2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Iowa

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Iowa, there were 127 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,350 and $23,000 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 115 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking, we looked at 2 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Top 2 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Iowa

#1

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$15,620 Average Net Price

$35,416 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. UNI is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 48 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNI, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $15,620 for iowa bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend University of Northern Iowa.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Northern Iowa

#2

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

#1 in overall quality

$19,145 Average Net Price

$36,398 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Iowa is a large public school situated in Iowa City, Iowa. It awarded 67 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Iowa did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Iowa is $19,145 for iowa bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Iowa Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Plains States Region
• 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.

Featured Athletic Training Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >