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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

12 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

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

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #17 most popular major in Illinois with 2,396 degrees and certificates awarded 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs 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 Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois

Check out the parks and rec master'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 Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be the best school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Northwestern University Report

#3

North Central College

Naperville, IL

The excellent master’s degree programs at North Central College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Illinois. North Central is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Naperville.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at North Central College

#4

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Out of the 12 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Chicago landed the # 4 spot on the list. 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

The excellent master’s degree programs at Illinois State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Illinois. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Illinois State University Report

With a ranking of #6, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. UIC is a very large public school located in the city of Chicago.

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#7

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Aurora.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Aurora University Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.

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

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

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

With a ranking of #10, Northern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 1,818
Michigan 2,279
Ohio 2,647
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 12 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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