Outdoor Leadership Major Requirements
The Outdoor Leadership degree will provide you with a foundation of knowledge and experience to prepare you for a leadership position in the outdoor adventure field, while also allowing you the flexibility to choose elective courses that you feel will make you distinctive. Please see the major requirements for a list of required courses.
When planning for your completion of the OL major, please consider the following:
- Minors/Double-Majors: Students completing a OL major are encouraged to pursue minors and/or double-majors that will enhance their preparation for their chosen specialization, but should carefully review requirements for those programs in order to plan for completion. An advisor/second advisor in the chosen area is recommended.
- Prerequisites: Be sure to check course prerequisites early in your degree planning, as there are a number of courses that have multiple prerequisite courses required (e.g., OL 399 Immersion Semester requires OL 205, OL 206 and OL 107 before participating)
- Minimum Grades: A grade of C is required in all prerequisite courses (e.g., if a course requires OL XXX as a prerequisite, OL XXX must have been completed with a grade of C or better in order to register).
- Physical Conditioning Requirement: The immersion semester does require a minimum level of physically conditioning before participating so please speak with your advisor about this early so that you have time to prepare.
- Immersion Semester (OL 399): You will live off campus during this semester and be participating in some of the most amazing outdoor adventure experiences of your life. You will not be able to take other classes during this semester so you must plan for this experience carefully.
- Field Experience: Field Experience is an opportunity to apply the skills you are learning in a specific way that is most beneficial to you after you graduate. It is required to do 4 credits of Field Experience (OL 479) or do the 4 credits of Expedition Planning (OL 110) and International Expedition (OL 310).
Outdoor Leadership Major Requirements
Courses marked with an (*) take place during the immersion semester.
| Take all of the following. 28 credits | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| OL 107 | Wilderness First Responder | 2 credits | |
| SLAM 201 | Leadership Dynamics in Recreation & Sport | 2 credits | |
| OL 205 | Outdoor Leadership Theory | 2 credits | |
| OL 206 | Outdoor Leadership Practice | 2 credits | |
| OL 399* | Outdoor Adventure Semester | 0 credits | |
| OL 260* | Intro to Mountaineering | 2 credits | SU |
| OL 360* | Fundamentals of Alpinism | 2 credits | |
| OL 330* | Expedition Behavior | 2 credits | |
| SLAM 362 | Program Development & Design | 2 credits | |
| OL 340 | Risk Management in Recreation & Sport | 2 credits | |
| OL 407 | Outdoor Leadership Seminar | 2 credits | |
| SLAM 300W | Current Issues & Topics of Sport and Outdoor Rec | 2 credits | WID |
| OL 479 | Field Experience/Practicum | 4 credits | |
| OL 499 | Capstone | 2 credits | Capstone |
| Complete one of the following methods sequences. 8 credits | ||
|---|---|---|
| ROCK | ||
| OL 158* | Intro to Rock Climbing | 2 credits |
| OL 358* | Sport Climbing Instructor | 4 credits |
| OL 408 | Rock Guide | 2 credits |
| WATER | ||
| OL 159* | Intro to Paddle Sports | 2 credits |
| OL 359* | Fundamentals of Whitewater | 4 credits |
| OL 409 | Whitewater Guide | 2 credits |
| Choose one of the following experience sequences (4 credits). | ||
|---|---|---|
| FIELD EXPERIENCE | ||
| OL 479 | Field Experience/Practicum | 4 credits |
| INTERNATIONAL OUTDOOR ADVENTURE | ||
| OL 110 | Expedition Planning | 2 credits |
| OL 310 | International Expedition | 2 credits |
|
Choose one course from each of the following sections. One must be an upper-division course. |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
EQUITY |
|||
| SOC 360 | Critical Race Theory | 4 credits | |
| HIST 365 | Civil Rights Movement | 4 credits | |
| GSS 201 | Intro to Gender & Sexuality Studies | 4 credits | |
| GSS 200 | Introduction to Queer Studies | 4 credits |
DP, SSHB |
| SLAM 363 | Adaptive & Inclusive Recreation | 2 credits | |
| HIST 245 | African American History Since 1865 | 4 credits | HC, DP |
| PH 354 | Special Topics in Disability & Health | 4 credits | |
| SINP 201 | Diversity & Equity in Organizations | 2 credits |
IP, DP |
| ENVIRONMENT | |||
| ENV 160 | Energy & the Environment | 4 credits | QR |
| ENV 200 | Sustainability Science | 4 credits | S, SPNW |
| ENV 260 | Oregon Natural History | 4 credits | S |
| ENV 121 | Our Global Environment | 4 credits | S, SPNW |
| ENV 222 | Environmental Literature | 4 credits | AIT |
| PHIL 321 | Environmental Ethics | 4 credits | S, AIT |
| POLS 224 | Environmental Politics | 4 credits | S |
| PH 320 | Environmental Health | 4 credits | S |
| PSY 313 | Psychology of Sustainability | 4 credits | S |
| TOTAL CREDITS | 44-46 |
|---|
Several of the above courses also qualify for core requirements: AIT=Analysis & Interpretation of Texts, DP/IP/IDP=International & Diverse Perspectives, HC=Historical Context, CE=Civic Engagement, QR=Quantitative Reasoning, S=Sustainability, SPNW=Scientific Perspectives of the Natural World, SSHB=Social Systems & Human Behavior