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2025 Best Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Schools in the Great Lakes Region

21 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
787 Physical Education Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #54 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 787 degrees in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General School

Best Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Physical Education
Master's Degrees in Physical Education
Doctor's Degrees in Physical Education

The physical education 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 Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Schools in the Great Lakes Region. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of physical education degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Physical Education

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MI
40.0% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general needs to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were about 25 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IN

It is difficult to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public university located in the city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Indiana University - Bloomington

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In OH
66 Physical Education Degrees Awarded

It's difficult to beat Ohio State University - Main Campus if you want to pursue a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general. Ohio State is a very large public university located in the large city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 66 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Ohio State University - Main Campus

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
105 Physical Education Degrees Awarded

Ohio University - Athens Campus is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general. OHIO Athens is a fairly large public university located in the town of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #184 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were roughly 105 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Ohio University - Athens Campus

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IN

Ball State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Muncie. A Best Colleges rank of #181 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ball State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 4 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at Ball State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Ball State University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IL
70 Physical Education Degrees Awarded

NIU is a large public university located in the suburb of Dekalb. A Best Colleges rank of #529 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NIU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 70 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Northern Illinois University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL
72 Physical Education Degrees Awarded

Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were about 72 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Illinois State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In OH

OWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Delaware. This university ranks 53rd out of 91 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 12 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at OWU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Ohio Wesleyan University

9
DePauw crest
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IN

DePauw is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Greencastle. A Best Colleges rank of #418 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePauw is a great university overall.

There were roughly 20 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at DePauw in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from DePauw University

10
Hanover crest
Hanover College
Hanover, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In IN
57.1% Growth in Graduates

Hanover is a small private not-for-profit college located in the distant town of Hanover. This college ranks 24th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were about 7 sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general students who graduated with this degree at Hanover in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general from Hanover College

Best Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General Colleges by State

Explore the best sports kinesiology and physical education/fitness general schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Ohio 939 231
Michigan 915 87
Illinois 870 220
Indiana 737 75
Wisconsin 672 73

View All Rankings >

One of 5 majors within the Health & Physical Education area of study, Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness General has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Exercise Science and Kinesiology 5,138
Sports Management 2,968
Outdoor Health & Physical Education/Fitness 228
Physical Fitness Technician 151
Sports Studies 82

View All Physical Education Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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