2024 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master's Degree Schools in California

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studiesmaster's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #211 out of the 343 majors we look at each year. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of parks, recreation & leisure studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 17 master's degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to parks, recreation & leisure studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other parks, recreation & leisure studies students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt parks, recreation & leisure studies students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized parks, recreation & leisure studies related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for parks, recreation & leisure studies students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies.

Top California Schools for a Master's in Parks & Rec

1

California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA

9 Annual Graduates

California State University - Long Beach is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Long Beach

2

California State University - Chico
Chico, CA

4 Annual Graduates

California State University - Chico is a great option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Chico State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Chico.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Chico

3

California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA

4 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat California State University - Sacramento if you wish to pursue a master's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Sacramento.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies from California State University - Sacramento

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Oregon	158	8

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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Related Rankings by Major

One of 4 majors within the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies area of study, Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Parks & Rec Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	17

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	1,077

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.