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

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

36 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.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 36 schools in the Plains States 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.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for parks and rec majors pursuing a master's degree.

#1

Logan University

Chesterfield, MO

Our 2023 rankings named Logan University the most popular school in the Plains States Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Logan University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Chesterfield.

About 52% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 48% are male.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concordia University, Saint Paul. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Concordia University, Saint Paul is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Women make up 49% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Concordia University, Saint Paul

Out of the 36 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 41% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 59% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato

#4

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa is a very large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

Of the 38 students majoring in parks and rec at Iowa, 63% are male and 37% are female.

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

Out of the 36 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Central Missouri landed the # 5 spot on the list. UCM is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Warrensburg.

Of the 35 students majoring in parks and rec at UCM, 46% are male and 54% are female.

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

Wichita State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. WSU is a large public school located in the large city of Wichita.

Of the 32 students majoring in parks and rec at WSU, 56% are male and 44% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Wichita State University Report

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. UMN Twin Cities is a very large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

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 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#8

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

With a ranking of #8, University of South Dakota did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Vermillion.

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

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

#9

Missouri Baptist University

Saint Louis, MO

Missouri Baptist University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Of the 24 students majoring in parks and rec at MBU, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Read More…

Northwest Missouri State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the town of Maryville, Northwest is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

About 58% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 42% are male.

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

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 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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