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