2023 Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 28 outdoor education graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,425 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in outdoor education. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in outdoor education.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Outdoor Education Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s”.

Top 5 Most Popular Master’s Degree Colleges for Outdoor Education

1

Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Mankato, Minnesota, this fairly large public school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified masters’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Outdoor Education at Minnesota State University - Mankato

2

Prescott College
Prescott, Arizona

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Prescott College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s list. Prescott College is located in Prescott, Arizona and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 masters’s outdoor ed degrees to qualified students.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Prescot College

3

Plymouth State University
Plymouth, New Hampshire

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Plymouth State University landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Plymouth, New Hampshire, and it awarded 6 masters’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Plymouth State

4

Alaska Pacific University
Anchorage, Alaska

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Alaska Pacific University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Anchorage, Alaska, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified masters’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Alaska Pacific University Outdoor Education Report

5

Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Carolina University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Outdoor Ed Major for a Master’s. Located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, this fairly large public school handed out 0 degrees to qualified masters’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at WCU

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

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to SLenartowicz.