Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

6 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.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

The Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in the Plains States Region to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for parks and rec majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Our 2023 rankings named University of Iowa the most popular school in the Plains States Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

About 19% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 81% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Iowa

Request Information

Out of the 6 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Missouri State University - Springfield landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 14 students majoring in parks and rec at Missouri State, 57% are male and 43% are female.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri State University - Springfield

Request Information

The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Winona State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

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

Request Information
#3

Missouri Baptist University

Saint Louis, MO

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Missouri Baptist University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri Baptist University Report

Request Information

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

Request Information
#5

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

Out of the 6 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Upper Iowa University landed the # 5 spot on the list. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.

Read More…

Request Information

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 Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 710
Minnesota 1,139
Iowa 1,491
South Dakota 342
Missouri 1,342
Nebraska 429
North Dakota 266

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

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 6 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.

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.