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2024 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

5 Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region
273 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$32,800 Avg Early-Career Salary
When it comes to popularity, parks, recreation & leisure studies sits in the middle of the road, ranking #166 out of 395 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 273 degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region Your choice of parks, recreation & leisure studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Master's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Doctor's Degrees in Parks & Rec

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the parks & rec degree levels they offer.

Top Rocky Mountains Region Schools in Parks & Rec

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
110 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
29.1% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Brigham Young University - Provo if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means BYU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 110 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at BYU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation & leisure studies degree program at Brigham Young University - Provo make $10,100 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Brigham Young University - Provo

2
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
40.8% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Utah if you want to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #151 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U of U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 76 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at U of U in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their degree from University of Utah earn $2,911 more than the standard parks & rec student.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from University of Utah

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$37,024 Median Starting Salary
$22,219 Median Student Debt

Metropolitan State University of Denver is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the large city of Denver, MSU Denver is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 26th out of 33 schools for overall quality in the state of Colorado.

There were about 14 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at MSU Denver in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation & leisure studies major at Metropolitan State University of Denver get $4,224 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Metropolitan State University of Denver

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
48.4% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Western Colorado University if you wish to pursue a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the town of Gunnison, Western is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 29th out of 33 colleges for overall quality in the state of Colorado.

There were approximately 31 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Western in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make an average of $22,704 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Western Colorado University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In UT

Located in the town of Cedar City, Southern Utah University is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 9th out of 13 schools for overall quality in the state of Utah.

There were about 14 parks, recreation & leisure studies students who graduated with this degree at Southern Utah University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies from Southern Utah University

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation & leisure studies colleges for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Colorado 275 51
Utah 266 200
Montana 188 3
Wyoming 162 4

View All Rankings >

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is one of 4 different types of Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies programs to choose from.

Parks & Rec Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 273

View All Parks & Rec Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 2,265
Recreation Administration 193
Outdoor Education 36
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 5

View All Parks & Rec Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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