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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

4 Colleges
$23,884 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,500 Avg Salary

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

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies was ranked #15 in the country. In fact 73,813 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

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 Doctor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 4 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value doctor'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. 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.

Best Plains States Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Doctorate in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

Our 2023 rankings named University of Nebraska at Omaha the best value school in the Plains States Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public school with a fairly 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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#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. UNI is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Cedar Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNI are $21,201 a year.

UNI excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Iowa Report

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Iowa State are $26,948 a year.

Iowa State 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 in the Plains States Region list.

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

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#4

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Out of the 4 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the # 4 spot on the list. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Iowa are $31,012 a year.

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

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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 Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 710
Minnesota 1,139
Iowa 1,491
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 4 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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