2026 Best Value Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in Michigan
[Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy](/majors/health-care-professions/rehab-and-therapeutic-professions/therapeutic-recreation-recreational-therapy/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students.
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2026 Best Value Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in Michigan
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools
For return on investment in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy, no school beat Central Michigan University this year. Set in the town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan University is a large public institution. Students from in state pay about $15,480 in tuition and fees. Therapeutic Recreation/recreational Therapy graduates carry a median of $27,000 in student loans. Therapeutic Recreation/recreational Therapy graduates of Central Michigan University earn a median of $57,073 early in their careers. Set against $27,000 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 90% of applicants are accepted.
Students looking for strong value in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy will find it at Eastern Michigan University, which ranked #2. Eastern Michigan University is a large public school located in the suburb of Ypsilanti. In-state tuition and fees average $16,990. Therapeutic Recreation/recreational Therapy graduates carry a median of $27,425 in student loans. Early-career therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy graduates make about $43,271. Set against $27,425 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 80%.
Grand Valley State University is a great value for students pursuing a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy, landing the #3 spot this year. Grand Valley State University is a very large public school located in the town of Allendale. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $15,502, while out-of-state students pay about $21,894. Typical student debt for therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy graduates is $27,000. Soon after graduation, therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy degree recipients from Grand Valley State University generally make around $65,197. That is a strong return on a $27,000 median debt. Roughly 83% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 3 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
