2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 Plains States region, there were 5,808 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,644 and $24,923 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 17 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,701 and $106,703 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs and cost less that 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k” 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. 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 in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region doctor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Plains States Region

#1

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 #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k. UNI is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full University of Northern Iowa Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$25,948 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Ames, Iowa, this large public school awarded 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Iowa State University are $25,948.

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

#3

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$27,613 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k. Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 5 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Iowa are $27,613.

Full Iowa Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#4

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Omaha, Nebraska

#4 in overall quality

$16,374 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Plains States Region For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Nebraska at Omaha landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Nebraska at Omaha is a fairly large public school situated in Omaha, Nebraska. It awarded 1 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region doctor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k list, UNOMAHA has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Nebraska at Omaha are $16,374.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $75-$110k)

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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