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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California

22 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

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

With 1,097 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #16 most popular major in California.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 22 schools in California 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 California

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 California. Located in the city of Irvine, Concordia University, Irvine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Point Loma Nazarene University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, PLNU is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Point Loma Nazarene University Report

#4

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of San Francisco is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. 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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the Pacific. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Pacific is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Riverside, Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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With a ranking of #7, San Jose State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

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California State University - Long Beach came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - Long Beach

#9

National University

La Jolla, CA

National University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in California list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

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

California State University - East Bay 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. Cal State East Bay is a large public school located in the large suburb of Hayward.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - East Bay Report

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
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 22 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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