2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 191st most popular in the United States.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 14 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 2 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$22,648 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this medium-sized public school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

UNI also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #1. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UNI are $22,648.

Full UNI Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#3

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

#2 in overall quality

$24,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Utah. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

U of U also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Utah are $24,695, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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