2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
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.
Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found James Madison University to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Virginia. Located in the city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public school with a very large student population.
JMU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,638 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
JMU also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at George Mason University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Virginia. GMU is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fairfax.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GMU are $13,119 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Old Dominion University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. 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.
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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 very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.
University of Virginia undergraduate students pay an average of $19,785 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, University of Virginia is ranked #2 for overall quality for parks and rec in Virginia.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Radford University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Radford, Radford is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Radford undergraduate students pay an average of $11,542 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Liberty University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.
Liberty University undergraduate students pay an average of $16,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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William & Mary ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at William & Mary are $23,812 a year.
William & Mary did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia list.
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Shenandoah University 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. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Winchester.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Shenandoah are $34,490 a year.
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Bridgewater College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Bridgewater are $38,460 a year.
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Hampton University 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 #10 on the list. Located in the city of Hampton, Hampton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Hampton undergraduate students pay an average of $29,312 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Request InformationBest Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 3,436 |
| West Virginia | 1,238 |
| Mississippi | 1,128 |
| South Carolina | 1,339 |
| Florida | 2,340 |
| Arkansas | 1,012 |
| Alabama | 959 |
| Kentucky | 1,141 |
| Georgia | 1,981 |
| Tennessee | 2,462 |
| Louisiana | 703 |
More Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings in Virginia
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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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