NOLS Summer Semester in Alaska

Spend a semester of a lifetime in one of America’s most remote and stunning wildernesses. Learn to master a variety of outdoor skills, from backpacking to sea kayaking, as you develop as a leader. If you’re ready to take on real leadership roles and develop your education away from the traditional classroom, then this is the course for you.

This expedition takes you to the North America’s largest assemblage of glaciers and greatest collection of peaks over 16,000 feet in elevation. The mountaineering section travels even deeper into the range, taking you to an ideal training ground for learning to live and climb on snow and ice. Finally, spend over three weeks sea kayaking in Prince William Sound. See glaciers and moose, sea lions and alpine tundra Amid all this activity, expect an extensive environmental studies curriculum that will offer a unique perspective on some of the world's most stunning wilderness. Throughout the semester, deepen your understanding of leadership as your instructors coach you through the NOLS leadership curriculum. Learn leadership by doing every day as you and your group work together to solve problems and meet challenges together.

After honing skills and leadership for 75 days in Alaska, you can graduate confident traveling in a variety of wilderness settings and with lifelong leadership skills.