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

9 Ranked Colleges
843 Degrees Awarded
$18,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in Maryland

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Maryland” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. 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 Maryland, there were 935 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,940 and $24,379 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 843 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,371 and $23,982 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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

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 Maryland” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

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

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Maryland

#1

University of Maryland - College Park

College Park, Maryland
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Maryland - College Park. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland. College Park, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 238 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, UMCP has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $19,045 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend UMCP.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.

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

#2

Towson University

Towson, Maryland
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Towson University landed the #2 spot on the list. Towson is located in Towson, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 280 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Towson not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list. The yearly cost to attend Towson University is $18,233 for maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

#3

Salisbury University

Salisbury, Maryland
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Salisbury University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland. This medium-sized school is located in Salisbury, Maryland, and it awarded 135 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Salisbury not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list. The estimated yearly cost for Salisbury University is $19,617 for maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

#4

Frostburg State University

Frostburg, Maryland
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland that were part of this year’s ranking, Frostburg State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Frostburg State University is a public institution located in Frostburg, Maryland. The school has a small population, and it awarded 60 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Frostburg State also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Frostburg State is $16,676 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

#5

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Princess Anne, Maryland
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland Eastern Shore. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland list. University of Maryland Eastern Shore is located in Princess Anne, Maryland and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 35 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, UMES has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Maryland Eastern Shore is $16,980 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

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

#6

Bowie State University

Bowie, Maryland
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Bowie State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland list. Bowie State University is a public institution located in Bowie, Maryland. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bowie State University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. It costs about $15,934 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Bowie State University.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Bowie State University

#7

Coppin State University

Baltimore, Maryland
#9 in overall quality

Coppin State University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland ranking. Coppin is a small public school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 12 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, Coppin has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Coppin State University is $11,686 for maryland bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

#8

Mount St Mary's University

Emmitsburg, Maryland
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Mount St Mary’s University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland list. Emmitsburg, Maryland is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

The Mount not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list. It costs about $27,954 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Mount St Mary’s University.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Mount St Mary’s University

#9

McDaniel College

Westminster, Maryland
#5 in overall quality

McDaniel College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Maryland ranking, coming in at #9. McDaniel College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Westminster, Maryland. The school has a small population, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

McDaniel also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Maryland” list, coming in at #5. The estimated yearly cost for McDaniel is $18,182 for Maryland Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

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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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