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Looking for a well known college in any type of Outdoor Degree

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  • Posted by
    on Tue, Aug 12 2008 3:23 PM

    I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right area but....I am looking to get my Bachelor's in sometype of Outdoor/Recreation/Adventure Degree. I'm currently looking into Oregon State University but I'm curious to know if there are any top schools that employers look for or any school with an outstanding reputation for this program. I am also curious what kind of extra certifications and classes I can be taken to help my experience and resume. Thanks!

    Alicia
  • Posted by
    on Tue, Aug 19 2008 12:27 PM

    You can also check out Prescott College's undergrad programs, Evergreen College, Washington University in Pullman, and University of NH. Good luck
  • Posted by
    on Tue, Aug 19 2008 4:10 PM

    Hi Shawn,

    Thanks for your help! Actually the schools in Washington work for me best because i'm headed that way I had checked out Oregon State University but I wasn't sure that I really liked their curriculum. My question is though do you know if they offer outdoor degrees at these schools because I had called them and they seemed confused. Thanks for your help!
  • Posted by
    on Thu, Sep 4 2008 3:14 PM

    Hi Alicia! I recently collected a partial list of schools offering experiential degrees, etc. You can see them all here: http://www.facilitutor.com/links.php#Schools

    Most of them were collected from suggestions on the Ropes-Online mailing list. If you've found any not on the list, I'd love it if you posted them. 

    cheers,

     

    James Bennett

    Facili(tutor)

    http://www.facilitutor.com
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Sep 17 2008 8:30 AM

    BREVARD COLLEGE!!!!! in the mountains of North Carolina- their degree is Wilderness Leadership adn Experiential Education- also check out Unity College in Maine.

  • Posted by
    on Fri, Sep 19 2008 10:08 AM

    There are a number of schools throughout the U.S. which are "known" for having quality Outdoor programs.  I would encourage you to search inside yourself to determine if you want a more Recreation focused or Adventure/Outoor focused program.  A recreation program is going to follow a heavily administrative/municipal track and the outdoor/adventure programs are still going to have administrative portions, but you will (should) pick up the time in the field working and learning different trades i.e. climbing, ropes courses, paddling, backpacking, etc. 

    I am currently wrapping up a masters program at Western Kentucky University which has been a positive experience.  I also received my undergraduate degree here.  The undergraduate Outdoor curriculum is solid.  You also have the addition of the Recreation focused courses. 

     

    Some other schools which were not already mentioned are:

    Georgia College & State University
    Dept. of Kinesiology & Outdoor Education Center
    Jude Hirsch
    CBX 065
    Milledgeville, GA 31061-0490
    U.S.A.
    E-Mail: jude.hirsch@gcsu.edu
    Phone: 478-445-1218
    Website: http://hercules.gcsu.edu/~jhirsch/ 
    Accreditation Expiration: 5/10/2011
    First Accredited: 11/24/1997

    Greenfield Community College
    Outdoor Leadership Program
    Austin Paulson
    1 College Drive
    Greenfield, MA 01301
    U.S.A.
    E-Mail: paulsona@gcc.mass.edu
    Phone: 413-775-1126
    Website: http://www.gcc.mass.edu/
    Accreditation Expiration: 11/9/2006
    First Accredited: 11/9/1998

    You can also look up other schools at the AEE accredited programs site :  

    http://www.aee.org/accreditation/AEEprograms

    and the member page:

    http://www.aee.org/find/program/results/

     

    You can also look at the National Recreation and Parks Association page :

    http://www.nrpa.org/content/default.aspx?documentId=1190

     

    Hope this helps,

     

    Ian
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Sep 24 2008 4:49 PM

    The University of New Hampshire (Durham Campus) has one of the best programs in the country
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Sep 24 2008 5:30 PM

    Warren Wilson College. Asheville, NC Right down the road from Brevard College. Small school, good program.
  • Posted by
    on Thu, Oct 9 2008 9:17 AM

    I currently teach at Ithaca College where we have a B.S. in Outdoor Adventure Leadership (http://www.ithaca.edu/hshp/depts/rls/). I graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Outdoor Recreation. They are close to Spoakne WA.

