2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Rocky Mountains Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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” 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” ranking looked at 2 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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

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

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

#1

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

#1 in overall quality

$24,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Utah is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

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. Average graduate tuition and fees at U of U are $24,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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 2 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Doctorate in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Colorado landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Northern Colorado is a public institution located in Greeley, Colorado. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 12 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Northern Colorado, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Colorado are $21,708, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

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

#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 list. Colorado State University - Fort Collins is located in Fort Collins, Colorado and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Colorado State 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 Rocky Mountains Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Colorado State are $28,055, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

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

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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