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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas

47 Ranked Colleges
6,010 Degrees Awarded
$12,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in Texas

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 Texas” 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 Texas, there were 7,340 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 6,010 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas” ranking looked at 47 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs, but they also 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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

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 Bachelor’s in Texas”.

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. 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 Texas

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

Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Texas

#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. UT Austin is located in Austin, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 247 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Austin, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas at Austin is $18,023 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, 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 97%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at Austin

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 47 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #2 spot on the list. Texas A&M College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 453 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Texas A&M College Station also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M College Station is $19,057 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M College Station

#3

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas Tech University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas. Texas Tech is a public institution located in Lubbock, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 349 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Texas Tech, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. It costs about $17,571 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Texas Tech.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

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

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 47 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston - Clear Lake landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Houston - Clear Lake is a public institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 63 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UH Clear Lake did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” list. It costs about $10,612 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend UH Clear Lake.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UH Clear Lake

#15 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Located in Odessa, Texas, this medium-sized public school awarded 46 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Permian Basin, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Texas of the Permian Basin is $10,092 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full UT Permian Basin Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, Texas
#10 in overall quality

Tarleton State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking. Stephenville, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 222 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tarleton, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Tarleton State University is $18,979 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

#7

University of Houston

Houston, Texas
#8 in overall quality

University of Houston did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Houston, Texas, this large public school handed out 439 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

UH also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for University of Houston is $12,838 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

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

#13 in overall quality

The University of Texas at San Antonio did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking, coming in at #8. The University of Texas at San Antonio is located in San Antonio, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 355 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UTSA, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. It costs about $13,853 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend UTSA.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio

#9

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Texas State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. This large school is located in San Marcos, Texas, and it awarded 551 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas State also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas State University is $15,230 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Full Texas State University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#10

Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, Texas
#14 in overall quality

Sam Houston State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking, coming in at #10. Sam Houston State University is a large public school situated in Huntsville, Texas. It awarded 141 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SHSU, the school also landed the #14 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Sam Houston State University is $14,617 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

#11

University of North Texas

Denton, Texas
#9 in overall quality

University of North Texas ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Denton, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 308 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNT, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UNT is $15,086 for texas 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.

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

#19 in overall quality

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking. UT Rio Grande Valley is a public institution located in Edinburg, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 305 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Rio Grande Valley, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. It costs about $4,514 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

#13

Texas Woman's University

Denton, Texas
#18 in overall quality

Texas Woman’s University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. TWU is located in Denton, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 126 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, TWU has also earned the #18 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Texas Woman’s University is $9,617 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

#14

West Texas A&M University

Canyon, Texas
#24 in overall quality

With a ranking of #14, West Texas A&M University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. West Texas A&M University is located in Canyon, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 58 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

West Texas A&M University also took the #24 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for West Texas A&M University is $12,761 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at West Texas A&M University

#11 in overall quality

The University of Texas at Arlington came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking. UT Arlington is a public institution located in Arlington, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 235 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” list, coming in at #11. It costs about $14,246 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend The University of Texas at Arlington.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at The University of Texas at Arlington

#16

Angelo State University

San Angelo, Texas
#23 in overall quality

With a ranking of #16, Angelo State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. This fairly large school is located in San Angelo, Texas, and it awarded 95 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Angelo State, the school also landed the #23 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Angelo State is $13,819 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

#16 in overall quality

With a ranking of #17, Stephen F Austin State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Nacogdoches, Texas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 146 students in 2019-2020.

SFASU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” list. The estimated yearly cost for SFASU is $13,723 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Stephen F Austin State University

#21 in overall quality

The University of Texas at Tyler ranked #18 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. UT Tyler is a medium-sized public school situated in Tyler, Texas. It awarded 91 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Tyler did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” list. It costs about $10,974 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend The University of Texas at Tyler.

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

#19

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, Texas
#17 in overall quality

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Texas A&M Corpus Christi is a fairly large public school situated in Corpus Christi, Texas. It awarded 109 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi also took the #17 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Texas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi is $16,332 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M Corpus Christi

#20

Lamar University

Beaumont, Texas

Lamar University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking, coming in at #20. Lamar University is a public institution located in Beaumont, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend Lamar University is $12,311 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

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

Texas A&M University - Kingsville came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking. Texas A&M University - Kingsville is a public institution located in Kingsville, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 95 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $13,778 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Texas A&M University - Kingsville.

Full Texas A&M University - Kingsville Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

With a ranking of #22, Texas A&M University - Commerce did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Located in Commerce, Texas, this fairly large public school handed out 75 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

It costs about $13,017 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Texas A&M Commerce.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M University - Commerce

With a ranking of #23, Texas A&M International University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. Texas A&M International University is a medium-sized public school situated in Laredo, Texas. It awarded 62 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for Texas A&M International University is $3,074 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Texas A&M International University

#24

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, Texas

MSU Texas did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas ranking, coming in at #24. MSU Texas is a medium-sized school located in Wichita Falls, Texas that handed out 28 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

The yearly cost to attend MSU Texas is $10,045 for Texas Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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

With a ranking of #25, The University of Texas at El Paso did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Texas list. The University of Texas at El Paso is a large school located in El Paso, Texas that handed out 169 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $8,920 for texas bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend The University of Texas at El Paso.

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

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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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