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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region

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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region

16 Colleges

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate School for You

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #18 most popular major in the country with 10,452 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. This report analyzed 16 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones offered the best graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate Schools

Our 2023 rankings named American Public University System the best school in the Southeast Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the town of Charles Town.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at American Public University System

Out of the 16 schools in the Southeast Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Citadel Military College of South Carolina landed the # 2 spot on the list. The Citadel is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Charleston.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Citadel Military College of South Carolina Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend North Carolina State University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#4

Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Shenandoah University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Winchester.

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

#5

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

The excellent graduate certificate programs at Clemson University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Southeast Region . Located in the suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a very large student population.

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

#6

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL

University of Florida did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

#7

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

University of Kentucky did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. UK is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Lexington.

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#8

Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, KY

Western Kentucky University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best graduate certificate parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. WKU is a large public school located in the city of Bowling Green.

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#9

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

With a ranking of #9, East Carolina University did quite well on this year’s best schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. ECU is a very large public school located in the small city of Greenville.

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#10

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL

University of North Florida ranked #10 on this year’s Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the city of Jacksonville, UNF is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of North Florida 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 Southeast region.

State Degrees Awarded
Mississippi 160
Florida 448
North Carolina 289
Virginia 433
Tennessee 287
Georgia 308
South Carolina 220
Louisiana 152
West Virginia 236
Kentucky 279
Arkansas 292
Alabama 216

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 16 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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