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Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

75 Colleges
$17,646 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,256 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree 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.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 75 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree 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 Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Provo to be the best value school for parks, recreation and leisure studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Provo.

BYU undergraduate students pay an average of $6,120 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at BYU take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $12,419.

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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 working on their bachelor’s degree. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, ASU - Skysong is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Arizona State University - Skysong Report

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Out of the 75 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwest Missouri State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Northwest is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Maryville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northwest are $14,919 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northwest Missouri State University Report

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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 working on their bachelor’s degree. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Winona.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Winona State are $16,684 per year.

Winona State also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Winona State University Report

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Nebraska at Kearney helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation and leisure studies schools in the United States. Located in the town of Kearney, UNK is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

UNK undergraduate students pay an average of $15,320 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, parks and rec graduates from UNK carry an average student debtload of $18,511. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $133.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Nebraska at Kearney Report

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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Kutztown University is a moderately-sized public school located in the fringe town of Kutztown.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kutztown University are $15,170 per year. On average, parks and rec graduates from Kutztown University take out $27,196 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $197.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Report

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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation and leisure studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo undergraduate students pay an average of $28,105 in tuition and fees each year. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $272.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

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#8

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

MSU Texas landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. MSU Texas is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

MSU Texas undergraduate students pay an average of $11,726 in tuition and fees each year.

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San Jose State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation and leisure studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. 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.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at San Jose State University Report

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#10

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

University of Northern Iowa came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. 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 $22,350 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

UNI excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.

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Southeastern Oklahoma State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $15,870 per year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Southeastern Oklahoma State University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $26,218.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University Report

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
12 Emporia State University Emporia, KS
12 Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO
14 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS
15 Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies by Region

View the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 4 majors within the area of study, parks, recreation and leisure studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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