by our College Data Analytics Team
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 the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 218th most popular in the United States.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 273 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their parks, recreation and leisure studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region parks & rec students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Colorado University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Gunnison, Colorado, this small public school handed out 31 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Western Colorado University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brigham Young University - Provo. The school came in at #2 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region. BYU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Provo, Utah. It awarded 110 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at BYU
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwest College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region. Northwest Community College is a public institution located in Powell, Wyoming. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Northwest Community College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. U of U is a large school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 76 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at U of U
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Utah University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region. Southern Utah University is a fairly large public school situated in Cedar City, Utah. It awarded 14 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 Southern Utah University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Metropolitan State University of Denver came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Metropolitan State University of Denver is a fairly large public school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 14 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Montana State University - Billings ranked #7 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Montana State University - Billings is a public institution located in Billings, Montana. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Montana State University - Billings
Central Wyoming College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #8. Riverton, Wyoming is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at CWC
Red Rocks Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Red Rocks Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Lakewood, Colorado. It awarded 20 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Red Rocks Community College
Utah State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. USU is located in Logan, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Fort Lewis College ranked #10 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Durango, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at FLC
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
