2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in North Carolina
28
Colleges in North Carolina
3,565
Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$27,466
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in
parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #15 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 28 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,565 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School
Your choice of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in North Carolina
The schools below may not offer all types of parks & rec degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
10 Top North Carolina Schools in Parks & Rec
It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you want to pursue a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were approximately 401 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get an earnings boost of around $9,199 over the typical earnings of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. NC State is a very large public university located in the large city of Raleigh. A Best Colleges rank of #92 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 193 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from North Carolina State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $9,160 above the typical income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina at Wilmington is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the medium-sized city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #457 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNCW is a great university overall.
There were roughly 244 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNCW in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from University of North Carolina at Wilmington receive $4,729 more than the standard parks & rec student.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Any student who is interested in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to take a look at Wake Forest University. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Winston-Salem. A Best Colleges rank of #128 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wake Forest University is a great university overall.
There were about 69 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Wake Forest University in the most recent data year. After graduation, parks & rec degree recipients typically make around $24,425 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Wake Forest University
Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #445 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 308 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent data year. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients usually make about $27,714 in their early careers.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Appalachian State University
ECU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.
There were about 194 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies degree program at East Carolina University get $2,428 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Carolina University
Campbell is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the town of Buies Creek. A Best Colleges rank of #1038 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Campbell is a great university overall.
There were approximately 82 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Campbell in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn around $22,773 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Campbell University
UNC Greensboro is a large public university located in the city of Greensboro. A Best Colleges rank of #623 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.
There were about 314 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career income of $27,212.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of North Carolina at Greensboro
WCU is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Cullowhee. A Best Colleges rank of #859 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WCU is a great university overall.
There were about 99 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn about $28,306 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Western Carolina University
Located in the town of Boiling Springs, Gardner - Webb is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1093 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Gardner - Webb is a great university overall.
There were approximately 19 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Gardner - Webb in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make an average of $27,205 for their early career.
More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Gardner - Webb University
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