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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York

13 Colleges
$33,338 Avg Salary
$21,820 Avg Student Debt

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

In 2020-2021, 327 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a New York college or university. This makes it the #25 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York ranking. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in New York to see which programs were the most popular 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for parks and rec majors pursuing a .

Our 2023 rankings named Columbia University in the City of New York the most popular school in New York for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York

#2

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, NY

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means SUNY Cortland is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the town of Cortland, SUNY Cortland is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at SUNY Cortland Report

#3

Canisius College

Buffalo, NY

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Canisius College is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Canisius is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Buffalo.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Canisius College Report

The excellent programs at St John’s University - New York helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in New York. Located in the city of Queens, STJ is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#5

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brooklyn College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York list. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Brooklyn College

#6

Adelphi University

Garden City, NY

Adelphi University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York ranking. Adelphi is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Garden City.

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

#7

Queens College

Queens, NY

Queens College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York ranking. QC is a large public school located in the large city of Queens.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Queens College

#8

Manhattanville College

Purchase, NY

With a ranking of #8, Manhattanville College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Manhattanville is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Purchase.

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#9

Niagara University

Niagara University, NY

Niagara University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Niagara is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Niagara University.

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Teachers College at Columbia University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Teachers College at Columbia University

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 610
Maryland 32
New Jersey 79
District of Columbia 213
Delaware 23

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 13 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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