What You Learn and How
Sterling College offers two interdisciplinary degrees: a two-year Associate of Arts degree, and a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree, both in Environmental Studies.
Learning at Sterling is deeply personalized, outdoor-oriented, community-centered and rooted in doing. Students earn credit and gain expertise through engagement and growth in courses, work, experiential endeavors, and seminars. By giving equal weight to work, study, and living in community, a Sterling education is distinct. We make the abstract personal.
A Sterling education is rooted in creative, multidimensional thinking you can apply anywhere. It gives students a well-stocked toolbox they take with them when they step beyond the Sterling campus to pursue their passions.
A Sterling Education
The Sterling curriculum is equal parts classroom study and applied fieldwork learning, sewn together by guided goal-setting, reflection and broader life skills training. It’s geared to equip you with the experience and knowledge you need to enter the workforce post-graduation or pursue advanced study. After Sterling, alumnx have pursued graduate degrees in ecology, forestry, and art, and careers as outdoor recreation professionals, biologists, wetland ecologists, farmers, educators, and more.
Three pillars of learning
-
Understanding the Natural World
Areas of Competency:
Ecology
Earth Systems: Geology, Water & Climate
Biodiversity
Research Methods
Communication: Data & Storytelling
-
Humans in the Environment
Areas of Competency:
Environmental and Cultural Histories
Arts and Creativity
Writing, Literature & Culture
Living Within Limits
Environmental Philosophy & Ethics
-
Creating Community
Areas of Competency:
Living in Community: Care, Challenge & Commitment
Learning How We Learn
Economics & Wellbeing
Civic Engagement: Voice, Participation & Policy
Systems Thinking in Practice
Educational Rhythm
Regardless of which degree you pursue, each day, week, and block of every academic semester at Sterling has a consistent rhythm designed to engage your mind and body equally. Semesters are arranged into three 4-week intensive study blocks.
-
Classes
During each study block, students attend morning classes, Monday through Friday. Thursdays are reserved for full-day course-related activities, like an overnight culmination of a rock climbing instructor training, or a day-long agroforestry field trip to observe best practices in the region. A weekly hour-long Scaffolding Seminar session is held on Thursdays.
-
Experiential Endeavors
In the afternoons, students work at semester-long experiential endeavors that could include a riparian restoration project or a curriculum design project in partnership with the local K-12 school. Endeavors are a canvas for bringing classroom learning to life, while fieldwork also drives and informs classroom learning.
-
Community
After each study block, a week of intermission lets you rest, recuperate, catch up, and participate in community events. One day of each intermission week is dedicated to an All College Work Day – a longstanding Sterling tradition – or an All College Service Day.
-
Work
Being a Sterling student will keep you busy because all residential students also participate in Sterling’s Work Program, which cultivates good habits, provides another opportunity for putting life skills into practice, and offers real-world opportunities for problem-solving. Students can either choose a morning or afternoon work block.