2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 517 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,400 and $24,739 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 89 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region

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

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Ohio University - Athens Campus

Athens, Ohio

#3 in overall quality

$17,712 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. OHIO Athens is located in Athens, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

OHIO Athens also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Ohio University - Athens Campus are $17,712, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Ohio University - Athens Campus Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$44,728 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 29 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UIUC are $30,083.

Full UIUC Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#3

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

#2 in overall quality

$33,338 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$46,673 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #3 spot on the list. IU Bloomington is a large school located in Bloomington, Indiana that handed out 23 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338.

Full IU Bloomington Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4

University of Toledo

Toledo, Ohio

#4 in overall quality

$27,067 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$37,208 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Toledo. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Toledo, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s parks and rec degrees to 19 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Toledo, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Toledo are $27,067, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Toledo

• Best Value Master’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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