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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina

14 Colleges
$27,466 Avg Salary
$26,583 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in North Carolina 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 following schools top our list of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named University of North Carolina at Greensboro the most popular school in North Carolina for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend North Carolina State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina list. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

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#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means East Carolina University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public college with a very large student population.

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

#4

Wingate University

Wingate, NC

The excellent programs at Wingate University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in North Carolina. Wingate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Wingate.

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

Out of the 14 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Carolina University landed the # 5 spot on the list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

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Appalachian State 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 #6 on the list. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

North Carolina Central 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 #6 on the list. North Carolina Central University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Durham.

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

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public school located in the city of Chapel Hill.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

#9

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC

With a ranking of #9, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Wake Forest University Report

#10

Barton College

Wilson, NC

Barton College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in North Carolina ranking. Barton College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Wilson.

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

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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