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

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.

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

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Concordia University, Chicago the best value school in the United States for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of River Forest.

Concordia University, Chicago graduate students pay an average of $9,378 in tuition and fees each year.

Concordia University, Chicago also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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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 city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at BYU are $7,700 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Brigham Young University - Provo Report

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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 college with a fairly large student population.

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

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

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend United States Sports Academy. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Daphne, The Academy is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at The Academy are $19,440 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at United States Sports Academy Report

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Out of the 51 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNOMAHA are $16,374 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Nebraska at Omaha

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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 city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

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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.

TWU graduate students pay an average of $15,048 in tuition and fees each year.

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#8

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

With a ranking of #8, University of Northern Iowa did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. 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.

In addition to its great value ranking, UNI is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools list.

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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 medium-sized city of College Station.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Texas A&M College Station are $24,106 a year.

Texas A&M College Station 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 Texas A&M University - College Station

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With a ranking of #10, University of Southern Mississippi did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Southern Miss is a 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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Southern Mississippi

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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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