by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 166th most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 475 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,140 and $23,596 respectively.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 19 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in parks, recreation and leisure studies.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region parks & rec students.
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central State University landed the #1 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Wilberforce, Ohio, and it awarded 7 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Central State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 160 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at IU Bloomington
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 44 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 45 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Michigan University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northern Michigan University is a public institution located in Marquette, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 16 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northern Michigan University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 142 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at UIUC
With a ranking of #7, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Bourbonnais, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Olivet Nazarene University
With a ranking of #8, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. OHIO Athens is a large school located in Athens, Ohio that handed out 35 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Toledo ranked #9 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Toledo, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Toledo
Indiana Institute of Technology came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indiana Tech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It awarded 1 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Indiana Institute of Technology Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Aurora University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Aurora is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Aurora, Illinois. It awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Aurora University
Ohio University - Lancaster Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Lancaster Campus is a small public school situated in Lancaster, Ohio. It awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OHIO Lancaster
Ohio University - Eastern Campus came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This small school is located in Saint Clairsville, Ohio, and it awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Ohio University - Eastern Campus Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Spring Arbor University ranked #12 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 0 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Spring Arbor University
Western Michigan University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. Western Michigan University is a fairly large public school situated in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Western Michigan University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
With a ranking of #12, Indiana Institute of Technology - College of Professional Studies did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Indiana Tech - CPS is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Fort-Wayne, Indiana. It awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #12, Ohio University - Southern Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Southern Campus is a public institution located in Ironton, Ohio. The school has a small population, and it awarded 0 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OHIO Southern
With a ranking of #12, Ohio University - Zanesville Campus did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region list. OHIO Zanesville is located in Zanesville, Ohio and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OHIO Zanesville
Ohio University - Chillicothe Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Parks & Rec Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. Chillicothe, Ohio is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OHIO Chillicothe
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
