For more than 30 years, the Sierra Institute has been offering interdisciplinary environmental studies field programs to undergraduates from around the country. We were bold and innovative in our origin, and we remain so today. We take college out of the classroom and put it in the wilderness or directly in the midst of foreign cultures.
We believe that learning about nature, whether through the study of natural history or the reading of environmental literature and philosophy, is best done in an outdoor setting. For botany, go to the lupines and columbines of a mountain meadow. To write a poem about the moon, watch how it lights the rim of a desert ridge.
We further believe that college is a time in which students form the values that will shape their adult lives. The university years are a time of academics, of course, but also of concentrated personal growth. Our field programs are based on the premise that the purpose of education is to aid the student toward creating a life that is satisfying, meaningful, and helpful to others and the earth. We present an encompassing education, one in which the academics are complemented by experiential learning within a totality that is stirring and profound.
For students who want to do a portion of their college work in the company of rivers and mountains, we offer:
- solid academics and the quality teaching associated with the California State University system
- personal discovery through extended time in nature and international cultures
- a relationship to the earth deepened by living in the wild
- the fun and growth of a small community experience
 What We Teach
Sierra Institute programs cover an array of subjects. With credit conferred by relevant departments at Humboldt State University, its class curriculums have been designed to include the landscapes and cultures in which they are taught. Groups are small (typically10-12 students), which allows for lively discussion, hands-on fieldwork, and individual attention from instructors.
science-based programs
• natural history
• field botany
• ethnobotany
• conservation biology
• ecology and evolution
humanities-based programs
• nature philosophy
• ecopsychology
• cultural studies
• bioregionalism and sustainability
• environmental ethics
• environmental education
• wilderness skills
Who We Teach
Anyone 18 or over can apply to Sierra Institute programs regardless of campus affiliation, class standing, or major. Even those not enrolled in college or those who have completed their undergraduate work are encouraged to apply. Seasonal programs are designed to accommodate students from either semester or quarter system schools.
Where We Go
Few people today have the opportunity to spend a season in the wilderness or immersed in another culture. The Sierra Institute is based on the value of that opportunity. By backpacking and base camping in wilderness, we attain access to remote areas of beauty and inspiration for study and self exploration. By living and working with people of other cultures we gain unique, in-depth knowledge and understanding of those people and of ourselves. Our experienced instructors select exceptional and little-known destinations:
• California: Sierra Nevada, White Mountains, Big Sur, Death Valley, Lost Coast, Yolla Bolly Mountains
• Belize: The Rain Forest and the Barrier Reef of the Caribbean
• Argentina and Chile: Patagonian Cordillera and Andean forests
• Guatemala: Ancient Mayan temples and current communities
Tuition
Tuition is $2200 for a 6-week program and $3600 for a 9-week program. There are additional costs for transportation, food/lodging, academic fees, which vary program to program.
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