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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.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the parks and rec bachelor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 15% Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Brigham Young University - Provo the best value school in the United States for parks, recreation and leisure studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. BYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Provo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BYU are $6,120 a 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.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Brigham Young University - Provo Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Arizona State University - Skysong. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. 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.

Read More…

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 moderately-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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northwest Missouri State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Winona State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.

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

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Winona State also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.

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

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 Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the town of Kearney, UNK is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNK are $15,320 per 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

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. Kutztown University is a moderately-sized public school located in the fringe town of Kutztown.

Kutztown University undergraduate students pay an average of $15,170 in tuition and fees each 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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

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 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 also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

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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 moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Texas are $11,726 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at MSU Texas Report

San Jose State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

San Jose State undergraduate students pay an average of $19,732 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#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 college with a moderately-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.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNI also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Northern Iowa Report

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 town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $15,870 a 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.

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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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