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  • Institutional COVID Updates
  • About Sterling
    • At a Glance
    • Mission Driven
      • Ecological Thinking and Action
      • Strategic Initiative
      • Sustainable Sterling
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    • Find your program
      • Ecology
      • Environmental Humanities
      • Outdoor Education
      • Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems
      • Self-Designed Major
      • Climate Justice Minor
      • Draft Animal Power Systems
      • Education Studies
      • Natural History Minor
      • Natural Resources Conservation Minor
    • Faculty
    • Field Studies
    • Rian Fried Center
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  • Wendell Berry Farming Program
    • Wendell Berry Farming Program Open House
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    • The New American Farmstead
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    • The Farm
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We advance ecological thinking and action.


8:1

This is Sterling’s student/faculty ratio. Your professors will know you, challenge you, guide you.

Sterling College is a private, environmental college focused on the human relationship with the natural world. Because we know that the most critical issues of our time involve our climate, soil, water, food, energy, wilderness, and estrangement from nature, Sterling offers ecologically focused bachelor’s degrees in only four areas—Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems, and Outdoor Education (or a program you design yourself)— to equip you for lives and careers that live up to your values.

Inquire Now


 Use your “Outside Voice”!

Our community and classes are small, tight-knit, and intense. They will invite you to share, risk, lead, learn, and grow.

And trust that we will know your name. Everyone is on a first-name basis here. You can be sure that you will receive the tools, guidance, and support you need to become your finest self.

Community

Community Meeting happens every Wednesday and the entire college—students, faculty, and staff—meet to share awarenesses, announcements, and appreciations.

Learn more about our Community


The Sterling College Work Ethic

Everybody has a job at Sterling.

Work CollegeSterling College is one of only eight federally recognized Work Colleges in the country, and the only one in New England. This means you offset part of your tuition—and get career experience—by working a part-time job on campus.  Whether you’re working on the Sterling College farm caring for our livestock and vegetables, preparing amazing meals in the kitchen, making Sterling’s very own maple syrup, mentoring students in the community, or something else entirely, one thing is for sure:

All this hard work leads to something

Valuable job skills and new understanding for the kind of work you find meaningful are immeasurable gifts. Plus, your résumé will thank you.  Interested to talk to a current student about their work life at Sterling?

Let us connect you!


 

Why choose Sterling College?

  • Because we are committed to offering a revolutionary and authentic education that explores the nexus between humanity and nature.
  • Because we still marvel at watching the sun cast shadows on winter’s first snow, or hearing the song of the Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus, outside the dining hall, or watching a student rock climb for the first time.
  • Because we will help you take on new challenges with grit and grace and confidence.
  • Because we will help you build the foundations for your dreams, whether you want to work in the green economy, start an organic farm business, or write better environmental policy for our nation.

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig into the adventure of a lifetime.

Schedule a Visit! Seeing is Believing


 

The Sterling College Story

Sterling College was one of the first colleges in the world to focus exclusively on cultivating ecological thinking and action in our students—people who love, work in, and actively care for the environment.

Founded in 1958 as a boarding school, Sterling College evolved into a one- and then two-year experiential college program in rural resource management, looking at the complex relationships between agriculture, conservation, and education. We were locavores before there was even a name for it.

Sterling College Full Class 1959

Here is the first class to graduate the Sterling School in 1959.

1965

The Sterling School circa 1965

Today, Sterling College is an accredited four-year institution and America’s leading advocate for ecological thinking and action, educating students from all over the world in the science, philosophy, and skills of ecological thinking and action. We offer four environmentally focused undergraduate majors and a self-designed major in the context of an ecology-inspired education. Our mission is to prepare coming generations in the “whys” and “hows” of personal and professional environmental stewardship.

Sterling is also proud to serve as a beacon for ecological education and campus sustainability where nature is the measure. Sterling College was one of the first colleges in the country to have a farm. We were the third college in the nation, and the first in Vermont, to divest our endowment from fossil fuel investments, and we have received a STARS Gold Rating in recognition of our sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

Check out Sterling's Timeline!

