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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

6 Colleges
$22,589 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$34,351 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for You

With 122 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #21 most popular major in Washington.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in Washington to see which programs offered the best value experiences for parks and rec students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges.

Best Washington Schools for Affordable Quality in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

$7,922 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Eastern Washington University the best value school in Washington for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. EWU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cheney.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EWU are $7,922 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Eastern Washington University Report

$8,685 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Washington University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington list. CWU is a large public school located in the town of Ellensburg.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CWU are $8,685 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Central Washington University Report

$12,417 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Washington State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Washington. Located in the town of Pullman, Wazzu is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Wazzu are $12,417 per year.

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

#4

Seattle University

Seattle, WA
$49,335 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Seattle University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington list. Seattle U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Seattle.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Seattle U are $49,335 per year.

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

#5

Gonzaga University

Spokane, WA
$48,470 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Gonzaga University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Gonzaga is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Spokane.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Gonzaga are $48,470 a year.

Gonzaga did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Washington list.

Read More…

$8,703 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Washington University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Bellingham, WWU is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WWU are $8,703 a year.

Read More…

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 1,097
Oregon 67
Nevada 13
Hawaii 12
Alaska 5

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

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 6 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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