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

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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.

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

Check out the parks and rec doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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

Our analysis found University of Nebraska at Omaha to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Omaha, UNOMAHA is a public college 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

#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.

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 in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Iowa State University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Ames, Iowa State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Iowa State graduate students pay an average of $26,948 in tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Iowa State also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

#4

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Plains States Region . Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the 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

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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