2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for You
In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the #169 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 78 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for parks and rec students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 15% Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Brigham Young University - Provo the best value school in the United States for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. BYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Provo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU are $6,120 a year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at BYU accumulate an average of around $10,000 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, BYU also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Brigham Young University - Provo
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Arizona State University - Skysong is a great value for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Scottsdale.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at ASU - Skysong take out is $24,363.
ASU - Skysong excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwest Missouri State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list. Northwest is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Maryville.
Northwest undergraduate students pay an average of $14,919 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northwest Missouri State University
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Winona State University is a great value for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Winona State are $16,684 a year. Parks & Rec majors at Winona State take out an average of $25,447 in student loans while working on their egree.
Winona State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Nebraska at Kearney. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNK are $15,320 per year. On average, parks and rec graduates from UNK take out $18,594 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $133.
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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list. Kutztown University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kutztown.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Kutztown University are $15,170 a year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Kutztown University take out is $26,999. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $197.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools ranking. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $28,105 a year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo take out is $18,356. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $272.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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MSU Texas landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Wichita Falls.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MSU Texas are $11,726 a year.
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San Jose State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #9 on the list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jose State are $19,732 a year.
San Jose State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list.
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Pittsburg State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Pittsburg, Pitt State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Pitt State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,088 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Pittsburg State University Report
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University of Northern Iowa did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
UNI undergraduate students pay an average of $19,753 in tuition and fees each year. Parks & Rec majors at UNI take out an average of $23,469 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its great value ranking, UNI is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools list.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Northern Iowa
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Southeastern Oklahoma State University | Durant, OK |
| 13 | Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau, MO |
| 13 | Emporia State University | Emporia, KS |
| 15 | University of Southern Mississippi | Hattiesburg, MS |
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies by Region
View the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Rankings
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Related Majors for Parks & Rec
One of 4 majors within the area of study, parks, recreation and leisure studies has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Parks & Rec
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Physical Education | 67,146 |
| Recreation Administration | 3,122 |
| Outdoor Education | 265 |
| Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 174 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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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