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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

10 Ranked Colleges
675 Degrees Awarded
$22,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 Illinois, there were 2,352 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,766 and $23,636 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 675 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness 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 “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s parks and rec degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567.

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

#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 44 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

#3

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Concordia University, Chicago is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 257 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Concordia University, Chicago, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Chicago

#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. SIUE is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 65 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUE are $9,300, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at SIUE

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 25 diplomas to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northern Illinois University are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Northern Illinois University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Charleston, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s parks and rec degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

EIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #7. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

UIC also took the #0 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago

#6 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 24 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at SIUC

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 74 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western Illinois University

#10

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #10. This large school is located in Normal, Illinois, and it awarded 78 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State University are $11,069.

Full Illinois State University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

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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.

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