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2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Tennessee

11 Colleges in Tennessee
2,372 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$30,291 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.

College Factual reviewed 11 schools in Tennessee to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,372 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Tennessee 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

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

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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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 Tennessee Schools in Parks & Rec

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
410 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$30,686 Median Starting Salary

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #173 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UT Knoxville is a great university overall.

There were approximately 410 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Knoxville in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career earnings of $30,686.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
208 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$35,518 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat Middle Tennessee State University if you want to pursue a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Middle Tennessee State University is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro. This university ranks 12th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 208 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Middle Tennessee State University receive $5,227 more than the standard parks & rec grad.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Middle Tennessee State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
494 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$33,171 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to look into University of Memphis. UofM is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Memphis. A Best Colleges rank of #748 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UofM is a great university overall.

There were roughly 494 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from University of Memphis receive an earnings boost of around $2,879 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 Memphis

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
161 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$28,342 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to check out East Tennessee State University. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #851 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ETSU is a great university overall.

There were about 161 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ETSU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, parks & rec degree recipients typically make around $28,342 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Tennessee State University

5
Belmont crest
Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
65 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$29,259 Median Starting Salary

Belmont is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #206 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Belmont is a great university overall.

There were about 65 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career earnings of $29,259.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Belmont University

6
Carson - Newman crest
Carson - Newman University
Jefferson City, TN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
19.6% Growth in Graduates

Carson - Newman is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Jefferson City. A Best Colleges rank of #795 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carson - Newman is a great university overall.

There were about 46 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Carson - Newman in the most recent data year. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients generally earn around $29,224 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Carson - Newman University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
212 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 16th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 212 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career income of $26,326.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
179 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$34,760 Median Starting Salary

Austin Peay State University is a medium-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Clarksville. This university ranks 29th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 179 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Austin Peay State University in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Austin Peay State University get an earnings boost of about $4,469 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Austin Peay State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
103 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$31,903 Median Starting Salary

Tennessee Tech University is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Cookeville. This university ranks 20th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 103 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee Tech University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career wages of $31,903.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Tennessee Technological University

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$26,208 Median Starting Salary

Tennessee State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the large city of Nashville. This university ranks 28th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 47 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn about $26,208 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Tennessee State University

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
North Carolina383,418
West Virginia381,226
Florida382,335
Virginia381,717
Arkansas381,012
Mississippi381,121
South Carolina381,336
Louisiana37703
Alabama37959
Kentucky371,091
Georgia371,977

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

MajorAnnual Graduates
Health & Physical Education2,337
Recreation Administration34
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies1

View All Parks & Rec Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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