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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

32 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #18 most popular major in the country with 10,452 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 32 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Check out the parks and rec master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Concordia University, Irvine to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the large city of Irvine, Concordia University, Irvine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Irvine

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

The excellent master’s degree programs at Eastern Washington University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Far Western US Region . EWU is a fairly large public school located in the fringe town of Cheney.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Eastern Washington University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Point Loma Nazarene University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University

#5

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 32 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of San Francisco landed the # 5 spot on the list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of San Francisco Report

#6

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

With a ranking of #6, Seattle University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Seattle U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Seattle University Report

#7

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

Gonzaga University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Gonzaga is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Spokane.

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

Washington State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the distant town of Pullman, Wazzu is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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University of the Pacific came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Stockton.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of the Pacific

California Baptist University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 1,097
Washington 122
Oregon 67
Nevada 13
Hawaii 12
Alaska 5

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 9,742
Recreation Administration 441
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 206
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 35
Outdoor Education 28

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 53,252
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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