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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

20 Colleges
$26,333 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,979 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #17 most popular major in Illinois with 2,396 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 20 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Illinois State University the best value school in Illinois for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $13,968 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Illinois State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Illinois State University

#2

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Eastern Illinois University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at EIU are $12,297 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Eastern Illinois University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western Illinois University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.

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Out of the 20 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the # 5 spot on the list. UIC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UIUC are $17,634 a year.

UIUC also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #3.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. SIUC is a large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

#9

North Park University

Chicago, IL

With a ranking of #9, North Park University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, North Park is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

North Park undergraduate students pay an average of $33,050 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at North Park University Report

#10

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Aurora.

Aurora undergraduate students pay an average of $26,760 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 1,818
Michigan 2,279
Ohio 2,647
Wisconsin 1,001

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 20 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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