2021 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Southwest Region
45Colleges
7,637Bachelor's Degrees
$26,869Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools for Non-Traditional Students
This year's Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Southwest Region ranking analyzed 45 colleges that offered a bachelor's degree in parks & rec. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to non-traditional students.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools
As a non-traditional student, you have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an education. That's why we've developed rankings specifically for you. Check out more major-related rankings here..
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.
2021 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the Southwest Region
Check out the parks & rec programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Texas State University has taken the #1 spot in this year's parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies ranking for non-traditional students. Located in the small city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public school with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Texas State, the school also landed the #4 rank in our Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southwest Region ranking.
About 2.0% of Texas State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 21,921 students at Texas State that take at least one class online. 8,642 students are part time.
The #2 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of North Texas. Located in the midsize city of Denton, UNT is a public school with a very large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, UNT has also earned the #6 rank in our Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southwest Region ranking.
About 1.8% of UNT students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 20,194 students take at least one class online at UNT. 12,105 students are part time.
The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Texas A&M University - College Station. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public college with a fairly large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #3 rank in our Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southwest Region ranking.
The student loan default rate at Texas A&M College Station is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. Approximately 24,343 students take at least one class online at Texas A&M College Station. 9,943 students are part time.
Southern Methodist University comes in at #4 in this year's ranking. SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Dallas. SMU also took the #2 spot in our Best Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southwest Region rankings.
The student loan default rate at SMU is lower than is typical, just 1.1% of students default in three years. 912 students at SMU are exclusively online. 3,019 students are part time.
Texas Woman's University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Located in the midsize city of Denton, TWU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The student loan default rate at TWU is lower than is typical, just 1.5% of students default in three years. 6,914 students at TWU are exclusively online. About 7,329 of the students at TWU are attending part time.
The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Northern Arizona University. Located in the city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public school with a very large student population.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.7%. Approximately 9,603 students take at least one class online at NAU. There are roughly 6,368 part time students in attendance at NAU.
Our rankings recognize University of Houston - Clear Lake as the #7 school in this year's rankings. UH Clear Lake is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Houston.
The student loan default rate at UH Clear Lake is lower than is typical, just 0.4% of students default in three years. Approximately 2,857 students take at least one class online at UH Clear Lake. About 4,970 of the students at UH Clear Lake are attending part time.
The #8 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Tarleton State University. Tarleton is a large public school located in the remote town of Stephenville.
About 2.3% of Tarleton students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 6,360 students at Tarleton are exclusively online. There are roughly 4,832 part time students in attendance at Tarleton.
Sam Houston State University landed the #9 spot in our 2021 best parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies schools for non-traditional students. SHSU is a very large public school located in the town of Huntsville.
About 1.2% of SHSU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 8,795 students take at least one class online at SHSU. 6,353 of SHSU students are attending part time.
The University of Texas at Arlington comes in at #10 in this year's ranking. UT Arlington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Arlington.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. 17,309 of UT Arlington students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 22,217 part time students in attendance at UT Arlington.
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 the rest 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).