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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

5 Colleges

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

Our 2023 rankings named Ohio State University - Main Campus the best school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

#2

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Concordia University, Chicago is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of River Forest.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Chicago Report

Out of the 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Miami University - Oxford landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public college with a large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Miami University - Oxford

#4

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

Out of the 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Wright State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Wright State University - Main Campus is a large public school located in the large suburb of Dayton.

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

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

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools 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 5 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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