2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Master’s in Kentucky” 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 Kentucky, there were 1,150 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,778 and $25,841 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 179 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,847 and $34,311 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Kentucky

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Kentucky

#1

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Kentucky

#1 in overall quality

$18,340 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Kentucky University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky list. Western Kentucky University is a fairly large school located in Bowling Green, Kentucky that handed out 66 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WKU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Kentucky University are $18,340, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Western Kentucky University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

#3 in overall quality

$27,575 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Louisville landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 29 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofL, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Louisville are $27,575, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#3

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

#2 in overall quality

$33,216 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Kentucky. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky. Located in Lexington, Kentucky, this large public school awarded 31 degrees to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

UK also took the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UK are $33,216.

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

#4

Morehead State University

Morehead, Kentucky

#4 in overall quality

$10,512 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Morehead State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky list. This medium-sized school is located in Morehead, Kentucky, and it awarded 7 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Morehead State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Morehead State University are $10,512, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#5

Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, Kentucky

#5 in overall quality

$14,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Kentucky University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Kentucky list. This fairly large school is located in Richmond, Kentucky, and it awarded 35 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Eastern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Kentucky University are $14,500.

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

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Master’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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