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Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

65 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master'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.

The Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 65 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree 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.

Check out the parks and rec master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the Great Lakes Region .

#1

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

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

About 47% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 53% are male.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Ohio University - Athens Campus is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. OHIO Athens is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Athens.

About 33% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 67% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus Report

The in-demand master’s degree programs at Illinois State 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 Great Lakes Region . Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

Of the 67 students majoring in parks and rec at Illinois State, 46% are male and 54% are female.

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The in-demand master’s degree programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a large student population.

Of the 64 students majoring in parks and rec at SIUE, 50% are male and 50% are female.

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#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Northwestern University is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Of the 62 students majoring in parks and rec at Northwestern, 77% are male and 23% are female.

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

With a ranking of #6, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 45% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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#7

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI

Wayne State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Detroit, Wayne State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 37% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Women make up 55% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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

Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 63% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 37% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Indiana University - Bloomington Report

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. U-M is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.

About 29% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 71% are male.

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Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Western Illinois University Macomb, IL
12 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH
13 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH

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 25 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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