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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

10 Colleges
$69,500 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies was ranked #15 in the country. In fact 73,813 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the parks and rec doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of Michigan - Ann Arbor the best school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the # 2 spot on the list. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the city of Bloomington.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

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The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Ohio State University - Main Campus helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus Report

#6

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Concordia University, Chicago landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

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#7

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

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

#8

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #8, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Report

#10

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

University of Toledo came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large city of Toledo, University of Toledo is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 1,818
Michigan 2,279
Ohio 2,647
Illinois 2,396
Wisconsin 1,001

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3,106
Outdoor Education 265
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Public Administration & Social Service 98,583
Legal Professions 61,055
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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