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Major · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness & Kinesiology

An operations major for parks, facilities, and destinations

Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, General trains students to plan, operate, and manage indoor and outdoor recreation facilities — parks systems, resorts, fitness centers, sports complexes, community programs, conference destinations. About 1,676 degrees are awarded each year across 136 colleges, and bachelor's completers report a five-year earnings median of $49,920. The career list points to management destinations in the $77K–$105K range, but a real gap exists between those wages and the $50K five-year median: the first 3–7 years typically move through programming coordinator, assistant-manager, and operations-supervisor roles before landing the named manager titles.

Schools offering
136
Annual completions
1,676
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$49k

About this major

Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, General prepares students to develop and manage park facilities and other indoor and outdoor recreation and leisure facilities. The CIP definition emphasizes supervising support personnel, health and safety standards, public relations, and basic business and marketing principles — a distinctly operations-focused curriculum. Typical coursework combines recreation programming and leadership foundations with facility operations and maintenance, risk management and safety, human resources and staff supervision, budgeting and finance, marketing and public relations, and applied capstone projects or internships at operational facilities.

Program scale is moderate. About 1,676 degrees are awarded each year across 136 colleges, with the top-ten dominated by land-grant and regional-state universities: Clemson University (106 bachelor's completions), Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus (83), Florida International University (68), Appalachian State University (67), the University of Florida (66), Middle Tennessee State University (64), Illinois State University (54), Colorado State University-Fort Collins (53), the University of North Texas (49), and the University of West Georgia (48). The concentration at land-grant and regional-state programs reflects established relationships with municipal and state parks agencies, Morrill-Act traditions in applied-professional education, and the regional nature of recreation industries. Clemson's leading position connects to South Carolina's recreation economy and the university's long-established parks-management specialization.

The earnings picture shows a gap between entry-level realities and career-list targets. Bachelor's completers report a five-year median of $49,920, with associate's completers at $40,928. The career list includes three destinations. General and operations managers (SOC 11-1021) at $102,950 median wage with 4.4% projected growth is a broad bachelor's-entry SOC code that absorbs many kinds of facility-manager roles. Facilities managers (SOC 11-3013) at $104,690 with 3.8% growth is the building-and-systems-focused management role. Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling (SOC 11-9072) at $77,180 with 7.7% growth is the programming-and-activities management role most directly aligned with the major. The $49,920 five-year median reflects early-career progression through entry titles — programming coordinator, recreation leader, facility assistant manager, event coordinator, aquatics supervisor, seasonal park ranger — at $35K–$50K wages, typically leading to the named manager titles within 3–7 years as graduates accumulate operations experience and industry certifications (notably the Certified Park and Recreation Professional credential from the National Recreation and Park Association). Golf Course Operation and Grounds Management (139 completions) is the specialized golf-industry sibling program in the same concentration.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
General and operations managers $103k +4.4% Bachelor's degree
Facilities managers $105k +3.8% Bachelor's degree
Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling $77k +7.7% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$49k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$41k

Bachelor's

$50k

Who this major is for

Students who want hands-on operational management work in recreation and parks settings — running a facility, managing programming, supervising seasonal and part-time staff, handling public-facing customer service — are the core audience. Comfort with varied physical work environments (outdoors, aquatics, varied weather), budget and staff-management responsibility, and the long-hours-and-weekend reality of recreation operations all indicate fit. Students drawn to public-sector service should target internships with municipal parks departments, state park systems, or the National Park Service and consider layering on the CPRP certification. Students drawn to private-sector operations should target internships at resorts, commercial fitness and recreation companies, conference and event venues, or corporate-campus wellness programs. Students interested in nonprofit recreation work should explore YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, camp operators, and outdoor-education employers. The major's earnings trajectory rewards patience — the $49,920 five-year median is an intermediate step toward the $77K–$105K manager titles on the career list.

Reconsider this major if the primary interest is health, fitness, or exercise science rather than facility operations. Exercise Science and Kinesiology is the clinical-and-research track for students targeting physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, or sports medicine graduate programs. Sport and Fitness Administration/Management is the athletic-program-management track for students targeting collegiate athletics administration, professional sports front-office work, or commercial fitness leadership — different employer networks and different career trajectories. If the interest is environmental conservation and wilderness management rather than facility operations, Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management or the Environmental/Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism program in the Natural Resources concentration align better. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies (CIP 31.0101, 1,816 completions) is the adjacent sibling with slightly more programming-and-theory emphasis. Finally, be realistic about the earnings trajectory: graduates who expect the career-list manager wages immediately after graduation are misreading the data — the $49,920 five-year median captures the real first-job pattern of 3–7 years of progressive experience before the named manager titles become reachable.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, General

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Clemson University Clemson, SC 0 106 106
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 83 83
Florida International University Miami, FL 0 68 68
Appalachian State University Boone, NC 0 67 67
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 66 66
Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN 0 64 64
Illinois State University Normal, IL 0 54 54
Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO 0 53 53
University of North Texas Denton, TX 0 49 49
University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA 0 48 48
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies

