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Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region

20 Colleges
$33,140 Avg Salary
$23,596 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies School for You

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the #169 most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Indiana University - Bloomington the most popular school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Parks & Rec majors at IU Bloomington take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $478, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $20,500 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $226, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the fringe town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public school with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at BGSU take out is $25,873. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $513, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a great place for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at SIUC take out is $20,864.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. OHIO Athens is a very large public school located in the distant town of Athens.

On average, parks and rec graduates from OHIO Athens take out $24,499 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus Report

Northern Michigan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #6 on the list. Northern Michigan University is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Marquette.

The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at Northern Michigan University take out is $18,420.

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#7

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

University of Toledo came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Toledo is a large public school located in the large city of Toledo.

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#8

Central State University

Wilberforce, OH

Central State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Central State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Wilberforce.

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

#9

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL

Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for parks, recreation and leisure studies students. It came in at #9 on the list. Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Bourbonnais.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Olivet Nazarene University

#10

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation and leisure studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 16
Ohio 101
Illinois 196
Indiana 161

One of 4 majors within the area of study, parks, recreation and leisure studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Outdoor Education 265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 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 the rest 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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