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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$30,013 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for parks and rec students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

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

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Concordia University, Chicago the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

Concordia University, Chicago graduate students pay an average of $9,378 in tuition and fees each year.

Concordia University, Chicago excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 a year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Madison also did well on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value 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 school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UIUC are $30,862 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UIUC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Out of the 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the # 4 spot on the list. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Bloomington.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at IU Bloomington are $33,352 a year.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UWM are $25,651 per year.

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

#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.

Purdue graduate students pay an average of $28,794 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Purdue also is in the top 10% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population.

Ohio State graduate students pay an average of $38,377 in tuition and fees each year.

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

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value doctor’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at U-M are $50,464 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, U-M is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#9

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Michigan State are $38,638 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Michigan State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

#10

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

With a ranking of #10, University of Toledo did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Toledo, University of Toledo is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at University of Toledo are $27,739 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Toledo Report

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.

  • 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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