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Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

8 Colleges
$21,568 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,896 Avg Salary

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. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 8 schools in the Southwest Region 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.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a .

Best Southwest Region Schools for Affordable Quality in Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies

Our 2023 rankings named Arizona State University - Skysong the best value school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. ASU - Skysong is a very 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. On average, parks and rec graduates from ASU - Skysong take out $24,363 in student loans while working on their degree.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, ASU - Skysong also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX
$11,726 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend MSU Texas. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MSU Texas are $11,726 a year.

Read More…

$15,870 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a great value for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Located in the town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public college with a medium-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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University

The excellent programs at Texas A&M University - College Station helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools in the Southwest Region . Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Texas A&M College Station are $38,855 a year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Texas A&M College Station accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.

Texas A&M College Station not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station Report

$18,917 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Central Oklahoma. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region list. UCO is a large public school located in the suburb of Edmond.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UCO are $18,917 a year.

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$17,761 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Arizona University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the small city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NAU are $17,761 per year. After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from NAU carry an average student debtload of $24,437.

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Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. OSU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Stillwater.

OSU undergraduate students pay an average of $24,764 in tuition and fees each year. Parks & Rec majors at OSU take out an average of $22,206 in student loans while working on their egree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, OSU also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

$31,558 Average Tuition & Fees

Oral Roberts University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. ORU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Tulsa.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ORU are $31,558 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Oral Roberts University Report

Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation and leisure studies colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 12
Arizona 98
Oklahoma 53
New Mexico 0

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 8 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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