2023 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in District of Columbia

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s” 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 District of Columbia, there were 319 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,207 and $21,848 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 210 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,645 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s”.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s”.

Top 3 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in District of Columbia

1

Georgetown University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Georgetown University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s. This large school is located in Washington, District of Columbia, and it awarded 150 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

2

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend George Washington University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s. GWU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 35 masters’s 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 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

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

3

American University
Washington, District of Columbia

#3 overall quality in District of Columbia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend American University. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Parks & Rec Major in District of Columbia for a Master’s. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Washington, District of Columbia. It awarded 25 masters’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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

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

• Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Most Popular 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.