by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re a veteran, service member, or military-affiliated student looking to study parks, recreation, and leisure studies. at the Master’s Degree level, you’ve come to the right place. The list below highlights 6 colleges that stand out for veteran parks, recreation, and leisure studies. students, using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits (including GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community. So you can compare your options, College Factual evaluated colleges nationwide, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Want to compare schools head to head? Check out our College Combat tool to weigh the factors that matter most to you.
Narrow this ranking to a degree level below:
Learn more about these veteran-friendly parks, recreation, and leisure studies. colleges below:
Leading the list is University of Toledo, our #1 parks, recreation, and leisure studies. college for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 80.8 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. Read more about parks, recreation, and leisure studies. at University of Toledo
A rank of #2 makes State University of New York at Cortland one of the top parks, recreation, and leisure studies. colleges for veteran students. It scores 77.2 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 33.3. More about the parks, recreation, and leisure studies. program at State University of New York at Cortland
A rank of #3 makes Indiana University-Bloomington one of the top parks, recreation, and leisure studies. colleges for veteran students. The school's overall veterans score is 77.2 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the parks, recreation, and leisure studies. program at Indiana University-Bloomington
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign came in at #4 on our 2026 list of the best parks, recreation, and leisure studies. colleges for veterans. It scores 75.4 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. Read more about parks, recreation, and leisure studies. at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Northwest Missouri State University is a great choice for veterans pursuing parks, recreation, and leisure studies., landing the #5 spot this year. The school's overall veterans score is 74.6 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. See the full parks, recreation, and leisure studies. report for Northwest Missouri State University
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale placed #6 among the best parks, recreation, and leisure studies. colleges for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 74.5 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. See the full parks, recreation, and leisure studies. report for Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students studying parks, recreation, and leisure studies.: affordability and veteran financial benefits (GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community.
These rankings are produced by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.
