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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

14 Colleges
$16,644 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$30,773 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 448 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a Florida college or university. This makes it the #19 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Schools in Florida ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Florida 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.

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. 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.

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

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

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

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

$6,368 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named University of Central Florida the best value school in Florida for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. UCF is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Orlando.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCF are $6,368 per year.

UCF also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

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

$6,565 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Florida International University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Florida. FIU is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Miami.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at FIU are $6,565 a year.

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

#3

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL
$6,381 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 14 schools in Florida that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UF are $6,381 per year.

UF also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida list, coming in at #1.

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

$6,410 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of South Florida - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida list. Located in the city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public school with a very large student population.

USF Tampa undergraduate students pay an average of $6,410 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#5

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL
$5,964 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of North Florida is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large city of Jacksonville, UNF is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNF are $5,964 a year.

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

$5,776 Average Tuition & Fees

The University of West Florida 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of Pensacola, UWF is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UWF are $5,776 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of West Florida Report

#7

Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL
$4,879 Average Tuition & Fees

Florida Atlantic University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the small city of Boca Raton, FAU is a public college with a very large student population.

FAU undergraduate students pay an average of $4,879 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

#8

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
$6,517 Average Tuition & Fees

Florida 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. Florida State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Florida State are $6,517 a year.

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

Read More…

$5,785 Average Tuition & Fees

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Florida ranking. Located in the midsize city of Tallahassee, Florida A&M University is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Florida A&M University undergraduate students pay an average of $5,785 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Report

#10

Southeastern University

Lakeland, FL
$28,320 Average Tuition & Fees

Southeastern 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 #10 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Lakeland, SEU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

SEU undergraduate students pay an average of $28,320 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 160
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

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 14 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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