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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

64 Colleges
$17,589 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 #15 most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.

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 the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 64 schools in the Southwest Region 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.

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. 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.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

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

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

Our 2023 rankings named Oklahoma Panhandle State University the best value school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the rural area of Goodwell, OPSU is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at OPSU are $8,234 a year.

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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Northwestern Oklahoma State 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 the Southwest Region . Located in the remote town of Alva, NWOSU is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NWOSU are $15,001 per year.

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

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at West Texas A&M University 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 Southwest Region . West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Canyon.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at West Texas A&M University are $11,208 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at West Texas A&M University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year.

ASU - Skysong excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

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#5

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Out of the 64 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Grand Canyon University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grand Canyon University are $17,189 a year.

Grand Canyon University also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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

Southwestern Oklahoma State 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 #6 on the list. Located in the town of Weatherford, SWOSU is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SWOSU are $15,023 a year.

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

#7

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

With a ranking of #7, Tarleton State 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. Tarleton is a large public school located in the remote town of Stephenville.

Tarleton undergraduate students pay an average of $17,582 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Tarleton State University Report

#8

Cameron University

Lawton, OK

Cameron University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the small city of Lawton, Cameron University is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cameron University are $15,870 per year.

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

Sam Houston State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. SHSU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Huntsville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SHSU are $18,752 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, SHSU is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Sam Houston State University Report

#10

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

MSU Texas landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Wichita Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Texas are $11,726 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at MSU Texas

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great value schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students in the Southwest Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Houston - Clear Lake Houston, TX
12 Southeastern Oklahoma State University Durant, OK

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 1,071
Texas 7,380
New Mexico 141
Oklahoma 1,179

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 25 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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