Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

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

Find Schools Near

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

41 Colleges
$14,750 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. 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.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest 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 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 moderately-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 per year.

Read More…

#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means MSU Texas is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. MSU Texas is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at MSU Texas are $8,056 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at MSU Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the town of Durant, Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $11,376 per year.

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

#4

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

The excellent master’s degree programs at Tarleton State University 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 Southwest Region . Tarleton is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Stephenville.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Tarleton are $15,031 a year.

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

#5

Howard Payne University

Brownwood, TX

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 fairly small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Howard Payne are $10,080 per year.

Read More…

East Central University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. ECU is a small public school located in the remote town of Ada.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at ECU are $11,634 per year.

Read More…

Southern Nazarene 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 #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Bethany, SNU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

SNU graduate students pay an average of $13,990 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Nazarene University

Texas Woman’s University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Denton, TWU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TWU are $15,048 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas Woman’s University

University of North Texas landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the medium-sized 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.

Read More…

#10

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX

With a ranking of #10, Lamar 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. Lamar University is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Beaumont.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Lamar University are $15,755 a year.

Read More…

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 Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 1,071
Texas 7,380
New Mexico 141
Oklahoma 1,179

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 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

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