Northland College is a 4-year Liberal Arts College located on the south shore of Lake Superior by the Apostle Islands National Park, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and the Penokee Mountains. Our curriculum focuses on the environment and includes majors in Outdoor and Environmental Education, Natural Resources, Native American Studies, Sustainable Community Development, Social Justice, Environmental Sciences, and others.

Northland’s Outdoor Education program was one of the first in the nation, and continues to provide leadership to the profession in areas of environmental stewardship, natural history interpretation, and diversity and inclusion. Northland’s Outdoor Orientation program was also one of the first in the nation and provides student-led expeditions for all incoming students.

Northland is home to the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, which coordinates citizen science, outreach, and education on regional conservation issues; the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, which focuses on scientific research, communication and thought leadership on water issues in the Great Lakes region and beyond; the Center for Rural Communities, which works with partners and community members to apply research-based solutions to social and economic challenges in north woods communities; and the Indigenous Cultures Center, which helps preserve and develop cultural traditions, ceremonies, languages, and arts of indigenous cultures, and delivers college access and readiness programs for indigenous youth.

Northland is located in Ashland, Wisconsin, which, along with its neighboring communities, fosters a thriving small farms, orchards, music, theater, and visual arts. Our neighbors include the Red Cliff and Bad River bands of Lake Superior Ojibwe.