2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Middle Atlantic region, there were 7,835 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,659 and $25,497 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 19 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,944 and $116,843 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs, but they also 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, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic Region

#1

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, New York

#1 in overall quality

$51,194 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #1 spot on the list. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 1 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Columbia University in the City of New York are $51,194, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York

#2

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland

#2 in overall quality

$30,885 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Maryland - College Park. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Maryland - College Park is a public institution located in College Park, Maryland. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UMCP not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UMCP are $30,885.

Full University of Maryland - College Park Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#3

Rutgers University - New Brunswick

New Brunswick, New Jersey

#4 in overall quality

$32,132 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Rutgers University - New Brunswick landed the #3 spot on the list. Rutgers University - New Brunswick is a large school located in New Brunswick, New Jersey that handed out 4 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Rutgers New Brunswick not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Rutgers University - New Brunswick are $32,132, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Rutgers University - New Brunswick Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#4

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$24,236 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Middle Atlantic Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Temple University landed the #4 spot on the list. Temple is a public institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Temple also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Temple are $24,236, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Temple University

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

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

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