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

When it comes to popularity, a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies sits in the middle of the road, ranking #16 out of 37 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in West Virginia 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 220 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

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 West Virginia list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

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

Top West Virginia Schools for a Master's in Parks & Rec

1

American Public University System
Charles Town, WV

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

198 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to take a look at American Public University System. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from American Public University System

2

Marshall University
Huntington, WV

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

9 Annual Graduates

Marshall University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the city of Huntington, Marshall University is a public university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Marshall 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
Alabama	30	180
Louisiana	30	152
South Carolina	30	209
Arkansas	30	291

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Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	216
Recreation Administration	4

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service	310

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.