Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

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

Find Schools Near

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

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$30,013 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value doctor's degree programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

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

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our analysis found Concordia University, Chicago to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Concordia University, Chicago also is in the top 20% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

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

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Madison are $25,501 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - Madison also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.

UIUC graduate students pay an average of $30,862 in tuition and fees each year.

UIUC also claimed a spot on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

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

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at Indiana University - Bloomington helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at IU Bloomington are $33,352 per year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UWM is a very large public school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

UWM graduate students pay an average of $25,651 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #6, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their doctor’s degree. Purdue is a very large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Purdue are $28,794 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Purdue is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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

Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio State is a fairly large public school located in the city of Columbus.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Ohio State are $38,377 per year.

Read More…

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 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 #8 on the list. U-M is a very large public school located in the city of Ann Arbor.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at U-M are $50,464 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, U-M is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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

#9

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Michigan State are $38,638 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Michigan State also is in the top 15% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Doctor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

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

#10

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH

University of Toledo 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 #10 on the list. University of Toledo is a fairly large public school located in the city of Toledo.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Toledo are $27,739 per year.

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 schools 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.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.