2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest 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 166th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 247 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,896 and $23,205 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 16 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,204 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree 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.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region”.

Top 4 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Southwest Region

1

Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Stillwater, Oklahoma

Top 20% overall quality in Southwest

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and it awarded 7 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OSU

2

Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona

Top 20% overall quality in Southwest

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Arizona University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region. Northern Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

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

3

Arizona State University - Tempe
Tempe, Arizona

#14 overall quality in Southwest

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #3 spot on the list. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 6 masters’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 86%. 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%.

Full ASU - Tempe Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

4

Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, Texas

#7 overall quality in Southwest

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #4 spot on the list. Texas A&M University - College Station is a large public school situated in College Station, Texas. It awarded 80 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station

• Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.