2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 152nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,957 and had an average of $22,487 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southwest region, there were 323 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,825 and $18,443 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 189 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,896 and $23,899 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Southwest Region

#1

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Durant, Oklahoma

#2 in overall quality

$8,237 Average Net Price

$32,284 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a medium-sized school located in Durant, Oklahoma that handed out 11 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University is $8,237 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southeastern Oklahoma State University

#2

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, Texas

#5 in overall quality

$10,045 Average Net Price

$25,967 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, MSU Texas landed the #2 spot on the list. MSU Texas is located in Wichita Falls, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSU Texas, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $10,045 for Southwest Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend MSU Texas.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at MSU Texas

#3

University of Central Oklahoma

Edmond, Oklahoma

#3 in overall quality

$16,562 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Central Oklahoma. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region. This fairly large school is located in Edmond, Oklahoma, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UCO also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for UCO is $16,562 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full University of Central Oklahoma Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, Arizona

#4 in overall quality

$12,915 Average Net Price

$27,590 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #4 spot on the list. Flagstaff, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 78 students in 2019-2020.

NAU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $12,915 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend NAU.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northern Arizona University

#5

Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

Stillwater, Oklahoma

#1 in overall quality

$14,648 Average Net Price

$28,212 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. OSU is a large public school situated in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It awarded 40 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at OSU, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $14,648 for southwest region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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