Adventure Education | Springfield College

Adventure Education

Minor
About This Program
For Undergraduate Students

Available as a minor.

Sample Schedule

Adventure education is widely used in schools, as well as recreational and community organizations. Leaders in these settings create programs that utilize adventure to positively impact individuals and groups. Creating more adventure-centered experiences allows individuals to grow personally and helps groups to work together more effectively.

Springfield College recognizes the need for highly-qualified adventure program leaders and offers students an educational experience where they gain the teaching and leadership skills needed to design and deliver adventure programs. Adventure education challenges students to be experiential educators, participant-centered leaders and stewards of the environment. Students may study adventure education as a minor that pairs nicely with many majors.

In the adventure education program, students will benefit from learning in the out-of-doors at East Campus, a 57-acre outdoor laboratory. Not only will the majority of their classes be held here, but students will gain practical experience by taking the knowledge they have learned and apply that to real life experiences with a variety of groups. Plus, students will have the opportunity to live out at East Campus, immersing them in the experience and allowing them to learn through adventure, education, and the outdoors.

Students will learn a number of components, including the following.

  • Challenge course facilitation
  • Land and water based skills
  • Instructional techniques
  • Adventure theory and practice
  • Programmatic development
  • Risk management

Ready to explore?

Student canoeing at East Campus
Explore East Campus

In the adventure education program, you'll spend time exploring the great outdoors at East Campus—57 acres of forestland that is bordered by a mile of shorefront on Watershops Pond. There, you'll be able to put everything you learned in the classroom into practice. (Spending the day outside isn't bad either.)

Student leading spring explorers at East Campus
Lead our Spring Explorers

Ready to put your adventure education skills to the test? You and your peers will help develop and implement our Spring Explorers program, a four-day outdoor adventure program for children. The program allows youth to participate in activities that promote character development. 

Students canoeing at Outdoor Pursuits
Outdoor Pursuits

Spend seven days living outdoors through Outdoor Pursuits (MOSK 101). This experience will enhance your understanding of individual differences of the social aspects of group living. You'll engage in activities that increase environmental awareness and improve outdoor living skills.

Continued Connections

At Springfield College, the relationship between students and the institution doesn’t end after graduation. Our alumni serve as an incredible resource for our current and prospective students.

One example is our Youth in Motion program, in which alumni working in the school systems bring students with an interest in the fields of health, sport, and physical activity to East Campus to promote career exploration and leadership skills that can be applied int heir desired fields.

High school students do a team building exercise with marbles during Youth in Motion at East Campus.

Physical education major John Danahey shares his experiences with Youth in Motion and what it's like to be a student at Springfield College. Danahey went through the program in high school and choose Springfield College, in part, because of the experience.

At Springfield College, we believe that hands-on learning and alumni connections are keys to professional success. If you want to have an experience like John's, submit your application today.

The American Kinesiology Association Logo

American Kinesiology Association Membership

The School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation is a member of the American Kinesiology Association.

An advocate for kinesiology at the national and international levels, the American Kinesiology Association supports educational opportunities in the fields of exercise science and sport studies, health education and physical education, and sport management and recreation management.