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Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

5 Colleges
$23,933 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Graduate Certificate 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate 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 Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for parks and rec majors pursuing a graduate certificate.

Best Great Lakes Region Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Our 2023 rankings named Concordia University, Chicago the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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

Read More…

#2

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

Out of the 5 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Central Michigan are $15,644 a year.

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

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Wright State University - Main Campus is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the suburb of Dayton, Wright State University - Main Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wright State University - Main Campus are $24,286 per year.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Miami University - Oxford. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Miami University - Oxford is a large public school located in the town of Oxford.

Miami University - Oxford graduate students pay an average of $32,332 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Miami University - Oxford

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

Ohio State graduate students pay an average of $38,377 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ohio State University - Main Campus 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 5 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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