a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #123 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 9 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of parks, recreation & leisure studies. Combined, these schools handed out 324 bachelor's degrees in parks, recreation & leisure studies to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The parks & rec bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality parks & rec program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on parks, recreation & leisure studies students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - How many other parks, recreation & leisure studies students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt parks, recreation & leisure studies students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized parks, recreation & leisure studies related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for parks, recreation & leisure studies students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.
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.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Plains States Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies.
Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Parks & Rec
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to take a look at University of Iowa. Iowa is a very large public university located in the small city of Iowa City.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the parks & rec program report average early career income of $37,103.
University of Northern Iowa is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a medium-sized student population.
Soon after graduation, parks & rec bachelor's recipients typically make around $37,233 at the beginning of their careers.
University of Missouri - Columbia is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies. Mizzou is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia.
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies bachelor's degree recipients from University of Missouri - Columbia earn a boost of about $3,316 above the average income of parks, recreation & leisure studies majors.
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation & leisure studies has to look into Northwest Missouri State University. Located in the town of Maryville, Northwest is a public university with a medium-sized student population.
Those parks, recreation & leisure studies students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwest Missouri State University earn $6,980 more than the typical parks & rec student.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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.