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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

6 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.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 6 schools in the Plains States Region to see which graduate certificate programs were the most popular 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 graduate certificate.

#1

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Our analysis found University of Iowa to be the most popular school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a graduate certificate in the Plains States Region . Iowa is a very large public school located in the city of Iowa City.

About 19% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 81% are male.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Missouri State University - Springfield is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the midsize city of Springfield, Missouri State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Of the 14 students majoring in parks and rec at Missouri State, 57% are male and 43% are female.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Winona State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Graduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Winona, Winona State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

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

#3

Missouri Baptist University

Saint Louis, MO

The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Missouri Baptist University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Plains States Region . MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

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#5

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, IA

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Upper Iowa University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their graduate certificate. UIU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote area of Fayette.

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The in-demand graduate certificate programs at Minnesota State University - Mankato helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a large student population.

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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 Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 50
Missouri 247
Minnesota 151
Iowa 136
North Dakota 36
Nebraska 36
South Dakota 61

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

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 6 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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