Recreation Administration

Types of Degrees Recreation Administration Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many recreation administration graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	2,416
Master’s Degree	396
Associate Degree	177
Basic Certificate	77
Graduate Certificate	32
Doctor’s Degree	13
Undergraduate Certificate	11

What Recreation Administration Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to recreation admin and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Recreation Admin Majors

Recreation Admin majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Skills for Recreation Admin Majors

When studying recreation admin, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Recreation Admin Majors

As you progress with your recreation admin degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Recreation Administration Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with recreation admin:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers	11.4%	$48,220
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation Administration?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 2,416 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration in 2021, making it rank #128 in popularity. According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 47% of the graduates are women, and 53% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of recreation admin majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	33
Black or African American	346
Hispanic or Latino	294
White	1,565
International Students	45
Other Races/Ethnicities	133

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Recreation Admin. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• Taiwan

How Much Do Recreation Administration Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in recreation admin have a median salary of $32,052 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $29,307 (25th percentile) and $33,465 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a recreation admin degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $51,280 to $123,880 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to recreation admin. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Recreation Administration

Some degrees associated with recreation admin may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to recreation admin have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	8.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	9.0%
Some College Courses	9.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	43.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	9.1%
Master’s Degree	6.3%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%

Online Recreation Administration Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 169 schools offered some type of recreation administration program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	15	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	37	2
Bachelor’s Degree	9	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	34	7
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Recreation Administration Worth It?

The median salary for a recreation admin grad is $115,590 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 190% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,513,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Recreation Administration

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to recreation admin.

Major	Number of Grads
Health & Physical Education	67,146
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	3,106
Outdoor Education	265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	174

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Glen Santy under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.