Overview
Sterling College's Rural Vermont Location Allows Students to Gain Environmental Experience Directly on Campus
With 125 students, Sterling College is the smallest residential four-year college in the United States. The school's curriculum combines traditional and experiential academics. Sterling's motto, "Working Hands Working Minds," is at the crux of the school's educational philosophy.
Sterling College utilizes its rural Vermont campus as a natural laboratory, with approximately half of the curriculum taking place in the classroom and the other half outside of the classroom in the form of practical work and experience.
Sterling's Four Unique Environmental Degree Programs Allow Students to Specialize in Environmental Issues
Sterling offers four majors in the area of environmental studies. The first, conservation ecology, teaches the relationship of all living things to the environment. Secondly, the sustainable agriculture program is unique in its approach to teaching and understanding small-scale, regional agriculture with an emphasis on sustainability.
Students can also major in outdoor and education leadership, in which they learn how to value and respect the natural world while experiencing it firsthand. They pass on the knowledge of how to enjoy nature without further endangering the ecosystem.
Finally, the circumpolar studies degree is the only undergraduate degree of its kind in the continental United States. This major focuses on the scientific and cultural issues of global climate change -- a timely subject for the environment. It also focuses on the history and cultural diversity of northern communities.
Students Have the Option to Design Their Own Major, Taking Advantage of All Sterling Has to Offer
Sterling's student body consists of a tolerant and accepting community. The school has a student to faculty ratio of 7:1 and an average class size of 10, ensuring that students build community and relationships with teachers.
Additionally, Sterling students are committed to expanding their knowledge base and developing their understanding. This is underscored by the fact that 35 percent of students visit other countries through global field studies courses. Among the study abroad locations available to Sterling students are Belize, Japan, Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, Sierra Nevada, the North Atlantic, and Northern Canada.
Sterling's Commitment to Sustainability is Evident at Every Corner of the Vermont Campus
Sustainability practices are an important part of the Sterling experience. The campus features green bikes, campus wide composting, a solar- and wind-powered farm, and organic gardens. Food is cooked by local chefs, and 25 percent of all food served in the dining hall is grown or raised on the school's own organic farms. Almost 100 percent of Sterling's food comes from within 50 miles of the campus.
The main campus has 130 acres of woodlands and pastures, and there are 300 acres of Boreal wetlands at the school's nearby Center for Northern Studies. Sterling students and faculty sustainably manage the 100 acre woodlot, and most of the farm work is done with horses rather than farm implements.
Sterling Cultivates a Community of Individuals Committed to Improving the World Through Work
Sterling College is New England's only work-learning-service college, and one of only seven in the nation. Students receive tuition credit and gain valuable skills through a variety of work program jobs and environmental internships. In this way, the college plays an integral role in environmentally educating future generations. They employ and educate those who believe that a better world is possible and are committed to engaging in practical work to achieve their visions.
The educational community believes in working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and in promoting a more sustainable planet. Through environmental internships, intensive applied research projects, and sustainable systems thinking, students are given the tools, skills, and experience needed to become responsible environmental leaders and trusted stewards of the natural world, and they graduate with a resume full of experience and ready for work.
Sterling's Vermont Location is in the Heart of Sustainable Agriculture and Outdoor Recreation
Situated in an area of Vermont that is fast becoming a hub of healthy local food and farming systems, Sterling is at the cutting edge of the sustainable agriculture movement. Vermont is also known nationally for its environmental preservation standards, and Sterling's conservation ecology students reap the benefits of hands-on-learning in this region. Additionally, the school is minutes away from world class hiking, biking, skiing, and many other recreational opportunities.
Graduates of Sterling College Go On to Become Successful Planners, Managers, and Educators
Whether studying in Vermont, around the country, or abroad, the Sterling experience combines hands-on practice with academic knowledge. The result is an outstanding record of alumni career placements and environmental track records. Sterling alumni are planting the Highline in New York City, managing urban farming programs in Chicago, and educating youth worldwide about the vital importance of environmentalism.
