2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in Tennessee

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 reviewed 2 schools in Tennessee to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 15 doctor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * 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

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students go into to obtain their doctor'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, & fitness studies related body.

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

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 the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools in Tennessee.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Tennessee

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 Tennessee Schools for a Doctorate in Parks & Rec

1

Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

Middle Tennessee State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Middle Tennessee State University

2

East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

5 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to look into East Tennessee State University. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from East Tennessee State University

2

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Knoxville, TN

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

7 Annual Graduates

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a good decision for students interested in a doctor's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the midsize city of Knoxville, UT Knoxville is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Tennessee - Knoxville

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	29	4
Virginia	29	2
Georgia	28	11
Mississippi	28	6
South Carolina	28	8
North Carolina	26	25
Kentucky	26	3
Alabama	25	36
Arkansas	23	1
West Virginia	20	4

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	15

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service	23

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.