by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Outdoor Education is the 313th most popular major in the country with 265 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, outdoor education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $27,786 and had an average of $18,614 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major” ranking analyzed 39 colleges that offered a degree in outdoor education. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their outdoor education program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sterling College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Sterling College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Craftsbury Common, Vermont. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Brevard College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Brevard College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Brevard, North Carolina. It awarded 10 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Prescott College. The school came in at #3 for the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major. Prescot College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Prescott, Arizona. It awarded 23 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vermilion Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Ely, Minnesota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 13 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Young Harris College. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major. Young Harris College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Young Harris, Georgia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Outdoor Education at Young Harris College
Montreat College ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Montreat College is a small school located in Montreat, North Carolina that handed out 7 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Toccoa Falls College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking, coming in at #7. Toccoa Falls College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. It awarded 7 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Alaska Pacific University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Alaska Pacific is a small school located in Anchorage, Alaska that handed out 5 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Outdoor Education at Alaska Pacific University
Northern Vermont University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking, coming in at #8. Johnson, Vermont is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University
With a ranking of #10, Northland College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Northland is located in Ashland, Wisconsin and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s outdoor ed degrees to qualified students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Unity College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Unity, Maine is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Fort Lewis College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking, coming in at #12. Durango, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
Greenfield Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Greenfield, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
Black Hills State University ranked #14 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. This small school is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, and it awarded 8 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
John Brown University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Siloam Springs, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Westminster College Utah did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking, coming in at #16. Westminster College Salt Lake is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s outdoor ed degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Outdoor Education at Westminster College Utah
With a ranking of #17, Adirondack Community College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. Located in Queensbury, New York, this small public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified ’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.
Plymouth State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Plymouth State University is a small public school situated in Plymouth, New Hampshire. It awarded 6 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Southwestern Community College landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Southwestern Community College is a small public school situated in Sylva, North Carolina. It awarded 24 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Southwestern Community College Outdoor Education Report
Asbury University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking, coming in at #20. This small school is located in Wilmore, Kentucky, and it awarded 2 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Colorado Christian University landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Colorado Christian University is a medium-sized school located in Lakewood, Colorado that handed out 6 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
SUNY Cortland ranked #22 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major list. SUNY Cortland is a public institution located in Cortland, New York. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
New England College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. New England College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Henniker, New Hampshire. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Northwest Nazarene University landed the #24 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. NNU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Nampa, Idaho. It awarded 2 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Central Michigan University landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Ed Major ranking. Central Michigan University is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 16 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Outdoor Education at Central Michigan University
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
