2023 Most Focused Colleges for Outdoor Education in the Plains States Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region” ranking.

In 2021-2022, 313 people earned their degree in outdoor education, making the major the 780th most popular in the United States.

Across the Plains States region, there were 35 outdoor education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in outdoor education. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their outdoor education program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Outdoor Education Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region outdoor education students.

Top 3 Most Focused Colleges for Outdoor Education in the Plains States Region

2

Black Hills State University
Spearfish, South Dakota

$34,476 Average Early-Career Earnings

$23,954 Average Student Debt

Out of the 3 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Black Hills State University landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, and it awarded 14 ’s outdoor education degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at BHSU

3

Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota

$46,060 Average Early-Career Earnings

$22,648 Average Student Debt

Out of the 3 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Outdoor Education Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #3 spot on the list. Minnesota State Mankato is located in Mankato, Minnesota and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 7 ’s outdoor education degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Minnesota State University - Mankato Outdoor Education Report

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to SLenartowicz.