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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

51 Colleges
$23,242 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,500 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned a degree or certificate in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the #15 most popular in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 51 schools in the United States to see which doctor'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.

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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

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

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

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our analysis found Concordia University, Chicago to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 a year.

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

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Out of the 51 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

BYU graduate students pay an average of $7,700 in tuition and fees each year.

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#3

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Clemson University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a very large student population.

Clemson graduate students pay an average of $23,246 in tuition and fees each year.

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Out of the 51 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, United States Sports Academy landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Daphne, The Academy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The Academy graduate students pay an average of $19,440 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at United States Sports Academy

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Nebraska at Omaha helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college with a large student population.

UNOMAHA graduate students pay an average of $16,374 in tuition and fees each year.

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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 a year.

UT Austin excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at Austin Report

Texas Woman’s University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. TWU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Denton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.

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#8

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

University of Northern Iowa ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. UNI is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Cedar Falls.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNI are $21,201 per year.

UNI also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Iowa

Texas A&M University - College Station ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.

Texas A&M College Station graduate students pay an average of $24,106 in tuition and fees each year.

Texas A&M College Station excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station Report

University of Southern Mississippi did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Southern Miss is a fairly large public school located in the city of Hattiesburg.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Southern Miss are $11,204 a year.

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Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies by Region

View the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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 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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