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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Pennsylvania

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Pennsylvania

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

25 Colleges
$22,974 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,681 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for You

With 2,734 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #15 most popular major in Pennsylvania.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Pennsylvania to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 25 schools in Pennsylvania to see which 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.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

$10,507 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania the best value school in Pennsylvania for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. SRU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Slippery Rock.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SRU are $10,507 a year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at SRU accumulate an average of around $26,500 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $375, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Report

$10,423 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WCUPA are $10,423 per year.

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$10,982 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the small city of Bloomsburg, Bloomsburg is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Bloomsburg undergraduate students pay an average of $10,982 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Bloomsburg accumulate an average of around $26,875 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $368, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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$11,062 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Pennsylvania. Kutztown University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kutztown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Kutztown University are $11,062 a year. On average, parks and rec graduates from Kutztown University take out $26,999 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $197, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

#5

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, PA
$10,878 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Lock Haven University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Pennsylvania. Located in the distant town of Lock Haven, LHU is a public college with a small student population.

LHU undergraduate students pay an average of $10,878 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, parks and rec graduates from LHU take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $254.

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$11,108 Average Tuition & Fees

California University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #6 on the list. Cal U is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of California.

Cal U undergraduate students pay an average of $11,108 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Cal U take out is $32,130. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $169.

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$10,543 Average Tuition & Fees

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Edinboro is a small public school located in the town of Edinboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Edinboro are $10,543 a year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Edinboro take out is $29,750. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $260.

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

$11,259 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. East Stroudsburg University is a medium-sized public school located in the city of East Stroudsburg.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at East Stroudsburg University are $11,259 a year. On average, parks and rec graduates from East Stroudsburg University take out $25,500 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $314, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Report

$12,256 Average Tuition & Fees

Millersville University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #9 on the list. Millersville is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Millersville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Millersville are $12,256 a year.

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$14,354 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Pittsburgh - Bradford landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Pitt Bradford is a small public school located in the town of Bradford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pitt Bradford are $14,354 a year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Pitt Bradford take out is $27,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $349, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Pittsburgh - Bradford Report

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 1,047
New York 2,477
Maryland 832
Delaware 342
District of Columbia 319

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.

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