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2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota

10 Ranked Colleges
344 Degrees Awarded
$23,200 Avg Cost*
Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 South Dakota, there were 344 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,046 and $25,408 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” ranking, we looked at 10 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.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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.

Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota

The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota”.

Top 10 Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in South Dakota

1
NSU crest
Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern State University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota. Northern State University is a small public school situated in Aberdeen, South Dakota. It awarded 33 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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%.

Full Northern State University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

2
Mount Marty crest
Mount Marty University
Yankton, South Dakota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mount Marty University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota list. Mount Marty is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Yankton, South Dakota. It awarded 18 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

3
University of Sioux Falls crest
University of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Out of the 10 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Sioux Falls landed the #3 spot on the list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Sioux Falls

4
Augustana Sioux Falls crest
Augustana University
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Augustana University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota. This small school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it awarded 49 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 Augustana University

5
BHSU crest
Black Hills State University
Spearfish, South Dakota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Black Hills State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota list. Black Hills State University is a public institution located in Spearfish, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 41 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Full BHSU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

6
Presentation College crest
Presentation College
Aberdeen, South Dakota

Presentation College ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota list. Presentation College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Presentation College

7
USD crest
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota

University of South Dakota came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. University of South Dakota is a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 86 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full USD Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

8
Dakota State crest
Dakota State University
Madison, South Dakota

Dakota State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking. Dakota State University is a small school located in Madison, South Dakota that handed out 14 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dakota State University

9
Dakota Wesleyan University crest
Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, South Dakota

With a ranking of #9, Dakota Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota list. Dakota Wesleyan University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dakota Wesleyan University

10
South Dakota State crest
South Dakota State University
Brookings, South Dakota

South Dakota State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in South Dakota ranking, coming in at #10. This fairly large school is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and it awarded 50 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at South Dakota State

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