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

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$10,939 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,166 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, 151 degrees and certificates were awarded to parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who went to a Minnesota college or university. This makes it the #17 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. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

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 Minnesota to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in Minnesota 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. 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 Minnesota

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

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

$10,184 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Winona State University the best value school in Minnesota for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Winona State is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Winona.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Winona State are $10,184 per year.

Winona State also took the #2 spot in our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Minnesota rankings.

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

#2

Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN
$9,170 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Saint Cloud State University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. St. Cloud State University is a large public school located in the city of Saint Cloud.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at St. Cloud State University are $9,170 per year.

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

$9,146 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Minnesota list. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the city of Mankato.

Minnesota State Mankato undergraduate students pay an average of $9,146 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Minnesota State Mankato also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Minnesota list, coming in at #3.

Read More…

$23,900 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Concordia University, Saint Paul helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Minnesota. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Concordia University, Saint Paul is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Concordia University, Saint Paul are $23,900 per year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Saint Paul

$15,254 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Minnesota list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UMN Twin Cities are $15,254 a year.

UMN Twin Cities did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Minnesota list.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 50
Missouri 247
Iowa 136
North Dakota 36
Nebraska 36
South Dakota 61

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 5 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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