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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in South Dakota

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in South Dakota

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

4 Colleges
$11,740 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,046 Avg Salary

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

Out of the majors we analyze each year, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies was ranked 8th in South Dakota. In fact, 342 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

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 Schools in South Dakota ranking. Our analysis looked at 4 schools in South Dakota 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.

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. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

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

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

Check out the parks and rec programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Best South Dakota Schools for Affordable Quality in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

$9,299 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named South Dakota State University the best value school in South Dakota for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the town of Brookings, South Dakota State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at South Dakota State are $9,299 a year. Parks & Rec majors at South Dakota State take out an average of $24,907 in student loans while working on their egree.

South Dakota State also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #2.

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$8,845 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. NSU is a small public school located in the town of Aberdeen.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NSU are $8,845 per year. After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from NSU carry an average student debtload of $26,988.

NSU also took the #3 spot in our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in South Dakota rankings.

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

Out of the 4 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Black Hills State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. BHSU is a small public school located in the distant town of Spearfish.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at BHSU are $8,916 per year. Parks & Rec majors at BHSU take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

#4

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, SD
$19,900 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Sioux Falls helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in South Dakota. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Sioux Falls.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Sioux Falls are $19,900 per year. Parks & Rec majors at University of Sioux Falls take out an average of $24,182 in student loans while working on their egree.

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

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 710
Minnesota 1,139
Iowa 1,491
Missouri 1,342
Nebraska 429
North Dakota 266

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 4 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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