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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

10 Ranked Colleges
675 Degrees Awarded
$22,000 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 72,122 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 2,352 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,766 and $23,636 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 675 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

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 Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 38 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567.

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

#1 in overall quality

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 Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 44 diplomas to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UIUC

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s parks and rec degrees to 65 students in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville are $9,300, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at SIUE

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 7 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UIC

#5

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Normal, Illinois, and it awarded 78 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Illinois State Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Northern Illinois University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Northern Illinois University is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 masters’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

NIU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. Average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full NIU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#7

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Eastern Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Charleston, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 38 degrees to qualified masters’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

EIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761.

Full EIU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 24 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 74 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. Average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western Illinois University

#10

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Concordia University, Chicago landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 257 masters’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378, but some majors have different tuition rates.

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

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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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