Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies colleges in California, ranked by graduates
36 colleges in California awarded at least 10 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in 2023: 5,305 degrees, 4.8% of all bachelor's degrees at those colleges (2.9% across every college CollegeCalcAI tracks). Cal State Fullerton graduated the most (613, 6.5% of its class). 19 of the 36 are public universities. The median acceptance rate among them is 86%; the most selective is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 31%.
Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies colleges in California
Every California college awarding at least 10 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies, ranked by 2023 graduates. Click a college for its parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies page.
| # | College | Type | Degrees (2023) | Share of grads | Acceptance rate | SAT 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal State Fullerton | Public | 613 | 6.5% | 91% | 1230 |
| 2 | San Diego State University | Public | 419 | 4.9% | 36% | 1340 |
| 3 | Sacramento State University | Public | 352 | 4.7% | 94% | 1170 |
| 4 | Cal State Northridge | Public | 340 | 4.1% | 93% | 1150 |
| 5 | Fresno State University | Public | 339 | 6.6% | 95% | 1160 |
| 6 | Cal State Long Beach | Public | 290 | 3.3% | 46% | 1280 |
| 7 | San Jose State University | Public | 282 | 4.5% | 85% | 1220 |
| 8 | Cal State San Bernardino | Public | 258 | 6% | 94% | 1090 |
| 9 | Cal State Los Angeles | Public | 232 | 4.4% | 91% | 1150 |
| 10 | Cal State Chico | Public | 204 | 6.3% | 93% | 1170 |
| 11 | Cal Poly Pomona | Public | 187 | 3.2% | 75% | 1300 |
| 12 | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Public | 169 | 3.4% | 31% | 1420 |
| 13 | Cal State San Marcos | Public | 164 | 5% | 95% | 1190 |
| 14 | Cal State East Bay | Public | 162 | 5.1% | 97% | 1080 |
| 15 | San Francisco State University | Public | 152 | 3% | 96% | 1180 |
| 16 | Cal State Monterey Bay | Public | 145 | 8.2% | 97% | 1130 |
| 17 | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Public | 135 | 4.3% | 93% | 1020 |
| 18 | California Baptist University | Private | 134 | 7.1% | 85% | 1170 |
| 19 | Cal State Stanislaus | Public | 75 | 3% | 98% | 1080 |
| 20 | Pepperdine University | Private | 70 | 8.4% | 63% | 1400 |
| 21 | Vanguard University | Private | 59 | 11.8% | 62% | 1150 |
| 22 | Cal Poly Humboldt | Public | 58 | 4.4% | 98% | 1150 |
| 23 | California Lutheran University | Private | 58 | 9.1% | 76% | 1230 |
| 24 | Azusa Pacific University | Private | 52 | 4.3% | 88% | 1200 |
| 25 | University of the Pacific | Private | 47 | 5.9% | 71% | 1300 |
| 26 | Westmont College | Private | 43 | 13.3% | 77% | 1150 |
| 27 | University of San Francisco | Private | 42 | 3.2% | 62% | 1340 |
| 28 | Concordia University Irvine | Private | 42 | 10% | 66% | 1150 |
| 29 | Saint Mary's College of California | Private | 41 | 6.1% | 87% | 1290 |
| 30 | Masters University | Private | 35 | 10.7% | 84% | 1120 |
| 31 | Point Loma Nazarene University | Private | 27 | 3.4% | 84% | 1290 |
| 32 | Biola University | Private | 21 | 2.7% | 74% | 1260 |
| 33 | Hope International University | Private | 18 | 13.4% | 33% | 1120 |
| 34 | Simpson University | Private | 17 | 9.4% | 86% | 1060 |
| 35 | La Sierra University | Private | 13 | 5.9% | 92% | 1120 |
| 36 | Occidental College | Private | 10 | 2.5% | 44% | 1420 |
Questions about parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies colleges in California
What is the best college for parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in California?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in 2023, the largest parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies programs in California are Cal State Fullerton (613), San Diego State University (419), Sacramento State University (352). "Best" depends on your profile: this page ranks every California college in the field by output and shows each one's acceptance rate and admitted SAT so you can match it to your own numbers.
How many colleges in California offer parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies?
36 four-year colleges in California awarded 10 or more bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in 2023, 19 public and 17 private, for 5,305 graduates in total.
Is in-state status an advantage for parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in California?
At the 19 public universities on this list, California residents are usually admitted at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants and pay in-state tuition. CollegeCalcAI applies the residency effect when you set your home state, and the per-major adjustment when you set the major.
Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies elsewhere
The same field in other states, and the national ranking.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 Completions (bachelor's degrees, first majors, CIP 2-digit series), joined to CollegeCalcAI's admissions dataset. Built 2026-09-19. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are not predictions or guarantees.