2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for You
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the #169 most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
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 in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
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 10 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
Our analysis found Ohio University - Athens Campus to be the best value school for parks, recreation and leisure studies students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . OHIO Athens is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Athens.
OHIO Athens undergraduate students pay an average of $22,810 in tuition and fees each year. On average, parks and rec graduates from OHIO Athens take out $24,499 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Out of the 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 2 spot on the list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UIUC are $37,632 a year. On average, parks and rec graduates from UIUC take out $20,500 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $226, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
UIUC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the fringe town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
BGSU undergraduate students pay an average of $21,050 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from BGSU carry an average student debtload of $25,873. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $513, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year. Parks & Rec majors at SIUC take out an average of $20,864 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a very large student population.
IU Bloomington undergraduate students pay an average of $38,352 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at IU Bloomington accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $478, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
In addition to its great value ranking, IU Bloomington is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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Aurora University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Aurora are $26,760 a year.
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Northern Michigan University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation and leisure studies programs. Northern Michigan University is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Marquette.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northern Michigan University are $18,828 per year. On average, parks and rec graduates from Northern Michigan University take out $18,420 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Miami University - Oxford ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public school located in the town of Oxford.
Miami University - Oxford undergraduate students pay an average of $36,288 in tuition and fees each year.
Miami University - Oxford also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Olivet Nazarene University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Olivet Nazarene are $37,440 a year.
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University of Toledo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #10 on the list. University of Toledo is a fairly large public school located in the city of Toledo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Toledo are $20,239 a year.
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Request InformationBest Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State
Explore the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 16 |
| Ohio | 101 |
| Illinois | 196 |
| Indiana | 161 |
More Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
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 10 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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