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

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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 analysis found University of Iowa to be the most popular school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Plains States Region . Iowa is a very 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.

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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 medium-sized city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri State University - Springfield Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Winona State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the distant town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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#3

Missouri Baptist University

Saint Louis, MO

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri Baptist University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

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

The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Minnesota State University - Mankato helped the school earn the #5 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 city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

#5

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Upper Iowa University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Fayette.

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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.

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