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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington

8 Colleges
$34,351 Avg Salary
$22,581 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for You

With 122 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #21 most popular major in Washington.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 8 schools in Washington to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Central Washington University the most popular school in Washington for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. CWU is a large public school located in the distant town of Ellensburg.

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

#2

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

The excellent programs at Gonzaga University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Washington. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Spokane.

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

#3

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Seattle University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington list. Seattle U is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Washington State University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the town of Pullman, Wazzu is a public college with a very large student population.

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

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Eastern Washington University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. EWU is a large public school located in the town of Cheney.

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Western Washington University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the small city of Bellingham, WWU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. UW Seattle is a fairly large public school located in the city of Seattle.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Washington - Seattle Campus Report

Pacific Lutheran University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. PLU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Tacoma.

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
California 1,097
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

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 8 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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