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2023 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Colorado

16 Ranked Colleges
1,114 Degrees Awarded
$28,900 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,423 and had an average of $24,388 in loans still to pay off.

Across Colorado, there were 1,114 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,570 and $20,509 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. That schools that top this list have a program in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado”.

Top 16 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Colorado

1
Western crest
Western Colorado University
Gunnison, Colorado

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Colorado University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado. Western Colorado University is a small public school situated in Gunnison, Colorado. It awarded 57 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

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

2
FLC crest
Fort Lewis College
Durango, Colorado

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Fort Lewis College. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado. FLC is a small school located in Durango, Colorado that handed out 65 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

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

3
Colorado Mesa crest
Colorado Mesa University
Grand Junction, Colorado

Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado Mesa University landed the #3 spot on the list. Colorado Mesa is a medium-sized school located in Grand Junction, Colorado that handed out 151 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado Mesa

4
Adams State crest
Adams State University
Alamosa, Colorado

Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, Adams State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Adams State is located in Alamosa, Colorado and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 70 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Adams State

5

Out of the 16 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Colorado landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Greeley, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 202 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Colorado

6

Colorado State University - Pueblo did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking, coming in at #6. This medium-sized school is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and it awarded 40 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Pueblo

7

With a ranking of #7, Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado list. Fort Collins, Colorado is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 326 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

8

With a ranking of #8, Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado list. MSU Denver is located in Denver, Colorado and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 127 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver

9
Regis U crest
Regis University
Denver, Colorado

With a ranking of #9, Regis University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado list. Regis U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 25 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Regis U Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

10
Naropa crest
Naropa University
Boulder, Colorado

Naropa University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking, coming in at #10. Naropa University is a small school located in Boulder, Colorado that handed out 1 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Naropa

11
CCU crest
Colorado Christian University
Lakewood, Colorado

With a ranking of #11, Colorado Christian University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado list. Lakewood, Colorado is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado Christian University

12
Red Rocks Community College crest
Red Rocks Community College
Lakewood, Colorado

Red Rocks Community College landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Lakewood, Colorado, and it awarded 20 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Red Rocks Community College

13
DU crest
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado

University of Denver did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking, coming in at #13. Denver, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

14
PPCC crest
Pikes Peak Community College
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Pikes Peak Community College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking, coming in at #14. PPCC is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Pikes Peak Community College

15

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado ranking. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, this fairly large public school awarded 0 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

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

15
Arapahoe Community College crest
Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, Colorado

Arapahoe Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Colorado list. Arapahoe Community College is a public institution located in Littleton, Colorado. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

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