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2025 Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in North Carolina

5 Colleges in North Carolina
171 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded
If you plan on majoring in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #459 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in North Carolina ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 171 degrees in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy School

Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in North Carolina Your choice of therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy
Bachelor's Degrees in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in North Carolina list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy in North Carolina

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy degree levels they offer.

Top North Carolina Schools in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In NC
52 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy needs to take a look at East Carolina University. ECU is a very large public university located in the city of Greenville. A Best Colleges rank of #275 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were about 52 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from East Carolina University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NC
33 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

Winston - Salem State University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the large city of Winston-Salem, WSSU is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 54th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 33 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at WSSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Winston - Salem State University

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NC
49 Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degrees Awarded

University of North Carolina at Wilmington is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the city of Wilmington, UNCW is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #415 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UNCW is a great university overall.

There were roughly 49 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at UNCW in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from University of North Carolina at Wilmington

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In NC

Western Carolina University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. WCU is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Cullowhee. This university ranks 36th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 27 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at WCU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Western Carolina University

5
Catawba crest
Catawba College
Salisbury, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In NC

Catawba is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Salisbury. This college ranks 43rd out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 8 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Catawba in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy from Catawba College

Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 715 2
Virginia 630 15
South Carolina 530 0
Louisiana 489 21

View All Rankings >

One of 16 majors within the Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions area of study, Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Physical Therapy/Therapist 501
Occupational Therapy 244
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling 99
Music Therapy 35
Kinesiotherapy/Kinesiotherapist 26
Animal-Assisted Therapy 3
Rehabilitation Science 1

View All Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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