2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Pennsylvania, there were 128 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,508 and $26,999 respectively.

This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania” ranking looked at 4 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania”.

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 Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania parks & rec students.

Top 4 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Pennsylvania

1

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Kutztown, Pennsylvania

$35,223 Average Early-Career Earnings

$26,835 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania list. Kutztown University is a medium-sized school located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania that handed out 95 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Full Kutztown University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

2

Butler County Community College
Butler, Pennsylvania

$39,159 Average Early-Career Earnings

$14,313 Average Student Debt

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Butler County Community College landed the #2 spot on the list. Butler County Community College is a public institution located in Butler, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Butler County Community College

3

York College of Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania

$44,412 Average Early-Career Earnings

$26,670 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend York College of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania list. YCP is a private not-for-profit institution located in York, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 YCP

4

Messiah University
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

#23 overall quality in Pennsylvania

$38,727 Average Early-Career Earnings

$25,690 Average Student Debt

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Messiah University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in Pennsylvania list. Messiah University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, 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 86%.

Full Messiah Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Most Focused 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.