2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 36 schools in the United States to see which graduate certificate 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.
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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a graduate certificate.
Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate Schools
Our analysis found American Public University System to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the United States. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at American Military University are $7,050 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, American Military University also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools ranking.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at American Public University System Report
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Winona State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Winona State are $12,836 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Winona State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools list.
The excellent graduate certificate programs at Concordia University, Chicago helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the United States. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the 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.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools list. Liberty University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Lynchburg.
Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Liberty University Report
Out of the 36 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri State University - Springfield landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Missouri State are $12,618 a year.
Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. The Citadel is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.
The Citadel graduate students pay an average of $18,540 in tuition and fees each year.
Missouri Baptist University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools ranking. MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at MBU are $10,670 per year.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri Baptist University Report
Belhaven University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Jackson, Belhaven is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Belhaven are $10,980 a year.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Belhaven University Report
Salem State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Salem State is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Salem.
Salem State graduate students pay an average of $10,477 in tuition and fees each year.
Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Salem State University Report
With a ranking of #10, National University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of La Jolla.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at National University are $15,480 a year.
National University also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at National University
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies by Region
View the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings
Majors Related to Parks & Rec
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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