2026 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Virginia
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for parks, recreation & leisure studies students pursuing a degree.
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Best Schools for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Virginia
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall parks, recreation & leisure studies education in Virginia.
Top Schools in Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies
No school ranked higher than Radford University this year for parks, recreation & leisure studies. This moderately-sized public university is located in the town of Radford. Radford University graduates 49% of students within six years. Radford University awarded about 28 parks, recreation & leisure studies degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the parks, recreation & leisure studies program make about $30,145 in their early career. Radford University graduates carry a median of $26,000 in student loans.
See the full parks, recreation & leisure studies program report for Radford University
Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 3 schools evaluated.
- 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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