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

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

32 Colleges
$10,621 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,728 Avg Salary

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

With 843 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies is the #16 most popular major in Texas.

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

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Texas to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 32 schools in Texas 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.

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 Texas

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

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

$9,202 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named West Texas A&M University the best value school in Texas for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.

West Texas A&M University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,202 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at West Texas A&M University

#2

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX
$7,790 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Tarleton State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Texas. Tarleton is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Stephenville.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Tarleton are $7,790 a year.

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

$8,394 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Texas Woman’s University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Texas. Located in the midsize city of Denton, TWU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at TWU are $8,394 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas Woman’s University Report

$12,204 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Texas A&M University - College Station is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Texas A&M College Station are $12,204 per year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Texas A&M College Station is ranked #4 for overall quality for parks and rec in Texas.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M University - College Station

$9,748 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 32 schools in Texas that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Corpus Christi is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Texas A&M Corpus Christi are $9,748 per year.

Read More…

$9,892 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas A&M University - Kingsville came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Texas ranking. Located in the town of Kingsville, Texas A&M Kingsville is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Texas A&M Kingsville are $9,892 a year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M University - Kingsville

$10,026 Average Tuition & Fees

Texas A&M University - Commerce 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 town of Commerce, Texas A&M Commerce is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Texas A&M Commerce are $10,026 per year.

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$11,090 Average Tuition & Fees

University of North Texas ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Texas list. Located in the city of Denton, UNT is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNT are $11,090 per year.

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

#9

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX
$9,776 Average Tuition & Fees

MSU Texas ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Texas list. MSU Texas is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Wichita Falls.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Texas are $9,776 per year.

Read More…

#10

Lamar University

Beaumont, TX
$8,690 Average Tuition & Fees

Lamar 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. Lamar University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Beaumont.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lamar University are $8,690 per year.

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

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Arizona 36
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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