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

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

11 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 289 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a North Carolina college or university. This makes it the #18 most popular major in the state.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. This report analyzed 11 schools in North Carolina to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina State University to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in North Carolina. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

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#3

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

The excellent master’s degree programs at Wake Forest University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Carolina University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

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Appalachian State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Appalachian State University Report

#7

Gardner - Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC

Gardner - Webb University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Gardner - Webb is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Boiling Springs.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Gardner - Webb University

#8

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

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

Lenoir - Rhyne University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Located in the small city of Hickory, Lenoir - Rhyne University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Lenoir - Rhyne University

#10

Wingate University

Wingate, NC

Wingate University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Wingate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wingate.

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 160
Florida 448
Virginia 433
Tennessee 287
Georgia 308
South Carolina 220
Louisiana 152
West Virginia 236
Kentucky 279
Arkansas 292
Alabama 216

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 11 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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