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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

5 Colleges
$23,933 Avg Tuition & Fees*

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 Value 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 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

#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 graduate certificate. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 a year.

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

#2

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan is a large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Central Michigan are $15,644 a year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Central Michigan University Report

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 #3 on this year’s Best Value 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 suburb of Dayton.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wright State University - Main Campus are $24,286 per year.

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

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Miami University - Oxford helped the school earn the #4 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 town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Miami University - Oxford are $32,332 a year.

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

Out of the 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ohio State are $38,377 per year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus 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 5 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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