2025 Best Outdoor Education Bachelor's Degree Schools

Outdoor Educationbachelor's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #270 out of the 363 majors we look at each year. This may make is a little harder to find a school that is a good fit for you.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Outdoor Education Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 151 bachelor's degrees in outdoor education to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on outdoor education students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of outdoor education students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt outdoor education students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized outdoor education related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for outdoor education students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Outdoor Education Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Outdoor Education Bachelor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Outdoor Education in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for outdoor education students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Outdoor Ed

1

Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI

13 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in outdoor education needs to check out Central Michigan University. Central Michigan is a large public university located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant.More information about a bachelor’s in outdoor education from Central Michigan University

2

Black Hills State University
Spearfish, SD

10 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Black Hills State University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in outdoor education. Located in the town of Spearfish, BHSU is a public university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in outdoor education from Black Hills State University

Outdoor Education by Region

View the Best Outdoor Education Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Outdoor Ed

One of 4 majors within the Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies area of study, Outdoor Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Outdoor Ed Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Outdoor Education	151

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Health & Physical Education	48,205
Recreation Administration	1,876
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	1,872
Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies	148

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.