1,816 completions/yr

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, Fitness, and Kinesiology, Other

308 completions/yr

Golf Course Operation and Grounds Management

139 completions/yr

Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management, Other

1 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do recreation facility managers actually manage?
The scope is broader than it first appears. Public-sector graduates typically work in municipal parks and recreation departments, state park systems, or the National Park Service — managing programming, scheduling, staffing, permit operations, concessionaire contracts, and facility maintenance across parks, community centers, sports complexes, aquatics centers, and trail systems. Private-sector graduates enter resort and hospitality operations (ski resorts, destination resorts, campgrounds, RV parks), commercial fitness and wellness centers, stadium and arena operations, amusement parks, event venues, and increasingly corporate-campus recreation and wellness programs. Nonprofit roles exist at YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, outdoor-education organizations, and community recreation foundations. The consistent thread across these employers is operations management — running a facility safely, keeping programming on schedule, managing seasonal staff, maintaining budgets, and handling public-facing customer service. The CIP definition emphasizes exactly this: supervising support personnel, health and safety standards, public relations, and basic business and marketing principles.
Why is there a gap between the $49,920 bachelor's median and the $77K–$105K career-list wages?
Because the career list shows manager-level SOC codes that graduates typically reach after several years of progressive experience, not immediately after graduation. Common first-job titles are programming coordinator, recreation leader, facilities assistant manager, aquatics supervisor, event coordinator, or seasonal park ranger — paying $35K–$50K with strong variation by employer type. Public-sector entry jobs often include government benefits and pension-track employment that compensate for lower wages; private-sector jobs sometimes include housing (ski resorts, destination resorts) or performance bonuses. Progression to the named manager titles — general and operations managers at $102,950, facilities managers at $104,690, entertainment and recreation managers at $77,180 — typically happens within 3–7 years for graduates who combine the degree with operations certifications (CPRP from the National Recreation and Park Association), master-level first aid and lifeguard credentials, and demonstrated facility-budget and staff-management experience.
Which schools lead the program, and why does land-grant concentration matter?
The top ten is dominated by land-grant and regional-state universities with established recreation or parks-management programs. Clemson University leads at 106 bachelor's completions, followed by Pennsylvania State University (83), Florida International University (68), Appalachian State (67), University of Florida (66), Middle Tennessee State (64), Illinois State (54), Colorado State (53), University of North Texas (49), and University of West Georgia (48). The land-grant and regional-state concentration reflects both Morrill-Act traditions in applied-professional programs and these schools' established relationships with state and municipal parks agencies. Clemson's dominant position connects to South Carolina's strong recreation industry and the university's specialized parks-management faculty. For students, the practical signal is that leading programs have direct internship pipelines into specific state and regional employers — Appalachian State feeds NC state parks, Colorado State feeds Colorado's outdoor-recreation economy, Penn State feeds the Mid-Atlantic public-sector network.
How does this compare with Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies or the broader kinesiology concentration?
The related-majors data shows Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies (CIP 31.0101, 1,816 completions) as the slightly larger sibling. The two CIP codes overlap substantially, and many institutions offer only one. The subtle distinction: Leisure Studies tends more toward recreation theory, program design, therapeutic recreation, and community-programming pedagogy; Facilities Management leans toward the operations-and-business side of running facilities. In practice the degrees feed the same employer base and the differences between programs at specific institutions can be larger than the difference between the two CIP codes. The broader concentration includes Exercise Science and Kinesiology and Sport and Fitness Administration/Management as separate programs with different focuses — Exercise Science is the clinical-and-research track for students targeting physical-therapy or sports-medicine graduate programs; Sport and Fitness Administration is the athletic-program-management track for students targeting collegiate athletics, professional sports administration, or commercial fitness leadership. Golf Course Operation and Grounds Management (139 completions) is the specialized golf-industry sibling.
Is seasonal work a required entry path, and does the industry actually have year-round careers?
Seasonal work is a common but not mandatory entry path. Many graduates take 1–2 seasons of summer or winter seasonal employment with state parks, resorts, or camp operators as resume-builders — these jobs pay modestly ($12–$18 per hour, often with housing) but provide direct operational experience and networking into year-round employers. The industry has robust year-round careers at municipalities (parks and recreation departments operate 12 months a year), state park systems (permanent ranger and administrator roles), corporate-campus recreation programs, commercial fitness and sports-facility companies, conference-center and event-venue operators, and year-round resorts. The distribution of year-round versus seasonal work varies by region — coastal and mountain-tourism regions have higher seasonal concentrations, while urban and suburban markets have more year-round municipal and private-sector employment. Graduates targeting year-round careers from the start should prioritize internships at municipal parks departments, commercial recreation companies, or year-round facilities, rather than exclusively seasonal camps and resorts.