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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

65 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master'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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 65 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs 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.

Check out the parks and rec master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the Great Lakes Region .

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

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

About 47% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 53% are male.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public college with a very large student population.

About 33% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 67% are male.

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Out of the 65 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Of the 67 students majoring in parks and rec at Illinois State, 46% are male and 54% are female.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Of the 64 students majoring in parks and rec at SIUE, 50% are male and 50% are female.

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

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 62 students majoring in parks and rec at Northwestern, 77% are male and 23% are female.

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

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UC is a very large public school located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Women make up 45% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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#7

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI

Wayne State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Wayne State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Detroit.

Women make up 37% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 55% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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Indiana University - Bloomington came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.

About 63% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 37% are male.

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With a ranking of #10, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

About 29% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 71% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Western Illinois University Macomb, IL
12 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
13 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH

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 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 25 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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