2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a Doctor's Degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. It is ranked #23 out of 36 major degree programs in terms of popularity. While this may limit the number of schools that offer the degree program, there are still top-quality ones to be found.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 17 doctor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

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, & fitness studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor'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 easy is it for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies related body.

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

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

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

Top Rocky Mountains Region Schools for a Doctorate in Parks & Rec

1

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

4 Annual Graduates

University of Utah is a good option for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Utah

1

Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Colorado State University - Fort Collins if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of Fort Collins, Colorado State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Colorado State University - Fort Collins

2

University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

6 Annual Graduates

University of Northern Colorado is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. University of Northern Colorado is a moderately-sized public university located in the midsize city of Greeley.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Northern Colorado

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Colorado	27	9
Utah	24	8

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	12
Recreation Administration	3
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	2

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service	17

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).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch. More about our data sources and methodologies.