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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

41 Colleges
$14,750 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master'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.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 41 schools in the Southwest Region to see which master's degree 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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

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

Our analysis found West Texas A&M University to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 a year.

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#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means MSU Texas is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Wichita Falls, MSU Texas is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

MSU Texas graduate students pay an average of $8,056 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at MSU Texas Report

Out of the 41 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeastern Oklahoma State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Durant.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $11,376 per year.

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#4

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Tarleton State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the remote town of Stephenville, Tarleton is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Tarleton are $15,031 a year.

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#5

Howard Payne University

Brownwood, TX

The excellent master’s degree programs at Howard Payne University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Southwest Region . Howard Payne is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Brownwood.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Howard Payne are $10,080 a year.

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

East Central University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the town of Ada, ECU is a public college with a small student population.

ECU graduate students pay an average of $11,634 in tuition and fees each year.

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

Southern Nazarene University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. SNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bethany.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SNU are $13,990 per year.

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

Texas Woman’s University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. TWU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Denton.

TWU graduate students pay an average of $15,048 in tuition and fees each year.

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University of North Texas did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UNT is a very large public school located in the city of Denton.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UNT are $15,600 a year.

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

#10

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX

Lamar University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the city of Beaumont, Lamar University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Lamar University graduate students pay an average of $15,755 in tuition and fees each year.

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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 Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 36
Texas 843
Oklahoma 276
New Mexico 25

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 25 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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