Interested? See

BA (Hons)

Outdoor Adventure Leadership

Attendance

Campus

Start

Book an Undergraduate Open Day

Duration

3 Years

Start

September 2023

UCAS Code

N8M7

Delivery

Campus Taught

Foundation entry

Grab a paddle, fit your harness and check your map. Through five, week long residentials, this unique course gives you all the skills for a career in coaching and leadership, while allowing you to be based anywhere in the UK

Our Outdoor Adventure Leadership degree gives you everything you need to start a professional career. Each year our students take part in five, week-long, residential trips in challenging locations like North Wales, the Lake District and Dartmoor. On these trips, you’ll join in on kayaking, climbing, mountaineering and bushcraft. You’ll also stay in a wide range of accommodation - activity centres, bunkhouses, and wild camping.

What really stands this course apart though is its unique learning and delivery model. The five weekly residentials give you the equivalent contact time of a normal timetabled degree but give you the flexibility to live on one of our campuses or base yourself at home or anywhere in the UK. This makes it ideal if you are working or have other commitments and still want to gain an Outdoor Adventure Leadership degree.

Being able to study this full-time programme partially from home gives you more time to gain valuable industry experience or work on gaining national governing body qualifications. What’s more, with our strong industry connections with employers across the world. We'll support you in gaining further experience with our year-long or summer placement schemes.

You’ll be taught by an expert team of industry and research-active staff, all with years of experience. You can shape the course content to align with your interests or career plans. And by the time you graduate, you’ll have all the knowledge and experience you need to start a career in this growing employment area. Past students have progressed to careers in the military, education, emergency services, the NHS, and postgraduate research.

Why study with us

An innovative learning model based around high contact residential time at dedicated sites in North Wales, the Lake District and Dartmoor. This allows you the flexibility to study from anywhere in the UK or stay at one of our campuses.
Opportunities to undertake a range of National Body Qualifications.
Outdoor Adventure Leadership achieved 95% overall student satisfaction score in the National Student Survey (2021).

Interested?

Download

A different type of classroom...01 / 05

Join our Nature Therapy Summit

Attend our unique conference in partnership with Mind Over Mountains. Focus on harnessing the outdoors to improve mental well-being on 16 June.

Book your place

What you'll do

You’ll take part in five individual week-long practical residential trips each year where you’ll take part in a range of activities and turn theoretical concepts into professional skills.
This is a dynamic, practical course that allows you to examine a range of leadership, coaching and educational issues within the outdoor/adventure sector.
Placement opportunities could take you from the Lancashire coast to the Himalayas, and you can also work towards achieving National Governing Body (NGB) qualifications with a structured enhancement programme.

Module overview

Course delivery

Following the pandemic, we have found that some courses benefit from a blended learning and teaching approach. Therefore, the majority of your teaching will be face-to-face on campus aside from a small amount of online teaching where we have learnt it works best.

95%Face-to-face

5%Online

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

Join us on campus

Book a place at our Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 17 June. Here you'll be able to explore our campus and facilities, meet academic staff and chat to students.

Book your place

View the course facilities

Accreditations

This course is aligned with the Entry and General Management professional standards outlined by CIMSPA, the professional development body for the UK's sport and physical activity sector. As a member, you will be entitled to attend seminars and meetings and learn from industry professionals. The Health and Fitness pathway on the course allows students the option to meet professional standards in Gym Instruction, Personal Training, Health Navigator and Working with People with Long Term Conditions.
This course is accredited by the IOL, the professional body for individuals who use the outdoors to make a difference for others. They are driven by a vision of outdoor learning as a highly valued form of development, education and employment in UK society.

Future careers

To pursue a future in the highly specialised outdoor adventure and education sector, you’ll need highly specialised skills, knowledge and experience. Our BA (Hons) Outdoor Adventure Leadership delivers.

Ours is a course shaped around the needs of the sector, helping you develop the intellect, knowledge and skills to work in a coaching and leadership capacity within and beyond the outdoor sector.

Throughout your studies, you’ll find a real emphasis on practical experience. As well as week-long residentials and placements which are part of the course, we’ll also encourage you to take on work experience placements – both at home and abroad. With the connections we’ve built, that could mean working in outdoor teaching centres, educational charities or retail, but it might also involve working on national or international expiations.

As such, the course can help prepare you for a diverse range of rewarding career opportunities across the globe, from international expeditions, outdoor sports management and a range of coaching roles, to teaching, public services and uniformed services. You could also use it as a foundation for further study, from postgraduate research to a master’s course like our Outdoor Practice MA.

Fees and funding

2022/23

Full-time£9250 per year

Sandwich year£1000 for the sandwich year

International

Full-time£14250 per year

2023/24

Full-time£9,250 per year

Sandwich year£1,385 for the sandwich year

Part-time£1,540 per 20 credits

International

Full-time£14,900 per year

Sandwich year£2,000 for the sandwich year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

Select your country/region

Like any degree, this course will involve a series of lectures, tutorials and seminars, not to mention plenty of independent study at home or in the library. Of course, you’ll also do a lot of your learning outdoors.

You’ll have practical sessions on particular modules and topics, but you’ll also have week-long residentials at outdoor training centres and adventure sport facilities – where you’ll not only develop practical skills, but also experience real-world contexts for the academic theory.

On campus, you’ll have access to our excellent sport facilities, including our Sports Arena and Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre, as well as our lecture theatre, computer suites and superb library. The teaching team offers the same high standards, with staff who are actively engaged in a wide range of research, in areas like decision making, social interaction and environmental issues.

To monitor your progress, you’ll have a range of different assessments – including essays, portfolios, individual/group presentations, practical observations and reflective logs. There are no end-of-year exams.