    Chris
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 12:30 AM

    Alicia, the most complete list of schools is at http://www.outdoored.com/schools/

     

     

    ____________________

    Rick Curtis
    Director, Outdoor Action
    Princeton University
    609-258-5621

    www.princeton.edu/~oa/

    P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail.

     

    --------------- Rick Curtis CEO OutdoorEd.com Director, Princeton University Outdoor Action Program
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 12:30 AM
    Speaking as someone who first started in this field in 1977 I'd like to comment on a few *long term* issues
    1) at some point in your life you will want a life outside of 24/7 outdoor adventure
    2) at some point in your life retirement funds, health insurance, disability insurance will become important (as well as how much you have contributed to social security which is income dependent)
    3) at some point in your life you may well want to have a pet, kids, spouse/permanent significant other and thus a life style that allows this more easily
    4) at some point in your life you might want to own a home and do something other than live out of your truck/van

    Make sure that your training takes care of both your immediate interests and long term career goals. Going back to school to retread is expensive and can be time consuming. 

    While training with an adventure focus is useful in the short term, here are some additional considerations for training you might want to add to your adventure/outdoor focus:

    1) something that will qualify you for management positions or other career growth position (MA in public administration, recreation, or business - MBA, if interested in the therapeutic side of things a MA in counseling such that you can actually qualify for a license)

    2) getting a degree that has credibility not only because of the outdoor coursework but also from an institution that has credibility (and is accredited by mainstream accreditation bodies) beyond the outdoor field - this is going to matter if you decide on a lateral move into, say, consulting.

    3) take coursework in the business school regardless of what your actual degree is in. If you move into administration or start your own program you will be running a business. Non-profit doesn't mean you can operate at a loss, all it means is that people can't line their pockets with the profits, they have to be sunk back into the business. EVERYONE - public, non-profit or for profit needs to break even. Marketing, accounting, organizational behavior, accounting (even if you plan to hire someone it is useful to actually know how to read spreadsheets of accounting information), a human resource management class are all useful courses. No sense reinventing the wheel when lots of people spend lots of time refining this kind of thing. Having it all packaged for you via a course is useful and a time saver. Good managers need many skills that are not learned by being a good outdoor leader. Good mangers do affect the bottom line of their companies, whether or not they can hang on to good employees, whether or not your employees are satisfied (and since your people are your program it matters if they are disgruntled or not - it matters in all businesses but is more noticeable when your product depends on delivery by your employees) - in fact some researchers estimate that about 25% of your profitability depends on human resource issues. If you are hiring people you need to be aware of laws, etc. (and again even if you plan to delegate this you need to have a passing familiarity so that you know if the person you hired is competent - ultimately you will be held responsible if they break the law).

    Over my career I have been an instructor, program manager, program director, worked in college recreation, taught both recreation and outdoor adventure (easier to find a college teaching job if your credentials are recreation with a secondary area in outdoor adventure), and eventually changed fields to teach business (organizational behavior, conflict management and entrepreneurship) where I still use adventure components in the classroom to teach. I also run an NGO (non-profit) in another county. I still take students to other countries, sometimes having an adventure experience (used to be the primary reason why now often with other purposes but I usually include a service learning component) and I often include a service learning component in some of my courses as well - last year my organizational behavior class raised 1/5 of christmas for kids' budget as a class team project.

