2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 72,122 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Iowa, there were 1,572 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,615 and $25,199 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 77 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,298 and $45,299 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness 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 “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” 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. 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 Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

#1

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

$25,948 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #0 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Iowa State University are $25,948, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 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 Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k. UNI is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 21 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UNI

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$27,613 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. University of Iowa is a public institution located in Iowa City, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Iowa are $27,613, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Iowa

#4

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$9,170 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Grand View University landed the #4 spot on the list. Grand View University is a small school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 13 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Grand View University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Grand View University are $9,170.

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

#5

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$19,152 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Upper Iowa University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k list. This small school is located in Fayette, Iowa, and it awarded 17 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Upper Iowa University are $19,152, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UIU

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k)

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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