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2024 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Texas

40 Colleges in Texas
7,494 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$32,728 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #15 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 40 schools in Texas 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 7,494 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 Texas 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. We derive our Best Overall Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Texas ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Texas

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the parks & rec degree levels they offer.

10 Top Texas 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 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 roughly 104 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Rice in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from Rice University earn a boost of approximately $5,504 over the average income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies majors.

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 needs to check out The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a very 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 approximately 313 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin earn a boost of about $3,270 above the typical income of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.

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

Any student who is interested in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies needs to take a look at Texas A&M University - College Station. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly 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 about 646 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Texas A&M University - College Station receive $5,110 more than the standard parks & rec student.

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

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
5.7% Growth in Graduates

Southern Methodist University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies. SMU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SMU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 105 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at SMU in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Southern Methodist University receive $14,168 more than the average parks & rec graduate.

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

5
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 colleges nationwide means UH is a great university overall.

There were approximately 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 graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program report average early career earnings of $34,314.

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

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
147 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

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

There were roughly 147 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Baylor in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Baylor University receive $5,205 more than the typical parks & rec grad.

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

7
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 very large public university located in the city of San Marcos. A Best Colleges rank of #397 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Texas State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 627 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent data year. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Texas State University receive $2,093 more than the typical parks & rec graduate.

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

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
374 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

UNT is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Denton. A Best Colleges rank of #280 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNT is a great university overall.

There were roughly 374 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at UNT in the most recent year we have data available. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies degree recipients from University of North Texas receive an earnings boost of about $2,261 above the average earnings of parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies graduates.

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

9
Tarleton crest
Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
289 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
23.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the remote town of Stephenville, Tarleton is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 59th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were roughly 289 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at Tarleton in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the parks & rec program state that they receive average early career income of $34,621.

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

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
158 Parks & Rec Degrees Awarded
$38,366 Median Starting Salary

SHSU is a very large public university located in the distant town of Huntsville. This university ranks 27th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were roughly 158 parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who graduated with this degree at SHSU in the most recent year we have data available. Those parks, recreation, leisure, & fitness studies students who get their degree from Sam Houston State University receive $5,638 more than the typical parks & rec grad.

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

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

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Southwest Area or other specific states within that region.

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

View All Rankings >

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 7,228
Recreation Administration 174
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 92

View All Parks & Rec Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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