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

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$18,236 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,288 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 192 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a Indiana college or university. This makes it the #20 most popular major in the state.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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 Schools in Indiana ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 9 schools in Indiana to see which ones offered the best value programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

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

Check out the parks and rec programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

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

$25,044 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Grace College and Theological Seminary the best value school in Indiana for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the town of Winona Lake, Grace College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Grace College are $25,044 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Grace College and Theological Seminary Report

#2

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
$9,992 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Indiana list. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Purdue are $9,992 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Purdue is ranked #2 for overall quality for parks and rec in Indiana.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus

$11,333 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Indiana University - Bloomington helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Indiana. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a fairly large student population.

IU Bloomington undergraduate students pay an average of $11,333 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, IU Bloomington is ranked #3 for overall quality for parks and rec in Indiana.

Read More…

#4

Valparaiso University

Valparaiso, IN
$44,796 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Valparaiso University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Indiana. Located in the suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Valpo are $44,796 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Valpo also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Indiana list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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

$10,044 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 9 schools in Indiana that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the # 5 spot on the list. IUPUI is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

IUPUI undergraduate students pay an average of $10,044 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

#6

Ball State University

Muncie, IN
$10,290 Average Tuition & Fees

Ball State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Indiana ranking. Ball State is a very large public school located in the city of Muncie.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ball State are $10,290 per year.

Ball State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Indiana list.

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$9,509 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Southern Indiana ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Indiana list. USI is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Evansville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at USI are $9,509 a year.

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

#8

Indiana State University

Terre Haute, IN
$9,598 Average Tuition & Fees

Indiana State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Terre Haute, Indiana State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Indiana State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,598 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#9

University of Indianapolis

Indianapolis, IN
$33,516 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of Indianapolis did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. UIndy is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Indianapolis.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIndy are $33,516 per year.

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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Illinois 797
Ohio 478
Wisconsin 117
Michigan 222

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 9 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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