Academics

The Classroom and Beyond

Are you ready to pursue your passions and design your own path? Academics at Sterling College let you craft a unique, personalized education in ecological thinking and action. In small classes—usually under 11 students—you’ll explore the critical issues of our day: humanity’s relationship with the natural world and each other, and the stewardship of our air, water, soil, food, and climate. You’ll have classes on campus in a laboratory or seminar room, on the side of a mountain, or in a barn or pasture.

Rigorous, Experiential & Place-based Academics

You’ll also work one-on-one with our academic and practitioner faculty to delve deeper into issues of environmentalism, education and sustainability. In independent studies and research projects , you’ll design learning objectives and explore issues in a hands-on, experiential way.

Faculty are drawn to the College to do more than just lecture—they are mentors and guides, constantly engaging with students in the classroom, in the field, and in the community.

Majors

Ecology

Posted January 13, 2016 by Tanner

Ecology Education rooted in forests, mountains, and rivers What are the habitat requirements for migrating songbirds that breed in the North Woods? How does geology affect forest composition and forest…

Environmental Humanities

Posted January 25, 2016 by Lou Lepping

What is Environmental Humanities? Taking an ecological perspective on the humanities means that students look at a broad view of the ways humans engage with nature—from regional and global literary…

Outdoor Education

Posted January 27, 2016 by Lou Lepping

GET OUTSIDE Expand Your Relationship with Nature As an Outdoor Education major at Sterling College, you will become comfortable learning and teaching in the outdoors at all times of year,…

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems

Posted January 26, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Cultivate your best self Shape a more resilient food and farming future The study of sustainable agriculture and food systems encompasses the range of interrelated processes, practices, institutions, and knowledge…

Self-Designed Major

Posted February 1, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Choose your own adventure with a Self-Designed Major! Sterling College tends to attract independent-minded souls, so it’s no surprise that many Sterling students choose our interdisciplinary Self-Designed Major. Actually, around…

NASA photo of a melting glacier by photographer Denis Felikson

Climate Justice

Posted January 25, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Climate Justice Minor What is Climate Justice? Should privileged countries and communities bear more responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions? What are the systems and interests perpetuating the carbon dioxide emissions?…

Draft Animal Power Systems

Posted January 27, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Draft Animal Power Systems Sterling College is one of the rare places where you can get hands-on draft animal experience, working daily with these heavy animals. As a Draft Animal…

Natural History Minor

Posted February 23, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Natural History Minor How can we recognize the plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms with which we share the world? What are their lives like? How do species and whole…

Natural Resources Conservation

Posted February 23, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Natural Resources Conservation Minor Sterling College students pursuing a minor in Natural Resources Conservation examine local and global conservation issues, including natural resources sustainability and biodiversity protection. Courses provide students…

Education Studies

Posted March 8, 2016 by Lou Lepping

Education Studies Minor The Education Studies minor is designed to allow students from a variety of majors (including self-designed) to enhance their professional portfolio with an immersion of courses that explore…

Environmental Humanities

Posted January 25, 2016 by Lou Lepping

School of the New American Farmstead

Posted January 27, 2016 by Lou Lepping

The School of the New American Farmstead offers leading-edge courses & Professional Certificates in regenerative farming and artisanal food production to support professionals and lifelong learners of all ages.

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@adventurejournal talked with John Campbell, Founder of @alpine_luddites and Adjunct Faculty at Sterling College about our Gear Design and Repair class. "Well, I think I think the four-year model of education broken. I don’t think it actually works for today’s world. The skills that people are going to need due to climate change and other things that are on our radar aren’t taught in four-year schools and they aren’t taught in high school pretty much anywhere. Sterling is one of the few colleges that really takes that head-on," remarked Campbell. Read more. Link on bio.

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Sterling Alumnx (‘01) Theresa Snow, Founder and Director of Salvation Farms, conveys the origin of her non-profit and explores the practical and ethical importance of food surplus management. This conversation reveals the multifaceted potential of gleaning and surplus management activities, which serve as an eye-opening and activating type of experiential service learning while also supporting more equitable access to Vermont’s bounty of fresh produce. Theresa also speaks about her first-in-the-nation statewide study of edible food remaining on farms, and how to appropriately integrate technology and data to reveal supply-demand dysfunction and support more full food utilization for the benefit of farmers, eaters, and the environment. But in the end, she makes and defends some important claims about how change really happens -- and, despite all the good work that Salvation Farms and its organizational partners have done, Theresa doesn’t view institutions as the most important change agents. Link on bio.

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Sterling College is pleased to host an outdoor conversation with John Hayden and friends, Charlotte Rosendahl and Nicole Civita. Join us for Take A Walk on the Wild Side: An Evening with John Hayden and Friends on Thursday, July 22nd, at 7:00pm at The Farm Between in Jeffersonville, Vermont.

John Hayden has been working to design and implement agricultural systems with positive environmental and social outcomes for over 35 years as a researcher, extension agent, university educator, international consultant, and practicing regenerative organic farmer. Hayden's willingness to farm wildly and to share the bounty of his carefully tended, not-entirely-cultivated land among the more-than-human inhabitants of the farm created the foundation of Sterling's newest instructional site, The Farm Between. At the talk, John, Charlotte, and Nicole will explore the benefits and challenges of a wilder approach to farming and a more holistic approach to nourishment. The evening ends with a Q&A segment followed by light refreshments made by the Sterling Kitchen.

The talk is free and open to the public. Space is limited and parking can get a little tight. Consider carpooling with a friend. To help us fit everyone comfortably, it would be helpful to let Nakasi Fortune (nakasi.fortune@sterlingcollege.edu or 802-586-7711 x 147 know that you plan to attend.)

