Best Recreation programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses pertaining to recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, including exercise physiology and facilities management.
39 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,631 people a year. The job pays a median of $73,860 in North Carolina across about 730 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 31.0504In North Carolina → | 929 | 57.0% | 29 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
| 2 | CIP 31.0501In North Carolina → | 571 | 35.0% | 15 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
| 3 | Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studiesmain feeder CIP 31.0101In North Carolina → | 67 | 4.1% | 5 | $34,451 | $22,500 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1314In North Carolina → | 61 | 3.7% | 9 | $43,033 | $26,044 |
| 5 | CIP 31.0508In North Carolina → | 3 | 0.2% | 1 | $30,426 | $25,643 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 28 of the 39 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 294 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | $31,165 | 91% | — | 15% |
| 2 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 149 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $33,717 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 138 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $26,498 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 4 | University of North Carolina at Pembroke Pembroke, NC Public · 3 feeder programs | 92 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | $25,623 | 44% | — | 93% |
| 5 | Wingate University Wingate, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 69 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $28,551 | 46% | $21,585 | 91% |
| 6 | North Carolina Central University Durham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | $26,682 | 42% | — | 87% |
| 7 | Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 64 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $32,428 | 60% | — | 82% |
| 8 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 9 | Winston - Salem State University Winston-Salem, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 50 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $26,467 | 47% | — | 78% |
| 10 | Elon University Elon, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $21,440 | 84% | $33,688 | 66% |
| 11 | Gardner - Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 43 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 55% | $22,863 | 77% |
| 12 | Fayetteville State University Fayetteville, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 42 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | — | 38% | — | 82% |
| 13 | East Carolina University Greenville, NC Public · 3 feeder programs | 37 | Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | $34,751 | 63% | — | 89% |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | $31,561 | 56% | — | 89% |
| 15 | Guilford College Greensboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $28,802 | 46% | $25,345 | 80% |
| 16 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 30 | Physical Education Teaching and Coaching | $41,018 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 17 | Pfeiffer University Misenheimer, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 28 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $26,744 | 35% | $22,351 | 96% |
| 18 | Belmont Abbey College Belmont, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $27,739 | 47% | $22,639 | 75% |
| 19 | Catawba College Salisbury, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $27,305 | 47% | $17,916 | 75% |
| 20 | Lenoir - Rhyne University Hickory, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $22,695 | 48% | $23,920 | 85% |
| 21 | Mars Hill University Mars Hill, NC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | — | 45% | $20,402 | 68% |
| 22 | Barton College Wilson, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $29,374 | 46% | $23,133 | 94% |
| 23 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 22 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $27,413 | 52% | $16,473 | 76% |
| 24 | Johnson C Smith University Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Sport and Fitness Administration/Management | $29,678 | 34% | $21,563 | 45% |
| 25 | Brevard College Brevard, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General | — | 49% | $21,334 | 42% |
All 39 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | Public | 294 | 1 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 149 | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | Greensboro | Public | 138 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Pembroke | Pembroke | Public | 92 | 3 |
| Wingate University | Wingate | Private not-for-profit | 69 | 2 |
| North Carolina Central University | Durham | Public | 66 | 1 |
| Western Carolina University | Cullowhee | Public | 64 | 2 |
| High Point University | High Point | Private not-for-profit | 57 | 1 |
| Winston - Salem State University | Winston-Salem | Public | 50 | 2 |
| Elon University | Elon | Private not-for-profit | 49 | 1 |
| Gardner - Webb University | Boiling Springs | Private not-for-profit | 43 | 3 |
| Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville | Public | 42 | 2 |
| East Carolina University | Greenville | Public | 37 | 3 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | Greensboro | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Guilford College | Greensboro | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 2 |
What recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $77,270. North Carolina pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: North Carolina employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in North Carolina
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Recreation
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in North Carolina
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1314Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
- 31.0101Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies
- 31.0501Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General
- 31.0504Sport and Fitness Administration/Management
- 31.0508Sports Studies
Common questions
Answers for people weighing recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary programs in North Carolina.
What degree do you need to become a Recreation?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Sport and Fitness Administration/Management, which awarded 929 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 57.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Recreation?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Sports, Parks, Teacher Education and Professional Development. Together they graduate about 1,631 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $73,860 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.4% below the U.S. median of $77,270. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in North Carolina?+
39 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Physical Education Professor (PE Professor), Health and Physical Education Professor (HPE Professor) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1193.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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