Undergrad & Transfer Students

Find Your Community

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:

: Click here for more information about Student Activities

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Regardless of your flock - at Sterling College we look out for each other! That's what being part of the community is all about! #WhereSmallisBetter

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The Ecology Essentials for Everyone course is essential for anyone looking to understand how the world really works – with or without us humans. You'll develop a strong understanding of ecological principles, scientific thinking, and how to live more lightly on the Earth. Register today! Link on bio.

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These days, it seems that everyone has a better, purportedly more sustainable way to farm: organic agriculture, carbon-farming, regenerative agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable intensification. As alternatives to synthetic and extractive forms of industrial agriculture abound, it can be tough to tell which have real promise and which are green-washed nonsense (or worse). Agroecology – an approach that blends natural and traditional science with a set of farming practices and a social movement – stands out among the alternatives. It fundamentally trusts farmers to work with nature to develop their own approaches that produce food while maintaining ecosystem integrity and avoiding depletion. Our self-paced online course in agroecology is designed to empower farmers, gardeners and agriculture professionals alike - providing an invaluable understanding of agricultural sustainability and food movements for those who strive for social justice.Link on bio.

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The present climate and ecological emergencies are a global problem that requires immediate action. We must work together to find solutions that will help to mitigate these crises. Enroll into Climate + Change self-paced and online. Starting at $49! Link on bio.

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Ivy Manner's Senior Year Research Project was entitled 'Ecological Building & Design' where she designed and built an outhouse from scratch, including felling, extraction, sawing, and building.

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New issue of our annual publication, Terrain, has dropped. Take a read, link on bio.

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Sterling offers more than just undergraduate degrees. We are quickly building a host of online curriculum for learners of all ages and levels. Co-created by communities, consulting scholars, and Sterling College educators, EcoGather intersects community, practitioner, and academic insights without privileging any one over the others. The resulting courses are accessible to and enriching for varied learners at all stages of adult life. Check it out at : http://ce.sterlingcollege.edu . EcoGather - education that makes sense in a world that does not.

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Countdown is on until our Southwest Field Semester starts! February 6th!

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Scenes from this year's Winter Expedition ❄️ photo credit: Ryan Conners

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Anonymous online review: "Sterling is an experience. It is not like your normal college where you get a bunch of textbook work. Being a work college, you have the opportunity to learn work ethics and skills through the work program and through some classes. It is for those who want to put the work in. The college is off the beaten track and thus relies on its student body to be there for each other be it for keeping paths open or picking potatoes. Also being such a small school, you can step into classes that help broaden your overall knowledge and help you become a better steward of the environment you live in.From my time there I learned how to work and that from hard work comes celebration. I found my passion for outdoor education and made life long friends. I learned skills that are older than me, that help me in my daily life.All in all, Sterling gave me a challenge that led to me becoming a well rounded person both in work and education."

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The kitchen is the keystone of Sterling College. All students are part of Sterling’s sustainable food systems, through farming, cooking, and eating. The curricular system and the kitchen are inextricably linked. So when we say that at Sterling everyone has a seat at the table, we mean it literally.There is nothing institutional about cooking or eating at Sterling College. The College prides itself on local, healthy food made with love. Everyone at Sterling is part of that equation. The kitchen is cooperative and collaborative, students have a say, and dialog is welcome.

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Dig In!

Fun in the Rain

Rain or shine, every day is a great day to play and learn outside. The idea of learning how to be wild and free is part of the Coyote Kids…

Sterling Farm Creates Food Hub to Help Small Growers and Reduce Food Insecurity

STERLING FARM CREATES FOOD HUB TO HELP SMALL GROWERS AND REDUCE FOOD INSECURITY SNAP Benefits for CSA, Food From Micro-Local Producers, and Seed Library Throughout the pandemic, the Rian Fried…

Financing the Working Landscape Conference

On October 24, Sterling College hosted the all-day conference “Financing the Working Landscape.” The conference was hosted by the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association. Here, the…

Undergrad & Transfer Students

Undergrad & Transfer Students

Find Your Community

Learning Happens Everywhere Here

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

Click through to learn more about our majors:

Forge Your Own Path

Take the Road Less Traveled

Explore Our Community:

Trustees Emeriti

Everyone's timeline is unique

Apply when the moment is right

Fun in the Rain

Sterling Farm Creates Food Hub to Help Small Growers and Reduce Food Insecurity

Financing the Working Landscape Conference