2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 the Rocky Mountains region, there were 2,643 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,100 and $19,813 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 22 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,140 and $97,138 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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

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 Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region (With Aid)

#1

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

#1 in overall quality

$24,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

U of U 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 Rocky Mountains Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at U of U are $24,695.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Utah

#2

University of Northern Colorado

Greeley, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$21,708 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Colorado landed the #2 spot on the list. Greeley, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s parks and rec degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

University of Northern Colorado did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Colorado are $21,708, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Colorado

#3

Colorado State University - Fort Collins

Fort Collins, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$28,055 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Getting Aid list. Colorado State University - Fort Collins is a large public school situated in Fort Collins, Colorado. It awarded 3 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado State also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Colorado State University - Fort Collins are $28,055, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Colorado State University - Fort Collins Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

• Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (With Aid)

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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