📷: Jessica Sipe

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New Podcast Alert: In this mini-cast, we rejoin Rick Thomas, Faculty in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Sterling College, as he shares with us thought leaders that have inspired his work including Lynn Miller, the Small Farmer's Journal, Rural Heritage Magazine, and more. Take a listen and glean and apply the practical knowledge to your life.

Link on bio.

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At many higher education institutions, you are a number. At Sterling, with less than 125 enrolled undergrads, you are community. So if you've spent the spring and summer hiking and seeking out swimming holes, no worries. We got you. We will even waive the enrollment deposit to make things easy. So go for that July creemee run and come back and finish your application.

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We are saying limited seats, but that's almost funny. Why? Because Sterling prides itself on getting you out of your seat. Some call this experiential learning, we call it ecological thinking and action. So if you feel like college isn't for you because classrooms aren't for you, think again. Give us a shout and let us show you the inside scoop on outside classrooms. Send us a PM.

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They have an obsession with cheese; aged, blue, and smelly are all adored and cherished! They dream of someday being the front-human of a David Bowie cover band. They pose with chickens. If you are digging this person already, meet Moxie, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid. If you've dragged your feet all summer, have no fear. Fall enrollment is still in the cards for you, and this radical human can help make it happen. Drop us a PM and we can navigate you through the process in a way that leaves you nothing to bock, bock about.

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@guidesgonewild Podcast featured @len_tikyeler , Faculty in Environmental Humanities, and captured Laura's powerful testament to the importance of the right mentors and messaging, and how difficult it can be to see, never mind overcome, all the barriers we tend to build in front of ourselves. Take a listen. Link on bio.

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Take a seat around our virtual campfire and hear the stories we have to share: https://www.youtube.com/c/SterlingCollegeVT

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New Podcast Alert: @teaching_teamster , Faculty in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Sterling College, joins us and discusses the definition of draft animal power systems, the student experience at Sterling’s Wendell Berry Farming Program in Kentucky, and the philosophy of Wendell Berry. Rick guides us through challenges of working with draft animal power and the conscious choice of doing right for the land. In this episode, we explore the failed food systems and transition from what is to what can be.

Link on bio.

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Just a friendly reminder from @onlyandeverlove , Dean of Student Life, to treat yourself to self-care with these ideas:

Rest. Nap.
Drink more water.
Take 10 minutes to breathe deeply.
Move your body in any way that feels good to you.
Talk with a friend.
Take a walk and practice using all your senses.
Make a gratitude list.
Practice saying no.
Forgive yourself.
Tell someone something you like or appreciate about them. ⁣
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#selfcarematters #selfcarelove #selfcaredaily #selfcaresaturday #goodvibes #selfcareeveryday #mindfulness #selfcareisnotselfish #loveyourself #selfcaretips #selfcaretip #selfcareisforeveryone #selfcare #positivevibes

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Here is some of what's happening behind the scenes of Sterling's Equity Council:

We co-created, funded, and hired Rachael Blansett with our friends at @collegeoftheatlantic . Rachael will start August 1 as our Diversity & Inclusion Fellow.

We kicked off a partnership with the @susucommunityfarm , a BIPOC-led community farming and healing organization. They are working on a workshop design focused on healing from embodied racial trauma for BIPOC and white allied staff and students this fall.

We formalized a partnership with the Vermont Pride Center and are together working on programming to provide skills, support, and community development for our Queer students on campus.

We cultivated a partnership with Out in the Open, an organization focused on supporting rural Queer individuals in New England. Together we are co-sponsoring a Sterling Pride event and a fundraising effort for Out in the Open.

The Offices of Student Life and Academics are reworking the new student orientation schedule to include more time and space for defining norms and supporting BIPOC & Queer students.

We are solidifying our support structure and relationship with the VA to support our current and incoming veteran students.

We are involved in a second and supported version of the Craftsbury Town Equity Team with increase structural supports from Sterling.

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Dig In!

Solidarity, Kinship, and Climate Justice: Adventures of the Sterling College Environmental and Social Justice Club

This past spring break (Spring 2016), the Environmental and Social Justice Club (ESJC) made a trip to western Massachusetts in solidarity with the Sugar Shack Alliance and dozens of other…

10 Reasons You Should Go to College in Vermont

Many Vermonters – and just about anyone who has spent time in the Green Mountain State – can tell you that Vermont is a special place. You know we have…

Reflections on the Vermont Food Systems Study Tour

For three weeks this summer, I traveled in a large white van with seven other students, two instructors, and a media fellow, navigating the food system and landscape of Vermont….

The Classroom and Beyond

Rigorous, Experiential & Place-based Academics

Majors

Ecology

Environmental Humanities

Outdoor Education

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems

Self-Designed Major

Minors

Climate Justice

Draft Animal Power Systems

Natural History Minor

Natural Resources Conservation

Education Studies

Environmental Humanities

Continuing Education

School of the New American Farmstead

Are you ready to remove the barriers between learning and living?

Come see how Sterling College can show you how.

Academics by the Numbers

Solidarity, Kinship, and Climate Justice: Adventures of the Sterling College Environmental and Social Justice Club

10 Reasons You Should Go to College in Vermont

Reflections on the Vermont Food Systems Study Tour

Academics

The Classroom and Beyond

Rigorous, Experiential & Place-based Academics

Majors

Minors

Continuing Education

Share It!

Are you ready to remove the barriers between learning and living?

Come see how Sterling College can show you how.

Academics by the Numbers

Solidarity, Kinship, and Climate Justice: Adventures of the Sterling College Environmental and Social Justice Club

10 Reasons You Should Go to College in Vermont

Reflections on the Vermont Food Systems Study Tour