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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Massachusetts

10 Ranked Colleges
920 Degrees Awarded
$29,860 Avg Salary
Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor's

Veterans have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Massachusetts, there were 1,210 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,408 and $25,263 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 920 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $44,029 and $25,475 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

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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 Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s

The colleges and universities below are the best for massachusetts bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Massachusetts

1
Springfield College crest
Springfield College
Springfield, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Springfield College. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 94 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

Springfield College also took the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.According to our most recent data, Springfield College supports 3,068 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Springfield College]](/colleges/springfield-college/student-life/veterans/)

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public institution located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UMass Amherst also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #1.Of the 31,642 students enrolled at UMass Amherst, 477 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 252 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,295. On top of their other funding sources, 21 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…

3
Endicott crest
Endicott College
Beverly, Massachusetts

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Endicott College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. This small school is located in Beverly, Massachusetts, and it awarded 76 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Endicott did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list.Of the 4,287 students enrolled at Endicott, 124 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 68 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,129. On top of their other funding sources, 16 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

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

Full Endicott Veteran Student Life Report

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts - Boston. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 133 students in 2020-2021.

UMass Boston also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 678 of the 16,259 students enrolled at University of Massachusetts - Boston were GI Bill® students, of which 362 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,414. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Read More…

5
Salem State crest
Salem State University
Salem, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Salem State University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. This medium-sized school is located in Salem, Massachusetts, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Salem State also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.Of the 7,242 students enrolled at Salem State, 273 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 160 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,582. During this same period, 5 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Salem State does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Salem State]](/colleges/salem-state-university/student-life/veterans/)

6
Lasell crest
Lasell University
Newton, Massachusetts

Lasell University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s ranking. Newton, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 47 students in 2020-2021.

Lasell also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #5.According to our most recent data, Lasell University supports 1,951 students, and 58 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 29 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,225. On top of their other funding sources, 8 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Lasell University offers credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Lasell]](/colleges/lasell-college/student-life/veterans/)

7
Westfield crest
Westfield State University
Westfield, Massachusetts

Westfield State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #7. Westfield State University is a public institution located in Westfield, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 56 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Westfield did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list.Our most recent data shows that 197 of the 5,395 students enrolled at Westfield State University were GI Bill® students, of which 67 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,224. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Westfield State University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…

8
Regis College crest
Regis College
Weston, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #8, Regis College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. Regis College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Weston, Massachusetts. It awarded 16 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, Regis College has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 86 of the 3,460 students enrolled at Regis College were GI Bill® students, of which 51 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,384. In addition to receiving other benefits, 6 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Regis College]](/colleges/regis-college/student-life/veterans/)

9
Nichols crest
Nichols College
Dudley, Massachusetts

With a ranking of #9, Nichols College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Dudley, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 47 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

Nichols also took the #10 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 36 of the 1,518 students enrolled at Nichols were GI Bill® students, of which 22 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,839. To help with additional expenses, 8 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Nichols does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Nichols]](/colleges/nichols-college/student-life/veterans/)

10
Western New England crest
Western New England University
Springfield, Massachusetts

Western New England University landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Massachusetts for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 23 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, Western New England has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking.Of the 3,673 students enrolled at Western New England, 81 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 37 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $12,271. To help with additional expenses, 13 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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

Full Western New England Veteran Student Life Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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