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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

10 Colleges
$69,500 Avg Salary

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

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies was ranked #18 in the country. In fact 10,452 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best doctor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the parks and rec doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of Michigan - Ann Arbor the best school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. U-M is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington

Out of the 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the # 3 spot on the list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Wisconsin - Madison

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Ohio State University - Main Campus is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Ohio State is a very large public school located in the large city of Columbus.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus

#6

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

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

#7

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

With a ranking of #7, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a very large student population.

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#8

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UWM is a very large public school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

#10

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

With a ranking of #10, University of Toledo did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. University of Toledo is a fairly large public school located in the city of Toledo.

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

Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Illinois 797
Indiana 192
Ohio 478
Wisconsin 117
Michigan 222

Parks & Rec Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 9,742
Recreation Administration 441
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 206
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 35
Outdoor Education 28

Majors Similar to Parks & Rec

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 53,252
Legal Professions 45,189
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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