Dunbar Table

Apply

Hooray! We are delighted that you have decided to apply for admission to Sterling College. Your application will be reviewed with great personal care, and you are encouraged to contact…

Sterling College Tuition Room and Board

Tuition, Room & Board

Tuition, Room & Board, Fees Tuition Room & Board Activities & Fees Total Cost for 2020-2021 $39,000 $10,400 $200 $49,600 Though this is about 20 percent less than what most…

College Tour walks across the fsrm in the background of the photo. The mountains are in the distance, and the sunflowers bloom in the foreground

Open House

Learn the Value of a Sterling College Education Understand our unique approach to Ecological Thinking & Action February 21, 2021 VIRTUAL Open House Whether you’re a high school student creating…

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In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we not only pay homage to his momentous civil rights legacy, but we also recognize that his words may have sparked the modern day environmental justice movement.  Ecology teaches us that humans are not separate from nature.  Protecting people is part of protecting the planet. ⁣
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#martinlutherkingjr #blacklivesmatter #civilrights #mlkday #mlkquotes #mlkjrday #mlk #mlkday2021 #martinlutherking
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Sterling College has a Challenge Course with low elements that emphasize group collaboration and communication skills, and high elements that help cultivate trust, mutual support, and courage. The College has a 30-foot outdoor climbing wall, where students practice introductory rock climbing skills before getting out on local crags, and gather on warm fall evenings for recreational climbing. Sterling also has an indoor bouldering gym where students cultivate technique and strength. The College has a gear outfitter and rental center where students learn how to pack out for trips and can rent equipment for personal adventures: backpacking, climbing, snowshoeing, canoeing, and more.
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""When we engage in fiber arts, we are creating something, but we're also participating in historic traditions tens of thousands of years old.  You are not only not only making art for your soul and future generations, you are embodying the work of our ancestors." - The Woven Road ⁣
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#tapestry #textiles #makersmovement #fiberartistsofinstagram #fiberart #weavingart #loomweaving #textileartist #yarn #fibreartist #weaving #textileart #wovenart #handmade #fiberarts
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Snow in the forecast.  And since we've no place to go but outside...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. ⁣
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#skiingday #xcski #skiislife #skiinglife #skiseason #skiday #ski #backcountryskiing #snow #snowphotography #snowflakes #snowglobe #snowlife #letitsnow #snowing #snowflake #snowfall #snowweather
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Sterling is privileged to have a close collaborative relationship with the @craftsburyoutdoorcenter located 3 miles from campus. All matriculated Sterling students and regular employees are granted free annual memberships.  If kick-and-glide is your jam, we have 105k  of groomed trails in our backyard. ⁣
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#simplyadventure #keepitwild #outdoored #adventure #outdooreducation #explore #getoutside #nordic #ski #xcski #nordicskiing #outdoors #crosscountryskiing #skiing #nordicski #nordicinspiration #xcskiing
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Whether you’re a high school student creating your college list, a student at another college who is thinking of transferring to Sterling, a parent of a prospective student, a sibling, or a friend, you are welcome at Open House, and we can’t wait to meet you.

Those who attend our virtual event will be eligible for a $500 Virtual Experience Scholarship upon depositing!

More info by visiting the link on our bio.
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In honor of Aldo Leopold's birthday. . .
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In 2021, the School of the New American Farmstead will offer four professional certificate programs built on the foundation of the continuing education courses offered since 2016: artisan cheesemaking, sustainable food craft, organic wine and spirits production, and educational farm and garden management. These hands-on certificates will require you to roll up your sleeves and dig in and engage all of your senses; you’ll take home insights into techniques perfected by some of the world’s most skilled ecological farmers and craft-food producers. #schoolofthenewamericanfarmstead
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Sterling first offered a semester-long Southwest Field Program in 1995 and in 2021 will explore providing related programs of study in partnership with the Natural History Institute in Arizona. The Natural History Institute is a mission-aligned collaborator in this work as a leader and resource for a revitalized practice of natural history that integrates art, science, and humanities to promote the health and well-being of humans, the natural world, and the relationship between the two.

