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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

32 Colleges
$19,552 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,687 Avg Salary

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

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #15 most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 32 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

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

Our analysis found Concordia University, Irvine to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Far Western US Region . Concordia University, Irvine is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Irvine.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Irvine are $8,564 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Concordia University, Irvine is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Irvine Report

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Point Loma Nazarene 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 Far Western US Region . PLNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at PLNU are $11,880 per year.

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#3

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Seattle University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Seattle U graduate students pay an average of $14,310 in tuition and fees each year.

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#4

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gonzaga University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Spokane, Gonzaga is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Gonzaga graduate students pay an average of $14,878 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Gonzaga is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at California Baptist University 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 Far Western US Region . Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Riverside.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Baptist are $14,320 per year.

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California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate students pay an average of $21,133 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

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#7

National University

La Jolla, CA

With a ranking of #7, National University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at National University are $15,480 per year.

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California State University - Long Beach landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at CSULB are $17,784 per year.

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San Jose State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at San Jose State are $18,790 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, San Jose State also is in the top 20% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking.

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With a ranking of #10, California State University - East Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $17,933 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at California State University - East Bay Report

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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 11,237
Washington 673
Oregon 629
Hawaii 171
Nevada 273
Alaska 35

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 26 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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