2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Outdoor Education, Leadership & Tourism (BS)
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Program Description
The Outdoor Education & Leadership (OELT) program has been a staple at Vermont State University’s Lyndon campus since 1973, offering degrees in Resort Management and Adventure Education.
Vermont State University’s Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Education, Leadership & Tourism prepares students for success in the growth industries of resort management, outdoor education, and adventure tourism. The program includes courses from diverse disciplines, such as environmental science, psychology, and business. Our curriculum focuses on developing skilled professionals who are ready to lead within the resort industry and teach others about the outdoors using environmentally and educationally sound methods.
The B.S. in Outdoor Education, Leadership & Tourism combines the focus and expertise offered in Lyndon’s former mountain recreation management and Johnson’s outdoor education degree programs into one comprehensive program. All OELT majors will complete the same core coursework, and then specialize in one of three concentrations: Adventure Education, Mountain Resort Management, or Sustainable Tourism and Recreation.
The Sustainable Tourism and Recreation concentration is designed to prepare students for careers in tourism and recreation, while educating them about environmental sustainability and stewardship. This concentration equips learners with the tools necessary for a career in the growing field of sustainability within recreation and tourism through science-based coursework, while also preserving the foundational principles of an outdoor recreation degree.
Program Outcomes
- Plan, Implement, and Evaluate Programs: Develop, execute, and assess programs that address the diverse needs of populations served by the public and private sectors of the outdoor industry.
- Apply Educational Expertise in Outdoor Settings: Apply appropriate pedagogical knowledge, skills, and technology relevant to the chosen concentration(s) of adventure education, mountain resort management, and/or sustainable tourism and recreation.
- Understand and Act Upon Ethics, Values, and Inclusion in Outdoor Leadership: Demonstrate ethical decision making and uphold professional standards that incorporate critical historical context, moral principles, values, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.
- Demonstrate Professional and Risk Management Practices: Consistently apply professional standards and best practices in the field for responsibilities including risk management, emergency procedures, and responding to emergent issues.
- Understand and Apply Authentic Research and Data: Recognize and utilize reliable research, data, and information, consistent with scientific methods, to objectively analyze and solve problems within various outdoor-related professions.
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