The Sterling College Field Studies program offers students the chance to discover the diversity of the planet’s landscapes and cultures, and explore the complex, ever-changing co-evolutionary relationships among people and place. ⁣
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In collaboration with @collegeoftheatlantic and with generous funding from The Endeavor Foundation, Sterling in 2021 will advance diversity, equity, and inclusion on its campus by addressing academic and student life improvements that support students of color. These new resources are no small feat to secure during challenging times and will directly serve the needs of our community of color while also working towards equipping white allies with the tools and skills and self-awareness they need as we work towards a community where all members are thriving. ⁣
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#diversityequityinclusion #diversitymatters #equityandinclusion #inclusionmatters #blacklivesmatter #dei #equitymatters #inclusionanddiversity #diversityinclusion #diversityandinclusion #diversity #equity #inclusion
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Connect with Sterling Sterling College
PO Box 72
Craftsbury Common, VT 05827
(802) 586-7711

About Sterling

Sterling College uses education as a force to address critical ecological problems caused by unlimited growth and consumption that is destroying the planet as we have known it. Our mission is to advance ecological thinking and action through affordable experiential learning that prepares people to be knowledgeable, skilled, and responsible leaders in the communities in which they live.

Sterling acknowledges that the land on which we gather is the traditional and unceded territory of the Abenaki people on our Vermont campus, and the Shawnee, Osage, and the Eastern band of the Cherokee on our Kentucky campus.

Memberships & Affiliations

Copyright 2021 Sterling College

Apply Inquire Give Visit
  • Institutional COVID Updates
  • About Sterling
    • At a Glance
    • Mission Driven
      • Ecological Thinking and Action
      • Strategic Initiative
      • Sustainable Sterling
      • Back
    • Our President
      • Board of Trustees
      • Board of Advisors
      • Alumni Association Board
      • Our Leadership
      • Back
    • Accreditation
    • Sterling Timeline
    • Employment
    • Back
  • Admissions and Aid
    • Apply
      • Admission Requirements
      • Admission Deadlines
      • Transfer Applicants
      • Vermonters
      • Veterans
      • Homeschooled Applicants
      • International Applicants
      • Visiting Students
      • Back
    • Inquire
    • Experience Sterling College
      • Interactive Campus Map
      • Open House
      • Family Weekend
      • Accommodations
      • Back
    • Financial Aid & Scholarships
      • Scholarships
      • Net Price Calculator
      • Work College
      • Back
    • Tuition, Room & Board
    • Back
  • Academics
    • Find your program
      • Ecology
      • Environmental Humanities
      • Outdoor Education
      • Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems
      • Self-Designed Major
      • Climate Justice Minor
      • Draft Animal Power Systems
      • Education Studies
      • Natural History Minor
      • Natural Resources Conservation Minor
      • Back
    • Faculty
    • Field Studies
    • Rian Fried Center
    • The Foundation of Sterling’s Curriculum
    • Course Catalog
    • Academic Calendar
    • Graduation Requirements
      • Senior Capstone
      • Back
    • Advising
    • Brown Library
    • Back
  • Wendell Berry Farming Program
    • Wendell Berry Farming Program Open House
    • Back
  • Professional Studies
    • The New American Farmstead
    • Back
  • Life at Sterling
    • Work College
    • Community
    • Safety and Security
    • The Sterling Kitchen
    • The Farm
    • Student Activities
    • Athletics
    • Health & Wellness
    • Residence Halls
    • Back
  • Alumni & Supporters
    • Sterling Outcomes
    • Back
  • Parents & Families
  • Make A Gift
  • Online Store
  • More
    • Contact Sterling
      • Office Directory
      • Back
    • Directions
    • News & Events
    • The Blog
    • Corporate Foundation and Government Relations
    • Intranet
    • Back