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

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

16 Colleges
$30,773 Avg Salary
$21,713 Avg Student Debt

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

In 2020-2021, 448 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a Florida college or university. This makes it the #19 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Florida ranking. Our analysis looked at 16 schools in Florida 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 .

#1

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

Our analysis found University of Florida to be the most popular school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a degree in Florida. Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#2

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Out of the 16 schools in Florida that were part of this year’s ranking, Florida State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Florida State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Tallahassee.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of South Florida - Main Campus is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of South Florida - Main Campus

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Central Florida is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. UCF is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Orlando.

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#5

University of Miami

Coral Gables, FL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Miami. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida list. U Miami is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Coral Gables.

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Florida International University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida ranking. FIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Miami.

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

#7

Jacksonville University

Jacksonville, FL

With a ranking of #7, Jacksonville University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. JU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Jacksonville.

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

#8

Southeastern University

Lakeland, FL

Southeastern University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Lakeland, SEU is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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

#9

Barry University

Miami, FL

Barry University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the suburb of Miami, Barry University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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

#10

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, FL

With a ranking of #10, Nova Southeastern University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. NUS Florida is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 160
North Carolina 289
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

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 16 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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