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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$24,788 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,979 Avg Salary

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

With 1,729 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #18 most popular major in Virginia.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in Virginia 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees 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 Virginia

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

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

#1

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

Our 2023 rankings named James Madison University the best value school in Virginia for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at JMU are $12,638 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, JMU also is in the top 20% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at James Madison University Report

#2

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means George Mason University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. GMU is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax.

GMU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,119 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at George Mason University

#3

Old Dominion University

Norfolk, VA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Old Dominion University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Old Dominion is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Old Dominion are $10,800 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Old Dominion University

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Virginia - Main Campus helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Virginia. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Virginia are $19,785 per year.

University of Virginia also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list, coming in at #2.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

#5

Radford University

Radford, VA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Radford University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Virginia. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Radford are $11,542 a year.

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

#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Liberty University are $16,160 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Liberty University Report

#6

William & Mary

Williamsburg, VA

William & Mary came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. William & Mary is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Williamsburg.

William & Mary undergraduate students pay an average of $23,812 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, William & Mary is ranked #5 for overall quality for parks and rec in Virginia.

Read More…

#8

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

Shenandoah University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Winchester.

Shenandoah undergraduate students pay an average of $34,490 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#9

Bridgewater College

Bridgewater, VA

Bridgewater College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia ranking. Located in the suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Bridgewater undergraduate students pay an average of $38,460 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#10

Hampton University

Hampton, VA

Hampton University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Hampton, Hampton is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Hampton undergraduate students pay an average of $29,312 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
North Carolina 3,436
West Virginia 1,238
South Carolina 1,339
Florida 2,340
Arkansas 1,012
Mississippi 1,128
Tennessee 2,462
Louisiana 703
Alabama 959
Kentucky 1,141
Georgia 1,981

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

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 13 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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