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

13 Ranked Colleges
914 Degrees Awarded
$16,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in Kentucky

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Kentucky” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Kentucky, there were 1,150 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,778 and $25,841 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 914 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,401 and $24,684 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 Bachelor’s in Kentucky

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

Top 13 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Kentucky

#1

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Louisville landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 239 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UofL, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UofL is $16,867 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

#2

University of the Cumberlands

Williamsburg, Kentucky
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the Cumberlands. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Cumberlands is a fairly large school located in Williamsburg, Kentucky that handed out 44 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, Cumberlands has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. It costs about $16,894 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Cumberlands.

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

#3

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Kentucky
#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Kentucky University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it awarded 160 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

WKU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $11,962 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend WKU.

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

#4

Murray State University

Murray, Kentucky
#10 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Murray State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky. Murray State is a public institution located in Murray, Kentucky. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Murray State, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Murray State is $11,390 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

#5

Morehead State University

Morehead, Kentucky
#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Morehead State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Morehead, Kentucky is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 62 students in 2019-2020.

Morehead State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. It costs about $12,421 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Morehead State University.

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

#6

Eastern Kentucky University

Richmond, Kentucky
#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Eastern Kentucky University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Eastern Kentucky University is a public institution located in Richmond, Kentucky. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 125 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Eastern also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $14,149 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Eastern Kentucky University.

Full Eastern Kentucky University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#7

Kentucky Wesleyan College

Owensboro, Kentucky
#3 in overall quality

Kentucky Wesleyan College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky ranking. Located in Owensboro, Kentucky, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Wesleyan also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Kentucky Wesleyan College is $18,605 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full Kentucky Wesleyan College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#8

Asbury University

Wilmore, Kentucky
#7 in overall quality

Asbury University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Wilmore, Kentucky 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 35 students in 2019-2020.

Asbury not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. The estimated yearly cost for Asbury is $27,631 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full Asbury University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#9

Thomas More University

Crestview Hills, Kentucky
#6 in overall quality

Thomas More University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky ranking. Thomas More is a private not-for-profit institution located in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Thomas More not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. The yearly cost to attend Thomas More University is $19,161 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full Thomas More University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#10

Campbellsville University

Campbellsville, Kentucky
#13 in overall quality

With a ranking of #10, Campbellsville University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Campbellsville University is located in Campbellsville, Kentucky and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Campbellsville University, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Campbellsville University is $17,689 for kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

#11

Berea College

Berea, Kentucky
#1 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, Berea College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. Berea is a small school located in Berea, Kentucky that handed out 24 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Berea also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Berea is $5,184 for Kentucky Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

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

#12

Georgetown College

Georgetown, Kentucky
#4 in overall quality

Georgetown College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky list. This small school is located in Georgetown, Kentucky, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Georgetown College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” list. It costs about $17,300 for Kentucky Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Georgetown College.

Full Georgetown College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#13

Bellarmine University

Louisville, Kentucky
#5 in overall quality

Bellarmine University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Kentucky ranking. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 46 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our kentucky bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, Bellarmine U has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Kentucky” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bellarmine U is $23,121 for Kentucky Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Full Bellarmine University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

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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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