2026 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois
[Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies](/majors/parks-recreation-fitness/parks-recreation-leisure-studies/parks-recreation-and-leisure-studies/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for parks, recreation & leisure studies students.
What’s on this page:
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2026 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in parks, recreation & leisure studies, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
For return on investment in parks, recreation & leisure studies, no school beat University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign this year. Located in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $18,267, with out-of-state students paying around $40,096. Students borrow a median of $23,447 to complete the parks, recreation & leisure studies program here. Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies graduates of University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign earn a median of $41,234 early in their careers. Set against $23,447 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 42%.
Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, 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 2 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.
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