Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #459 most popular degree program in the country. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual looked at 6 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 202 degrees in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy annually.
Choosing a Great Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy School
The therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Degree Level
The therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy in the Great Lakes Region
The schools below may not offer all types of therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Therapeutic Recreation/Recreational Therapy
It is hard to beat Eastern Michigan University if you wish to pursue a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. Located in the suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 15th out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were roughly 9 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent data year.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public university located in the small city of La Crosse. This university ranks 8th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were about 62 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at UW - La Crosse in the most recent data year.
Any student who is interested in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy has to look into University of Toledo. University of Toledo is a fairly large public university located in the city of Toledo. This university ranks 15th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 41 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at University of Toledo in the most recent data year.
Grand Valley State University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy. GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Allendale. A Best Colleges rank of #342 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means GVSU is a great university overall.
There were about 30 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year.
Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Aurora. A Best Colleges rank of #348 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Aurora is a great university overall.
There were approximately 13 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Aurora in the most recent data year.
Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #346 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Central Michigan is a great university overall.
There were roughly 23 therapeutic recreation/recreational therapy students who graduated with this degree at Central Michigan in the most recent data year.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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).