suburb of Kingston, URI is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Rhode Island Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of New Hampshire - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. UNH is a large public school located in the small suburb of Durham.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at UNH take out is $27,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $551, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the suburb of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, parks and rec graduates from UMass Amherst take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $543.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst

The excellent programs at University of Massachusetts - Boston helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the New England Region . Located in the city of Boston, UMass Boston is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Parks & Rec majors at UMass Boston take out an average of $25,713 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Massachusetts - Boston

#6

Springfield College

Springfield, MA

Springfield College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Springfield College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Parks & Rec majors at Springfield College 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 $435, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

#7

Endicott College

Beverly, MA

Endicott College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the suburb of Beverly, Endicott is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

On average, parks and rec graduates from Endicott take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $470, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Southern Connecticut State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. SCSU is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at SCSU take out is $25,500.

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

University of Massachusetts - Lowell ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the large suburb of Lowell, UMass Lowell is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#10

Plymouth State University

Plymouth, NH

Plymouth State 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 #10 on the list. Located in the remote town of Plymouth, Plymouth State is a public school with a small student population.

Parks & Rec majors at Plymouth State take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $270.

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

#11

Lasell University

Newton, MA

Lasell University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region ranking. Located in the small city of Newton, Lasell is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Lasell take out is $27,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $443, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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Johnson & Wales University - Providence ranked #12 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in the New England Region list. Located in the city of Providence, JWU Providence is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at JWU Providence 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.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Johnson & Wales University - Providence Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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

Rank College Location
13 Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT
14 Husson University Bangor, ME
15 Castleton University Castleton, VT
16 University of New England Biddeford, ME

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 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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