Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

11 Colleges
$22,356 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.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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 Master's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 11 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to see which master'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.

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. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a master's degree.

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

Our analysis found Brigham Young University - Provo to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Rocky Mountains Region . BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Provo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at BYU are $7,700 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, BYU is ranked #3 for overall quality for parks and rec in the Rocky Mountains Region .

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

#2

Adams State University

Alamosa, CO

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Adams State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the town of Alamosa, Adams State is a public school with a small student population.

Adams State graduate students pay an average of $10,896 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#3

University of Wyoming

Laramie, WY

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wyoming. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the town of Laramie, UW is a public college with a large student population.

UW graduate students pay an average of $17,569 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#4

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, CO

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Colorado Mesa University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Colorado Mesa is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Grand Junction.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Colorado Mesa are $14,535 a year.

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

Out of the 11 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Colorado landed the # 5 spot on the list. University of Northern Colorado is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Greeley.

University of Northern Colorado graduate students pay an average of $22,379 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Colorado State University - Fort Collins did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Colorado State is a very large public school located in the city of Fort Collins.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Colorado State are $29,043 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Colorado State is ranked #5 for overall quality for parks and rec in the Rocky Mountains Region .

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

#7

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT

With a ranking of #7, University of Utah 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 medium-sized city of Salt Lake City, U of U is a public school with a fairly large student population.

U of U graduate students pay an average of $25,705 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#8

University of Idaho

Moscow, ID

University of Idaho landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the town of Moscow, U of I is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at U of I are $29,148 per year.

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

With a ranking of #9, Utah State 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. USU is a very large public school located in the city of Logan.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at USU are $23,225 per year.

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

With a ranking of #10, Boise State 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. Boise State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Boise.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Boise State are $26,558 a year.

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

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 Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 1,093
Utah 1,178
Montana 94
Idaho 249
Wyoming 126

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 11 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.