Adventure Education BA

Why this program?

For over 60 years, Prescott College has led the field of Adventure Education, combining rigorous academics with immersive, hands-on experiences in some of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Southwest and around the world. Students gain technical outdoor skills, leadership experience, ecological knowledge, interpersonal fluency, teaching competency, and an equitable and just approach to education and recreation in the outdoors. 

Whether you are drawn to outdoor leadership, technical guiding, experiential education, wilderness programming, or creating transformative experiences for others, Prescott College prepares you to turn your passion for the outdoors into a career you are passionate about. 

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What can you do with a degree in Adventure Education?

You’ll graduate with the skill set you need to be a leader in the fast-growing outdoor education and recreation industry.  Whether you’re leading expeditions, conducting fieldwork, teaching in the outdoors, managing risk, building communities, or launching your own path, you’ll be ready. Our graduates go on to become outdoor guides, environmental educators, outdoor program managers, business owners, naturalists, outdoor field technicians, and public land managers. Here are some of the career paths of our graduates:

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What will this program look like?

We are experiential. Students apply everything they learn through field expeditions, leadership practica, internships, and senior projects.

We are field-based. We spend at least 50% of our time learning in the field – from the riparian canyons and desert rivers of the Southwest, to the alpine tundra of the Sierra Nevada, the snow-filled mountains of Idaho, and even the Andes of South America. Some classes are 100% field-based expeditions, like Environmental Perspectives & White-Water Rafting, where over a month-long Block class, students learn a mix of technical skills, environmental and natural history, and leadership techniques on the Green and Colorado Rivers. Other classes, like Introduction to Rock Climbing, include day-long field trips at local and regional climbing areas.  Often, our classes combine classroom learning with fieldwork, and students might be in the classroom to study experiential education theory and then engage in field-based learning to observe and implement these teaching techniques. 

We are holistic. We believe we graduate the best outdoor educators – individuals who are effective leaders and communicators, experienced facilitators, technically skilled, environmentally literate, and justice-oriented. As a student in Adventure Education, you will study with inspiring mentors and take diverse courses to become well-rounded, highly skilled, and effective outdoor educators, guides, and leaders. 

To learn more about how to earn your B.A. in Adventure Education, you can check out our Adventure Education  Advising Doc  and Catalog

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Available Concentrations within Adventure Education

In addition to a B.A. in Adventure Education, students from across other areas of study can earn one of our concentrations or certificates to complement and diversity their degree. 

Concentration: Outdoor Studies

You will professionalize your passion for the outdoors through exciting field-based courses in mountain, river, and desert environments. Students will gain the skills needed to live and travel in a variety of remote field environments, and learn to work effectively in small groups in outdoor settings. This concentration supports students in gaining a technical field-based skill set they can apply to a wide range of careers and disciplines.

Concentration: Outdoor Leadership

Through the Outdoor Leadership concentration, you will gain high levels of technical competency to guide, facilitate, and teach in a wide range of outdoor environments. Students who choose this concentration are excited about becoming leaders and guides in the outdoors and are highly competitive in the outdoor recreation industry.  This concentration offers several pathways so that students can choose the technical skill area(s) they wish to specialize in. 

Concentration: Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership

Our concentration in Equity Studies in Outdoor Leadership prepares you to become a leader in accessible outdoor education. Through a mix of theoretical and field courses, students gain the outdoor skills, leadership experience, and knowledge to create and deliver accessible outdoor education experiences. 

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Adventure Education-Specific Certificates

Certificate: Environmental Education

Students who complete the certificate requirements will receive a Prescott College-issued certificate as well as the option to pursue/receive Arizona Association For Environmental Education (AAEE) certificate as well. The AAEE is an affiliate of the North American Association for Environmental Educators (NAAEE). Learn More [send to EE certificate description on Cert page]

Certificate: River Studies and Leadership 

Students who take the qualifying coursework may be eligible for a certificate in River Studies & Leadership certificate through the River Management Society. For more, visit the River Management Society’s Info Page