2026 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois
[Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies](/majors/parks-recreation-fitness/parks-recreation-leisure-studies/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
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:
2026 Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the parks, recreation & leisure studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign tops our 2026 list of the best value parks, recreation & leisure studies schools in Illinois. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign. In-state tuition and fees average $18,267, compared with $40,096 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates is $23,447. Early-career parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates make about $41,234. That is a strong return on a $23,447 median debt. Roughly 42% 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 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.
