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2023 Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools

27 Colleges
$31,423 Avg Salary
$24,388 Avg Student Debt

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. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 27 schools in the United States to see which online programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.

Check out the online parks and rec programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

#1

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Our 2023 rankings named Western Kentucky University the most popular online school in the United States for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. WKU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bowling Green.

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

#2

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Concordia University, Chicago is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students pursuing an online degree. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Chicago Report

The excellent online programs at University of Western States helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the large city of Portland, Western States Chiropractic College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend United States Sports Academy. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools list. Located in the small city of Daphne, The Academy is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at United States Sports Academy

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri State University - Springfield. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri State University - Springfield

American Public University System landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.

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#7

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.

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

#8

Troy University

Troy, AL

Troy University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools ranking. TROY is a large public school located in the remote town of Troy.

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#8

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. ECU is a very large public school located in the city of Greenville.

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

California University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small suburb of California, Cal U is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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View the Most Popular Online Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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 27 schools only.

  • 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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