Courses range from forestry techniques to rock climbing to draft horses. Sterling graduates are trained to become stewards of the land, and have gone on to become foresters, environmental lawyers, architects and artists. Dedicated to connecting its curriculum to environmental and social issues, this four-year college guides its 265 undergraduates in crafting an individual program of study that concludes with a B.A. of human ecology. The college's location brings students into easy contact with the natural aquatic world. Students frequently work at nearby whale and seabird observation stations collecting data on animal movements.
Specific courses bring students into the local wilds.
This year's summer program, for example, is a two-week floral inventory of a nearby island. Another course teaches techniques in capturing island environments on film. The college gets them into the outdoors from the get-go. Upon landing on campus, students embark on a five-day wilderness orientation program that includes travel by foot and by boat. The environmental studies concentration, for one, combines the biological physical sciences with social and cultural studies.