by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 the Rocky Mountains Region” 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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 273 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,800 and $18,161 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.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” list to help you make the college decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region”.
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. Western Colorado University is a small school located in Gunnison, Colorado that handed out 31 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Western
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. Brigham Young University - Provo is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 110 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Out of the 11 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwest College landed the #3 spot on the list. Powell, Wyoming is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Full Northwest College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Utah. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 76 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Utah
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Utah University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Southern Utah University is a fairly large school located in Cedar City, Utah that handed out 14 ’s parks and rec degrees 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%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southern Utah University
With a ranking of #6, Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. MSU Denver is a public institution located in Denver, Colorado. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Metropolitan State University of Denver Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Montana State University - Billings landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Billings, Montana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Montana State University - Billings
Central Wyoming College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Central Wyoming College is located in Riverton, Wyoming and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Full Central Wyoming College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Red Rocks Community College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Lakewood, Colorado, this medium-sized public school awarded 20 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Full Red Rocks Community College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Fort Lewis College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #10. Fort Lewis College is a small public school situated in Durango, Colorado. It awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Fort Lewis College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Utah State University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Logan, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.
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%.
Full Utah State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
