by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region” ranking - to help you make that 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 Southwest region, there were 247 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. To top this list, a school must have a successful parks, recreation and leisure studies program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region”.
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. 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.
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region parks & rec students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Arizona University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. NAU is a large public school situated in Flagstaff, Arizona. It awarded 59 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Northern Arizona University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. Stillwater, Oklahoma is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 35 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, 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.
Full Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Out of the 10 schools in the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Skysong landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it awarded 25 ’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%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at ASU - Skysong
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Tempe. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 18 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Arizona State University - Tempe
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend MSU Texas. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. MSU Texas is a public institution located in Wichita Falls, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at MSU Texas
Southeastern Oklahoma State University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public institution located in Durant, Oklahoma. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University
University of Central Oklahoma came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region ranking. University of Central Oklahoma is located in Edmond, Oklahoma and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Oral Roberts University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Oral Roberts University is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #9. This small school is located in Portales, New Mexico, and it awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. College Station, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 80 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Texas A&M College Station
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
