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

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

36 Colleges
$41,687 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Master's Degree 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 36 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs 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 master's degree.

#1

Logan University

Chesterfield, MO

Our 2023 rankings named Logan University the most popular school in the Plains States Region for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Logan University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Chesterfield.

About 52% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 48% are male.

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

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Concordia University, Saint Paul is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Concordia University, Saint Paul is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

Women make up 49% of the parks and rec majors at the school.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Minnesota State University - Mankato is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 41% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 59% are male.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Minnesota State University - Mankato

#4

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Iowa. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Iowa is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Iowa City.

Of the 38 students majoring in parks and rec at Iowa, 63% are male and 37% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Iowa Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Central Missouri is a great place for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. UCM is a large public school located in the distant town of Warrensburg.

Of the 35 students majoring in parks and rec at UCM, 46% are male and 54% are female.

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

Wichita State University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. WSU is a large public school located in the large city of Wichita.

Of the 32 students majoring in parks and rec at WSU, 56% are male and 44% are female.

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With a ranking of #7, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students working on their master’s degree. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

About 39% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 61% are male.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

#8

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD

University of South Dakota landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. USD is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Vermillion.

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

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of South Dakota Report

#9

Missouri Baptist University

Saint Louis, MO

Missouri Baptist 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 #9 on the list. MBU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.

Of the 24 students majoring in parks and rec at MBU, 54% are male and 46% are female.

Full Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Missouri Baptist University Report

Northwest Missouri State University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Maryville, Northwest is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

About 58% of the students majoring in parks and rec at the school are women while 42% are male.

Read More…

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 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 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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