by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,423 and had an average of $24,388 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 2,772 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,911 and $19,677 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 2,405 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,089 and $26,296 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking, we looked at 34 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region”.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Rocky Mountain College. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region. Located in Billings, Montana, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 28 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Rocky
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Colorado University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Western Colorado University is a public institution located in Gunnison, Colorado. The school has a small population, and it awarded 57 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Western Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fort Lewis College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Fort Lewis College is a small school located in Durango, Colorado that handed out 65 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Fort Lewis College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado Mesa University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Grand Junction, Colorado is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 137 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado Mesa University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Adams State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. This small school is located in Alamosa, Colorado, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Adams State Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
Colorado State University - Pueblo landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Colorado State University - Pueblo is located in Pueblo, Colorado and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The University of Montana - Western landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Located in Dillon, Montana, this small public school awarded 15 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Full The University of Montana - Western Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
University of Northern Colorado landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. University of Northern Colorado is a fairly large school located in Greeley, Colorado that handed out 121 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Colorado
University of Utah did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #9. U of U is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 362 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Utah Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
University of Providence ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. University of Providence is located in Great Falls, Montana and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Providence
With a ranking of #11, Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Colorado State is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 308 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Southern Utah University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Southern Utah University is located in Cedar City, Utah and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 102 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Utah University
Metropolitan State University of Denver landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Located in Denver, Colorado, this fairly large public school handed out 127 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Full Metropolitan State University of Denver Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
The College of Idaho came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Located in Caldwell, Idaho, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The College of Idaho
Brigham Young University - Provo came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Brigham Young University - Provo is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Provo, Utah. It awarded 257 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at BYU
Montana State University - Billings landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. This small school is located in Billings, Montana, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Montana State University - Billings
Montana State University - Northern ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Montana State University - Northern is a small school located in Havre, Montana that handed out 8 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Montana State University - Northern Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
Lewis - Clark State College landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Lewis - Clark State College is located in Lewiston, Idaho and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Lewis - Clark State College
University of Wyoming did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #19. UW is a fairly large school located in Laramie, Wyoming that handed out 86 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Wyoming
Dixie State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #20. Dixie State University is located in Saint George, Utah and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 69 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dixie State University
With a ranking of #21, Northwest Nazarene University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. NNU is a small school located in Nampa, Idaho that handed out 15 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at NNU
Utah State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, coming in at #22. Logan, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 130 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, & Fitness Studies Report
University of Idaho landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. U of I is a fairly large school located in Moscow, Idaho that handed out 39 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full U of I Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
Westminster College Utah came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Westminster College Salt Lake Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
With a ranking of #25, Regis University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Regis University is a medium-sized school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 25 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Regis U
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