2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools in Alabama

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is about average in terms of popularity for master's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #16 out of the 37 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in Alabama to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 180 master's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for Your Master's Degree

The parks & rec master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality parks & rec program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 master'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 master'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 master's degree.

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 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools in Alabama list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Alabama

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Alabama Schools for a Master's in Parks & Rec

1

United States Sports Academy
Daphne, AL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

25 Annual Graduates

United States Sports Academy is a great choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. The Academy is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Daphne.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from United States Sports Academy

2

Troy University
Troy, AL

Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type

47 Annual Graduates

Troy University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. TROY is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Troy.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Troy University

3

University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

9 Annual Graduates

University of South Alabama is a great option for individuals pursuing a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. USA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Mobile.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of South Alabama

4

Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, AL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

18 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to take a look at Auburn University at Montgomery. Located in the medium-sized city of Montgomery, AUM is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Auburn University at Montgomery

5

Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville, AL

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

22 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Jacksonville, Jacksonville State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Jacksonville State University

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

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Mississippi	34	147
Florida	34	439
Virginia	33	419
Georgia	32	293
Tennessee	32	269
North Carolina	31	246
Kentucky	31	226
West Virginia	30	220
Louisiana	30	152
South Carolina	30	209
Arkansas	30	291

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	160
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	19
Recreation Administration	1

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service	948

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.