Undergrad & Transfer Students

Find Your Community

Sterling College leads the nation in ecological thinking and action, and we are committed to being open this fall offering in-person, practical, hands-on, and timely education.  Our students, faculty, and staff understand that the climate catastrophe is already here and COVID-19 has only reinforced the importance of safe and thriving communities, food security, and opportunities to engage with nature.

Are you passionate about environmental sustainability? The study of the natural world? Agriculture? Outdoor education? Do you want to take real action against our current climate crisis? Then Sterling might just be the perfect fit for you.

At Sterling, you will 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 will learn timely and pragmatic skills to bolster your self-sufficiency like, social justice activism, story telling, food preservation, low-impact farming, knitting and weaving, and outdoor group facilitation.

Learning Happens Everywhere Here

Classrooms, Laboratories, Swamps & Fens, Mountainsides, Pastures, and Barns

Sterling empowers you to refine your voice by trying out new skills, being part of a supportive learning space, and trusting you as a learner to be a leader in your own educational journey.  Are you picturing yourself spending early mornings in the barn? Baking bread for a class on food systems? Sitting around a fire listening to creation stories of Indigenous peoples?

We thought so.

Click through to learn more about our majors:

Forge Your Own Path

Take the Road Less Traveled

Some students will join us the summer after their senior year of high school. Some will backpack the Appalachian Trail first, take a few years off to work on a farm, and others will stay close to home supporting loved ones.

Many of our students get their start at a community college or a larger institution, and then find their way to Sterling. No matter the journey, know that we value your personal path toward—or back into—education. Your life experiences matter to us as much as, if not more than, your grade in high school chemistry.

For this reason we accept rolling applications; apply when the timing feels right for you! Sterling is a rich and diverse community of academics, change-makers, early risers, and feral spirits.

Explore Our Community: