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2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

60 Colleges in the Southwest Region
10,228 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$32,393 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #15 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 60 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,228 degrees in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southwest Region The parks & rec program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies rankings. For our Best Overall Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Parks & Rec
Bachelor's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Master's Degrees in Parks & Rec
Doctor's Degrees in Parks & Rec

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 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southwest Region

The schools below may not offer all types of parks & rec degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Parks & Rec

1
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
104 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
1.9% Growth in Graduates

Rice University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Rice is a great university overall.

There were about 104 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies program at Rice University get $5,839 more than the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Rice University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
313 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
16.0% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to take a look at The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. A Best Colleges rank of #36 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Austin is a great university overall.

There were about 313 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies program at The University of Texas at Austin get $3,605 above the standard graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from The University of Texas at Austin

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
646 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$37,839 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies has to take a look at Texas A&M University - College Station. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public university located in the midsize city of College Station. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.

There were approximately 646 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies degree program at Texas A&M University - College Station earn $5,445 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Texas A&M University - College Station

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
391 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$31,674 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Arizona State University - Tempe if you want to pursue a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. Located in the midsize city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 391 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, parks & rec degree recipients typically earn an average of $31,674 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Arizona State University - Tempe

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
5.7% Growth in Graduates

SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were about 105 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Southern Methodist University receive an earnings boost of about $14,503 over the typical earnings of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Southern Methodist University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
490 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

UH is a very large public university located in the city of Houston. A Best Colleges rank of #211 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UH is a great university overall.

There were roughly 490 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UH in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the parks & rec program make about $34,314 for their early career.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from University of Houston

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
147 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #123 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Baylor is a great university overall.

There were approximately 147 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies degree program at Baylor University get $5,540 above the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Baylor University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$45,409 Median Starting Salary

SNU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Bethany. This university ranks 5th out of 32 schools for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.

There were about 43 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at SNU in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Southern Nazarene University earn a boost of about $13,016 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Southern Nazarene University

9
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
627 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

Texas State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of San Marcos. This university ranks 20th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 627 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Texas State University earn a boost of around $2,428 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Texas State University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
131 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
8.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the distant town of Stillwater, OSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #227 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means OSU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 131 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at OSU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the parks & rec program earn about $30,592 for their early career.

More information about a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies from Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in the Southwest Region that almost earned our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of North Texas Denton, TX
12 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
13 Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX
14 Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
15 Texas Woman’s University Denton, TX

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Arizona 38 1,051
Texas 38 7,380
New Mexico 38 141
Oklahoma 38 1,178

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 9,710
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 247
Recreation Administration 214
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 34
Outdoor Education 23

View All Parks & Rec Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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