• 16- 19 year old students who are:

  • Interested in science, agriculture, and working landscapes

  • Curious about the world around them, how it works, and how to make it better

  • Fans of playing outside

  • Not afraid of getting their hands dirty

Sterling College’s style of learning is unlike the typical high school and college experience. While "experiential" and “field-based learning” get thrown around a lot, we really immerse ourselves in this practice. If we want to learn about plants, we go out to the forest and find them, touch them, and see where they live. If we want to learn about farming, we head out to our working farm on campus and see how things run. We learn with active minds, active bodies, and dirty boots. 

All of this happens in the stunning Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. You’ll have an incredible educational experience and tons of fun as we adventure in boats, bikes, and our on-campus trail network. Take a few weeks this summer to explore natural science outdoors on a college campus, make friends from around Vermont and beyond, and create memories you’ll keep forever.

Students will live on Sterling’s 130-acre campus in our college dorms. They’ll receive the full experience of a Sterling College student- taking class sessions with our incredible faculty, participating in campus chores, eating delicious local food in our dining halls, and taking advantage of our on-campus rock wall, trail network, and gear room.

Students will be housed in our on-campus dorms and paired with a roommate for the session. They will have an in-house Community Advisor (similar to Resident Assistants) for non-class and overnight time, as well as the support of our Resident Life team. Sterling’s intentionally small community means students will quickly be on a first name basis with not only program staff, but the faculty, employees, and other summer students on campus.

• All-inclusive Program costs: $3000

  • This includes room and board, instructor and staff time for Environmental Field Studies and character development sessions, all gear/equipment rental needs, and transportation for any programming

• Weekend Adventure add on: $500

  • Students are dismissed from the program on Fridays after dinner, and return Monday mornings for breakfast. Students may elect to stay on campus for the full 3 weeks to participate in Weekend Adventure sessions. This additional fee will cover room and board, as well as adventure programming and supervision from July 11- 13 and July 18-20th.

• Deposit: $500

  • A non-refundable deposit of $500 must be paid at time of program registration, with full balance due 1 week prior to the start of the program (June 30, 2025). The deposit will be deducted from the balance. 

• Program Scholarships and Stipends

  • Program scholarships- Affordable access to high quality education is a cornerstone of Sterling College. While program fees are in line (and below) many similar programs, we also recognize that this may still be financially out of reach for some amazing students. We are pursuing funding to provide scholarships to students in need. If you are interested in being considered for a program scholarship, please indicate this on your application. 

  • Travel stipend- Students traveling from outside of Vermont to participate in the program may be eligible for travel stipends to cover some of the costs to get to Craftsbury. Please indicate on your application if you wish to be considered for a travel stipend.

  • Note: Applicants wishing to be considered for program scholarships or travel stipends must submit applications by the priority deadline of April 15, 2025.

• Dual enrollment: For local Vermont students, you will work with your school counselors to apply for Dual Enrollment Vouchers through the Vermont Department of Education. As long as you haven’t already used your 2 allotted vouchers on other college courses, the state will pay for you to earn 3-credits in this course. Students must earn a passing grade in the course in order to receive credit. 

• Sterling reduced-cost credit enrollment: For out-of-state students interested in earning college credit through this course, Sterling is offering a reduced cost tuition rate of $1000 for 3 college credits. Simply select this option on your enrollment form to elect to participate. Students must earn a passing grade in the course in order to receive credit.