    At almost 55 the financial advice I'd give to everyone is
    1) no matter what other financial obligations you have, try very, very hard to put money in a retirement account. Most outdoor programs do not have retirement programs for instructors and course directors so you will need to open an IRA. The power of time will make that money grow such that you won't be living in poverty when you are retired. I waited too long and as a result, realistically, will never be able to retire. Since disability and old age often go hand in hand my life at 70 or 80+ is likely to be very hard.
    2) it matters how many years you work for room and board and low wages. It takes many many years of high pay to average out many many years of low pay when it comes to social security benefits. While I am not advocating don't do what you love, I am advocating being engaged in significant, informed planning for your long term financial future and security.
    3) pay for disability insurance. Workman's comp doesn't pay for things that happen to you when you are not on the job. Disability is actually your worst risk as a young person. Pay for health insurance. Unless you have little to no income and less than $2000 (to some degree the rules vary by state even though this is a federal program) in assets medicaid will not be an option. There are plenty of places that will deny you medical care without health insurance. There are also places that will deny you care if you owe them too much money and are too behind on your bills even if you have health insurance (and this includes public institutions). This is legal. I experienced this first hand when I had cancer. TANF (welfare) is only open to families with children. Food stamps are income dependent and having kids or not isn't an issue. While none of this matters is you are able bodied and are working, it will matter if you break a leg, have appendicitis, etc.

    Carolyn

    -----
    Click to show quoted text
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 12:31 AM
    Hey,
    Thanks so much for your advice....I've fallen in love with the college in Maine. I'm just curious to know how you found out about it because it seems everytime I search for a degree like this I just keep getting Utah, Wyoming,Colorado, and a few colleges in North Carolina. Do you know anyone who's graduated from Unity?
    Thanks Again!!
    Alicia



    From: bounce-River_runner21@outdoored.com
    To: lishalb@hotmail.com
    Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:34:29 -0400
    Subject: Re: [Therapeutic Adventure] Looking for a well known college in any type of Outdoor Degree


    BREVARD COLLEGE!!!!! in the mountains of North Carolina- their degree is Wilderness Leadership adn Experiential Education- also check out Unity College in Maine.



    Therapeutic Adventure Forum at OutdoorEd.com
    Get more out of the Web. Learn 10 hidden secrets of Windows Live. Learn Now
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 10:49 AM
    Hi Alicia,

    Although it wasn't me who originally mentioned Unity I do know a few people who have gone there and loved there time there.  I haven't been up there, but I find it hard to believe it isn't beautiful too.

    Best of luck and enjoy your time.

    Ian

    Click to show quoted text
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 2:48 PM
    Rick, correct me (us) if I am wrong, but this list of schools are only those who have paid outdoored.com a fee to be listed, so even though it may the "most" complete, it leaves out many schools who have not opted into the list by paying the fee. Is that accurate?

    So although UNH is not on the outdoored.com  list, we offer a BS in Outdoor Education, A MS in Outdoor Education, and a Ph.D. in Experiential Education. We recently added a combined program, studying OE combined with a Master in Social Work degree (MSW).





    Brent Bell
    Assistant Prof. of Outdoor Education
    Dept. of Kinesiology
    University of New Hampshire
    (603)862-3047




    Click to show quoted text

    Alicia, the most complete list of schools is at http://www.outdoored.com/schools/
     
     
    ____________________
    Rick Curtis
    Director, Outdoor Action
    Princeton University
    609-258-5621
    P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail.
     



    Therapeutic Adventure Forum at OutdoorEd.com

    Brent Bell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Outdoor Education University of New Hampshire Durham, NH 02824 bbell@unh.edu
  • Posted by
    on Wed, Dec 3 2008 3:43 PM

    Brent, you are (mostly) correct. The list is not complete (I wish it were). Schools that were entered before there was an annual fee are still in the database and can be searched. To be able to add a new school profile or update an existing profile requires schools to pay the annual fee. While there is a fee, I think it’s nominal and helps pay for the upkeep of OutdoorEd.com.

     

    Rick

     

    ____________________

    Rick Curtis
    Director, Outdoor Action
    Princeton University
    609-258-5621

    www.princeton.edu/~oa/

    P Please consider your environmental responsibility before printing this e-mail.

     

    --------------- Rick Curtis CEO OutdoorEd.com Director, Princeton University Outdoor Action Program
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