Ranked #23 in popularity, health & physical education is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 72 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,036 master's degrees in health & physical education during the 2022-2023 academic year.
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Choosing a Great Health & Physical Education School for Your Master's Degree
The phys ed master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality phys ed program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to health & physical education students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - How many other health & physical education students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How much debt health & physical education students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized health & physical education related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for health & physical education students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Health & Physical Education Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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Pursue opportunities in collegiate and professional sport management organizations with the support of this well-established online master's degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Health & Physical Education in the Southeast Region
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in health & physical education. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
14 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Master's in Phys Ed
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in health & physical education has to check out University of Florida. Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Those health & physical education students who get their master's degree from University of Florida make $6,989 more than the standard phys ed graduate.
It is difficult to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you wish to pursue a master's degree in health & physical education. UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chapel Hill.
Health & Physical Education master's degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get an earnings boost of around $4,251 over the typical earnings of health & physical education graduates.
It is hard to beat Florida State University if you want to pursue a master's degree in health & physical education. Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduating, phys ed master's recipients typically earn an average of $39,740 at the beginning of their careers.
University of Georgia is a good option for students pursuing a master's degree in health & physical education. Located in the city of Athens, UGA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, phys ed master's recipients usually make an average of $39,610 in their early careers.
Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the health & physical education degree program at American Public University System get $16,215 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the town of Statesboro, GaSou is a public university with a very large student population.
Health & Physical Education master's degree recipients from Georgia Southern University receive an earnings boost of about $3,961 above the average earnings of health & physical education graduates.
A-State is a large public university located in the small city of Jonesboro.
Those health & physical education students who get their master's degree from Arkansas State University - Main Campus receive $10,566 more than the average phys ed graduate.
Located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a very large student population.
Master's recipients from the health & physical education degree program at University of Virginia - Main Campus make $10,799 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
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Additional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Health & Physical Education Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.
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.
The phys ed master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality phys ed program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
