2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the #15 most popular in the United States.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in the United States to see which associate 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.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Best Schools for Affordable Quality for an Associate in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness
Our 2023 rankings named International Sports Sciences Association the best value school in the United States for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. ISSA is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Carpinteria.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ISSA are $10,107 per year.
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The excellent associate degree programs at University of the Cumberlands helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the town of Williamsburg, Cumberlands is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Cumberlands undergraduate students pay an average of $9,875 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent associate degree programs at South Texas College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. South Texas College is a fairly large public school located in the city of McAllen.
South Texas College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,920 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, South Texas College also is in the top 10% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools ranking.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Mt. San Antonio College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Walnut, Mt. SAC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mt. SAC are $10,032 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Utah Valley University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. UVU is a very large public school located in the city of Orem.
UVU undergraduate students pay an average of $17,092 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UVU is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list.
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Bob Jones University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Greenville, Bob Jones University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bob Jones University are $21,062 per year.
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The University of Findlay did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Findlay is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Findlay.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Findlay are $37,188 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Findlay also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #8, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their associate degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Fort Lauderdale, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale undergraduate students pay an average of $22,000 in tuition and fees each year.
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Webber International University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Webber International University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Babson Park.
Webber International University undergraduate students pay an average of $29,184 in tuition and fees each year.
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Request InformationParks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies by Region
View the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Associate Degree 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, & Fitness Studies Rankings
Majors Related to Parks & Rec
Parks & Rec Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Physical Education | 67,146 |
| Recreation Administration | 3,122 |
| Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 3,106 |
| Outdoor Education | 265 |
| Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 174 |
Majors Similar to Parks & Rec
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 142,610 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | 98,583 |
| Legal Professions | 61,055 |
| Military Technologies & Applied Sciences | 4,477 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 9 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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