Wilderness Studies
Welcome, and thanks for your interest in the Wilderness Studies Courses and Certificate!
The Wilderness Studies Courses are designed to teach you new skills for your outdoor pursuits. What's most exciting is how and where these courses take place: in the great outdoors. Along with learning to climb or navigate, you'll also get to experience and practice leadership, communication, and respect for the natural environment. You can also expect deeper insight into your own self.
This means, the deserts, oceans, and mountains are our classrooms and the classroom lessons are empowerment, self-reflection, and a greater world view. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Enroll today!
Imagine: instead of cracking open your text book in class, you unfold your map on the sand next to the ocean. Instead of waking up to your alarm in your room, you wake up to the sunrise in your tent. Instead of walking to and from class, you hike to your campsite. Instead of sitting on your laptop, you learn to kayak, rock climb, or build a fire. In these classrooms you'll learn stewardship, self-discovery, and how to experience the beauty of the great outdoors.
There's also a host of reasons to get this certificate regardless of your major. First, it can show any employer that you're creative and outgoing enough to take these courses, which looks great on a resume. Also, if you're going into the natural sciences, the Wilderness Studies Certificate shows that you can take care of yourself in the outdoors and that you'd be great to have along on field expeditions. Finally, the outdoor recreation industry was an $887 billion industry last year. It also employed over 7.6 million people, which means there are jobs everywhere and the Wilderness Studies Certificate is your stamp to get in.
- R141 - Sailing
- R244 - Backpacking
- R243A & B - Winter Mountain Expeditions
- R243C - Desert Expeditions
- R244 - Kayaking
- R245A - Wilderness Water Expeditions
- R246B - Mountaineering
- R247 - Rock Climbing
These courses require no previous experience.
All of the Wilderness Studies courses are designed for people of all ages and abilities. These courses will teach you the foundations of understanding each area of discipline and start with the various basics. Throughout each course, the material will get slightly more specific to the course you are taking and will culminate in more sophisticated techniques for each activity. This means you'll be well on your way to becoming an expert in that activity.
Certificate Requirements:
- Students must submit a resume of outdoor field experiences
- Students must complete the following coursework requirements for 15 units:
- Rec 331 - Dynamics of Outdoor Recreation
- Rec 337 - Outdoor Education and Interpretation
- Rec 430 - Recreation and the Ocean Environment
- Rec 431 - Recreation Resource Management
- Rec 433 - Management of Organized Camps
- Rec 434 - Adventure Education Programming and Leadership
- Rec 435 - Human Dimensions and Management in Experiential Education
- Students must take any combination of the following courses for 4 units:
- Rec 121 - Sailing (1 Unit Moving to 2)
- Rec 242 - Backpacking (2 Units)
- Rec 243C - Desert Expeditions (3 Units)
- Rec 244 - Kayaking (2 Units)
- Rec 245A - WW Expeditions (3 Units)
- Rec 243A - Winter Mountain Expeditions (3 Units)
- Rec 245A - Wilderness Water Expeditions (3 Units)
- Rec 247A - Rock Climbing (2 Units)
- Rec 246A - Mountaineering (2 Units Moving to 3)
- Rec 490 - Wilderness First Responder
