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2023 Best Outdoor Education Schools

12 Colleges
$27,786 Avg Salary
$18,614 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Outdoor Education School for You

In 2020-2021, 265 people earned a degree or certificate in outdoor education, making the major the #313 most popular in the United States.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Outdoor Education Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 12 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Outdoor Education Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for outdoor ed majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Outdoor Education Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Minnesota State University - Mankato the best school in the United States for outdoor education students. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Weber State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Outdoor Education Schools list. WSU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Ogden.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern Vermont University is a great place for outdoor education students. Northern Vermont University is a small public school located in the rural area of Johnson.

Outdoor Ed majors at Northern Vermont University take out an average of $23,227 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University

#4

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central Michigan University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Outdoor Education Schools list. Central Michigan is a large public school located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.

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#5

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, NY

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Cortland. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Outdoor Education Schools list. SUNY Cortland is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Cortland.

Full Outdoor Education at SUNY Cortland Report

The University of Montana came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Outdoor Education Schools ranking. UM is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Missoula.

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#7

Brevard College

Brevard, NC

With a ranking of #7, Brevard College did quite well on this year’s best schools for outdoor education students. Located in the town of Brevard, Brevard College is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Full Outdoor Education at Brevard College Report

Plymouth State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Outdoor Education Schools ranking. Located in the town of Plymouth, Plymouth State is a public school with a small student population.

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Murray State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best outdoor education programs. Murray State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Murray.

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#10

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best outdoor education programs. Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Lynchburg.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Liberty University

Outdoor Education by Region

View the Best Outdoor Education Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 4 majors within the area of study, outdoor education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education 67,146
Recreation Administration 3,122
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 3,106
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 174

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 12 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to SLenartowicz.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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