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

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

14 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.

The Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 14 schools in North Carolina to see which ones were the most popular master's degree 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 Master's Degree Colleges.

Our analysis found University of North Carolina at Greensboro to be the most popular school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in North Carolina. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

Of the 41 students majoring in parks and rec at UNC Greensboro, 22% are male and 78% are female.

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

#2

Wingate University

Wingate, NC

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Wingate University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. Wingate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wingate.

Of the 34 students majoring in parks and rec at Wingate, 53% are male and 47% are female.

Read More…

#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The in-demand master’s degree programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 47% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 53% are male.

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

The in-demand master’s degree programs at North Carolina State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Raleigh.

Of the 30 students majoring in parks and rec at NC State, 47% are male and 53% are female.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Carolina University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. WCU is a large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

Of the 22 students majoring in parks and rec at WCU, 55% are male and 45% are female.

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

North Carolina Central University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. North Carolina Central University is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of Durham.

Women make up 33% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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

Appalachian State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 21 students majoring in parks and rec at Appalachian State, 48% are male and 52% are female.

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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Women make up 53% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

#9

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

Wake Forest University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in North Carolina list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winston-Salem.

Women make up 80% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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

#10

Barton College

Wilson, NC

Barton College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Barton College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Wilson.

Women make up 56% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read More…

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

Explore all the Most Popular 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 14 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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