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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

9 Colleges
$31,285 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$33,338 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 327 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a New York college or university. This makes it the #25 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York ranking. Our analysis looked at 9 schools in New York 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. 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.

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

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

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

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

#1

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn, NY
$7,440 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Brooklyn College to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a degree in New York. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Brooklyn College are $7,440 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Brooklyn College Report

#2

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, NY
$8,815 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at SUNY Cortland helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in New York. Located in the town of Cortland, SUNY Cortland is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SUNY Cortland are $8,815 a year.

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

#3

Canisius College

Buffalo, NY
$30,910 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Canisius College is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Canisius is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Buffalo.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Canisius are $30,910 per year.

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

#4

Queens College

Queens, NY
$7,538 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Queens College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in New York. QC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Queens.

QC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,538 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#5

Manhattanville College

Purchase, NY
$40,380 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Manhattanville College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in New York. Manhattanville is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Purchase.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Manhattanville are $40,380 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Manhattanville College Report

#6

Niagara University

Niagara University, NY
$35,980 Average Tuition & Fees

Niagara University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York list. Niagara is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Niagara University.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Niagara are $35,980 per year.

Read More…

$62,466 Average Tuition & Fees

Columbia University in the City of New York 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 #7 on the list. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Columbia are $62,466 per year.

Columbia not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in New York list.

Read More…

$45,562 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, St John’s University - New York did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large city of Queens, STJ is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

STJ undergraduate students pay an average of $45,562 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at St John’s University - New York Report

#9

Adelphi University

Garden City, NY
$42,475 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Adelphi University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Adelphi is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Garden City.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Adelphi are $42,475 a year.

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

Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 610
Maryland 32
New Jersey 79
District of Columbia 213
Delaware 23

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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