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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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

41 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.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 41 schools in the Southwest Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for parks and rec majors pursuing a master's degree.

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

Our 2023 rankings named Southern Methodist University the best school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Dallas, SMU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Texas A&M University - College Station is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Texas A&M College Station is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of College Station.

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#3

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

Out of the 41 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Tarleton State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the town of Stephenville, Tarleton is a public school with a large student population.

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#4

Baylor University

Waco, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Baylor University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the midsize city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at Austin Report

West Texas A&M University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the fringe town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at West Texas A&M University

Texas Woman’s 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. TWU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Denton.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas Woman’s University

Southern Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. SNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bethany.

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

University of North Texas ranked #9 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. UNT is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Denton.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Texas

#10

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX

Lamar 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 city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public college 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 colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 36
Texas 843
Oklahoma 276
New Mexico 25

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

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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