2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Iowa

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Iowa” 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 Iowa, there were 1,572 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,615 and $25,199 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 77 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,298 and $45,299 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa” ranking analyzed 4 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.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa master’s degree parks & rec students.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Iowa

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 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 #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 22 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Iowa are $27,613, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 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 #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa. Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this medium-sized public school handed out 21 degrees to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNI, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Northern Iowa are $22,648, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

#3

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

#3 in overall quality

$9,170 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Grand View University landed the #3 spot on the list. Grand View University is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our iowa master’s degree parks & rec students list, Grand View University has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Grand View University are $9,170, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Grand View University

#4

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

#4 in overall quality

$19,152 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Upper Iowa University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Iowa list. UIU is located in Fayette, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

UIU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Upper Iowa University are $19,152, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

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