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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois

17 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #17 most popular major in Illinois with 2,396 degrees and certificates awarded 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.

The Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in Illinois to see which master's degree 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 master's degree.

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our analysis found Concordia University, Chicago to be the most popular school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a master’s degree in Illinois. Concordia University, Chicago is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

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

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Illinois State University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Illinois State is a very 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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Out of the 17 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 3 spot on the list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the 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

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in Illinois. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Northwestern University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.

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

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

Western Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 43% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 57% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western Illinois University Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

Women make up 39% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

#8

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

Eastern Illinois University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

About 39% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 61% are male.

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

With a ranking of #9, Northern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

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

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Northern Illinois University Report

#10

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

With a ranking of #10, Aurora University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Aurora.

Of the 21 students majoring in parks and rec at Aurora, 48% are male and 52% are female.

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

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 1,818
Michigan 2,279
Ohio 2,647
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 17 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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