2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
5
Ranked Colleges
145
Degrees Awarded
$31,896
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 166th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 247 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,896 and $23,205 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 145 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,112 and $26,227 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree 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 a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s”.
Top 5 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. This large school is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
OSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 1,038 of the 24,535 students enrolled at OSU were GI Bill® students, of which 439 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,226. During this same period, 39 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. OSU offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Arizona University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. NAU is located in Flagstaff, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 52 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our southwest region bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, NAU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.Among the 29,566 students enrolled at Northern Arizona University, 1,055 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 622 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,378. On top of their other funding sources, 56 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at NAU]](/colleges/northern-arizona-university/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Central Oklahoma. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Edmond, Oklahoma is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
UCO did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.According to our most recent data, University of Central Oklahoma supports 14,132 students, and 934 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 428 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,062. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is located in Durant, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 265 of the 5,607 students enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University were GI Bill® students, of which 152 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,866. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Southeastern Oklahoma State University]](/colleges/southeastern-oklahoma-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend MSU Texas. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Located in Wichita Falls, Texas, this medium-sized public school handed out 12 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
MSU Texas also took the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking.Of the 5,860 students enrolled at MSU Texas, 318 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 137 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,829. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
[Read full report on veteran student life at MSU Texas]](/colleges/midwestern-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
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