2023 Most Popular Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies
1,386Ranked Colleges
73,813Degrees Awarded
$29,000Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
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.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major” ranking analyzed 1,386 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. To top this list, a school must have a successful parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major” list to help you make the college decision.
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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major”.
Top 25 Most Popular Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major. American Military University is located in Charles Town, West Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 683 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major. University of Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 675 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. Indiana University - Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 643 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. This large school is located in San Marcos, Texas, and it awarded 627 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fullerton. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major. This large school is located in Fullerton, California, and it awarded 581 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. This large school is located in College Station, Texas, and it awarded 646 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Memphis did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking, coming in at #7. University of Memphis is a large school located in Memphis, Tennessee that handed out 545 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The University of Texas at San Antonio came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. UTSA is a public institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 506 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Mt. San Antonio College landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. Mt. SAC is a large school located in Walnut, California that handed out 521 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
California State University - Northridge landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. This large school is located in Northridge, California, and it awarded 495 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
California State University - Long Beach did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 491 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
University of Houston ranked #11 on this year’s Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. This large school is located in Houston, Texas, and it awarded 490 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Rutgers University - New Brunswick ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. This large school is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and it awarded 456 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
San Diego State University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. SDSU is a large school located in San Diego, California that handed out 454 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Michigan State University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 442 students in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Concordia University, Irvine came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. This small school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 438 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #17, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. Located in River Forest, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 429 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 ranking of #18, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is a large school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 414 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.
California State University - Sacramento came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. California State University - Sacramento is located in Sacramento, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 404 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #20, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. Chapel Hill, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 401 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. This large school is located in Edinburg, Texas, and it awarded 394 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Georgia Southern University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. Statesboro, Georgia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 397 students in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #23, Liberty University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 403 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
University of Utah came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking. U of U is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 382 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Arizona State University - Tempe did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major ranking, coming in at #25. Arizona State University - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 391 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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%.
*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.
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