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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$26,283 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$69,500 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #18 most popular major in the country with 10,452 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 19 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

Our analysis found Clemson University to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Southeast Region . Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Clemson are $23,246 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Clemson is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.

Read More…

Out of the 19 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, United States Sports Academy landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Daphne, The Academy is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at The Academy are $19,440 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at United States Sports Academy Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern Mississippi. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Southern Miss is a fairly large public school located in the city of Hattiesburg.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southern Miss are $11,204 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Southern Mississippi Report

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at North Carolina State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Southeast Region . Located in the city of Raleigh, NC State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at NC State are $29,690 a year.

NC State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.

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#5

Troy University

Troy, AL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Troy University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. TROY is a large public school located in the remote town of Troy.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at TROY are $17,100 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Troy University Report

University of South Carolina - Columbia ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UofSC is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UofSC are $30,160 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of South Carolina - Columbia

#7

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR

University of Arkansas ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. UARK is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Fayetteville.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UARK are $22,563 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Arkansas Report

University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Located in the city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UNC Greensboro are $21,983 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

#9

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

University of Georgia came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. UGA is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Athens.

UGA graduate students pay an average of $27,464 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UGA is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.

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

#10

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL

Florida State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. Florida State is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Tallahassee.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Florida State are $26,707 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Florida State University Report

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools for a specific state in the Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 160
Florida 448
North Carolina 289
Virginia 433
Tennessee 287
Georgia 308
South Carolina 220
Louisiana 152
West Virginia 236
Kentucky 279
Arkansas 292
Alabama 216

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 9,742
Recreation Administration 441
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 206
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 35
Outdoor Education 28

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 53,252
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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