2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 41 schools in the Southwest 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.
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.
Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named West Texas A&M University the best value school in the Southwest Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the fringe town of Canyon.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend MSU Texas. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Wichita Falls.
MSU Texas graduate students pay an average of $8,056 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Southeastern Oklahoma State University 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 Southwest Region . Located in the town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $11,376 per year.
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Out of the 41 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Tarleton State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Tarleton is a fairly large public school located in the town of Stephenville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Tarleton are $15,031 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Howard Payne University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the remote town of Brownwood, Howard Payne is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Howard Payne graduate students pay an average of $10,080 in tuition and fees each year.
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East Central University 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. ECU is a small public school located in the remote town of Ada.
ECU graduate students pay an average of $11,634 in tuition and fees each year.
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Southern Nazarene University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of Bethany, SNU 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 SNU are $13,990 a year.
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With a ranking of #8, Texas Woman’s 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 midsize city of Denton, TWU is a public college with a large student population.
TWU graduate students pay an average of $15,048 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of North Texas 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 #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Denton, UNT is a public college with a very large student population.
UNT graduate students pay an average of $15,600 in tuition and fees each year.
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Lamar University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Lamar University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Beaumont.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Lamar University are $15,755 a year.
Request InformationBest Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State
Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 1,071 |
| Texas | 7,380 |
| New Mexico | 141 |
| Oklahoma | 1,179 |
More Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings in the Southwest Region
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Related Majors for 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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.