2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in West Virginia

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia” ranking.

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 West Virginia, there were 1,238 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,545 and $25,400 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 220 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $54,814 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. That schools that top this list have a program in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia

The colleges and universities below are the best for west virginia master’s degree parks & rec students.

Top 4 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in West Virginia

1

West Virginia State University
Institute, West Virginia

#23 overall quality in West Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Virginia State University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia list. WVSU is a small school located in Institute, West Virginia that handed out 9 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Full West Virginia State University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

2

American Public University System
Charles Town, West Virginia

#1 overall quality in West Virginia

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, American Public University System landed the #2 spot on the list. American Public University System is a private for-profit institution located in Charles Town, West Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 198 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full American Public University System Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

3

Marshall University
Huntington, West Virginia

#5 overall quality in West Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Marshall University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia. Located in Huntington, West Virginia, this fairly large public school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Marshall University

4

West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia

#2 overall quality in West Virginia

Out of the 4 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in West Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, West Virginia University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Morgantown, West Virginia, and it awarded 4 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at West Virginia University

• Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southeast Region
• Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.