Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies colleges in North Carolina, ranked by graduates
31 colleges in North Carolina awarded at least 10 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in 2023: 2,361 degrees, 5.3% of all bachelor's degrees at those colleges (2.9% across every college CollegeCalcAI tracks). University of North Carolina graduated the most (295, 5.5% of its class). 12 of the 31 are public universities. The median acceptance rate among them is 76%; the most selective is University of North Carolina at 15%.
Parks, Recreation, Leisure and Fitness Studies colleges in North Carolina
Every North Carolina 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 | University of North Carolina | Public | 295 | 5.5% | 15% | 1470 |
| 2 | UNC Wilmington | Public | 231 | 6.3% | 64% | 1300 |
| 3 | UNC Greensboro | Public | 171 | 5.4% | 89% | 1130 |
| 4 | NC State University | Public | 149 | 2.2% | 42% | 1380 |
| 5 | Appalachian State University | Public | 134 | 3.1% | 90% | 1280 |
| 6 | Elon University | Private | 109 | 7.4% | 66% | 1300 |
| 7 | North Carolina A&T State University | Public | 105 | 4.7% | 50% | 1120 |
| 8 | High Point University | Private | 101 | 9.9% | 75% | 1220 |
| 9 | Wake Forest University | Private | 97 | 7.3% | 22% | 1490 |
| 10 | Campbell University | Private | 92 | 12.4% | 87% | 1180 |
| 11 | East Carolina University | Public | 88 | 1.9% | 89% | 1190 |
| 12 | Wingate University | Private | 76 | 16.1% | 91% | 1150 |
| 13 | UNC Pembroke | Public | 75 | 6.2% | 93% | 1120 |
| 14 | Western Carolina University | Public | 66 | 2.6% | 82% | 1130 |
| 15 | Lenoir-Rhyne University | Private | 65 | 19.3% | 85% | 1150 |
| 16 | North Carolina Central University | Public | 52 | 5.6% | 87% | 1060 |
| 17 | Catawba College | Private | 51 | 23.3% | 75% | 1150 |
| 18 | Barton College | Private | 49 | 20.4% | 94% | 1150 |
| 19 | Winston-Salem State University | Public | 41 | 4.6% | 78% | 1020 |
| 20 | Belmont Abbey College | Private | 39 | 13% | 75% | 1150 |
| 21 | Mount Olive University | Private | 38 | 9.2% | 76% | 1150 |
| 22 | Chowan University | Private | 35 | 23.3% | 69% | 1150 |
| 23 | Elizabeth City State University | Public | 35 | 9.9% | 64% | 1020 |
| 24 | Guilford College | Private | 33 | 16.9% | 80% | 1230 |
| 25 | Johnson C. Smith University | Private | 26 | 12.6% | 45% | 1020 |
| 26 | Lees-McRae College | Private | 26 | 13.4% | 77% | 1150 |
| 27 | Shaw University | Private | 25 | 19.5% | 80% | 1020 |
| 28 | Livingstone College | Private | 17 | 19.3% | 59% | 1020 |
| 29 | Mars Hill University | Private | 17 | 8% | 68% | 1150 |
| 30 | Gardner-Webb University | Private | 12 | 2.8% | 77% | 1100 |
| 31 | Queens University of Charlotte | Private | 11 | 3.3% | 62% | 1200 |
Questions about parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies colleges in North Carolina
What is the best college for parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in North Carolina?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in 2023, the largest parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies programs in North Carolina are University of North Carolina (295), UNC Wilmington (231), UNC Greensboro (171). "Best" depends on your profile: this page ranks every North Carolina 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 North Carolina offer parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies?
31 four-year colleges in North Carolina awarded 10 or more bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in 2023, 12 public and 19 private, for 2,361 graduates in total.
Is in-state status an advantage for parks, recreation, leisure and fitness studies in North Carolina?
At the 12 public universities on this list, North Carolina 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.