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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

13 Colleges
$32,688 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 one of the most popular subjects to study in Iowa. With 1,491 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 8th out of all the majors we track in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right 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.

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 Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in Iowa 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Our 2023 rankings named University of Iowa the best value school in Iowa for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their bachelor’s degree. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Iowa are $9,942 per year.

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#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. UNI is a moderately-sized public school located in the small city of Cedar Falls.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNI are $9,053 per year.

UNI also took the #5 spot in our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa rankings.

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#3

Northwestern College

Orange City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. NWC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Orange City.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NWC are $33,590 per year.

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

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#4

Loras College

Dubuque, IA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Loras College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Loras is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Dubuque.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Loras are $35,268 a year.

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#5

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Simpson College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Iowa. Simpson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Indianola.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Simpson College are $44,030 a year.

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#6

Grand View University

Des Moines, IA

Grand View University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Located in the city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Grand View University undergraduate students pay an average of $30,954 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#7

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, IA

Saint Ambrose University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Davenport.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at St. Ambrose University are $33,570 a year.

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#8

Cornell College

Mount Vernon, IA

Cornell College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa ranking. Cornell College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Mount Vernon.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cornell College are $47,726 a year.

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#9

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, IA

With a ranking of #9, Buena Vista 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. BVU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Storm Lake.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BVU are $37,518 per year.

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Graceland University - Lamoni ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa list. Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Graceland Lamoni are $31,920 per year.

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 710
Minnesota 1,139
South Dakota 342
Missouri 1,342
Nebraska 429
North Dakota 266

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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