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2022 Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s

10 Ranked Colleges
183 Degrees Awarded
$18,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor's

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 255 people earned their degree in outdoor education, making the major the 808th most popular in the United States.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 183 outdoor education graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in outdoor education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality outdoor education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the outdoor education program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Outdoor Education Schools

The outdoor 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 “Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s

The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Outdoor Education

#1

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, South Dakota
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Black Hills State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s. Black Hills State University is a small school located in Spearfish, South Dakota that handed out 11 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees in 2019-2020.

BHSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $16,641 for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students per year to attend BHSU.

Read more about Outdoor Education at BHSU

#2

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, New York
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Cortland. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s list. SUNY Cortland is located in Cortland, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees to qualified students.

SUNY Cortland not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend SUNY Cortland is $18,705 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Education students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Read more about Outdoor Education at SUNY Cortland

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Weber State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Ogden, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s outdoor education degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

WSU also made our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $11,968 for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students per year to attend Weber State University.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Weber State University

#4

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, Michigan
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the #4 spot on the list. Mount Pleasant, Michigan is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s outdoor education degrees to 41 students in 2019-2020.

Central Michigan also took the #2 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $15,981 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Education students per year to attend Central Michigan.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Central Michigan

#5

Salisbury University

Salisbury, Maryland
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Salisbury University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s. Salisbury is located in Salisbury, Maryland and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees to qualified students.

Salisbury did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $19,617 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Education students per year to attend Salisbury University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Salisbury

#6

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Liberty University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s list. This large school is located in Lynchburg, Virginia, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees in 2019-2020.

Liberty University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Liberty University is $28,903 for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Liberty University

#7

Fort Lewis College

Durango, Colorado
#7 in overall quality

Fort Lewis College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. Durango, Colorado is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s outdoor education degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

FLC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $16,274 for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students per year to attend FLC.

Read more about Outdoor Education at Fort Lewis College

#8

Murray State University

Murray, Kentucky
#9 in overall quality

Murray State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Murray, Kentucky, this medium-sized public school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s outdoor education students in 2019-2020.

Murray State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Murray State University is $11,390 for bachelor’s degree outdoor education students.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Murray State University

#9

Northern Vermont University

Johnson, Vermont
#6 in overall quality

Northern Vermont University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s ranking. This small school is located in Johnson, Vermont, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees in 2019-2020.

Northern Vermont University also took the #6 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $15,749 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Education students per year to attend Northern Vermont University.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University

#10

New England College

Henniker, New Hampshire
#10 in overall quality

New England College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Outdoor Education Schools for a Bachelor’s list. NEC is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Henniker, New Hampshire. It awarded 5 bachelors’s outdoor education degrees in 2019-2020.

NEC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for NEC is $29,082 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Education students.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at New England College

Notes and References

References

  • 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 our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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