BA(Hons) Outdoor Leadership
Why you should apply for this course.
We equip you with the practical skills and academic knowledge that an outdoor leader needs, including technical, practical skills and transferable skills such as leadership, communications, team working, liaison, self-awareness and flexibility. The course helps you become more self-motivated and confident, so you can use your skills effectively on the course and later on in your career.
The Penrith campus is an ideal location to study outdoor leadership. It offers easy access to several mountain areas (Lake District, Pennines, Howgills, Galloway Hills) and associated crags, lakes, caves and rivers. It also has good motorway access to mountainous areas further afield in Scotland, Snowdonia and the Peak District. The university offers a wealth of resources in equipment and staffing expertise.
What is this course about?
The practical strands include climbing, walking, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, caving, mountain biking and winter skills. There are extracurricular trips to provide opportunities to experience higher-level skills and overseas environments, including climbing in Red Rocks Park and Joshua Tree National Park, USA, ice climbing and ski touring in Norway and kayaking in the Alps or Pyrénées.
You take a mix of compulsory and optional modules, which include outdoor operations, outdoor management development, technology, geomorphology, meteorology, health and fitness, social issues, anatomy and physiology, psychology, therapeutic applications and event management. In the third year you complete a dissertation on a relevant topic of your choice.The outdoor students are a very enthusiastic and friendly group and run student outdoor clubs that add even further to the potential outdoor practical experience you can gain.
The Penrith campus has many specialised resources such as an indoor climbing centre, a high ropes course and a yurt camp. It houses the Centre for Outdoor Management Education and Training (COMET), which is used by outdoor activity businesses and professional organisations, allowing you to network, attend specialised seminars and gain additional experience.The campus also has a good level of research activity and in summer 2006 hosted an international outdoor research conference.
The course not only equips you to follow a career in the outdoor industry, it also helps you gain a transferable set of skills required by most employers.Due to our excellent reputation in the field of Outdoor Studies, we receive a high volume of applications for this course. Consequently, all applicants should expect to be interviewed by one of our tutors as part of the admissions process.
What do our students say?
"The course helped me to identify techniques which we can take from teaching in the outdoors to my everyday work life. Leadership and team work go hand in hand and I have found that ensuring a balance creates a great working environment. Most importantly I have taken away from the course friends for life. We still meet up, share experiences which helps renew the motivation the course instilled in us."
"The BA in Outdoor Leadership set me up to feel confident about making full use of the outdoors as an environment to work in. It also left me with a much heightened awareness of management practice and team leadership. Something that has served me well, both in work and racing."
"I have really enjoyed my outdoor course at the University of Cumbria because of all the experiences that I have had that I wouldn't have had otherwise. Without trying new things, such as mountain biking and caving as part of my course I wouldn't be the person that I am now."
"The practical module gives every student the opportunity to develop personal skills, to broaden their knowledge, experience and properly prepare to work in the outdoors."
"A challenging time both academically and additionally in obtaining professional qualifications. Success in both areas has been rewarded by improving my profesional portfolio and my personal confidence."
What can the course lead to?
You might become a centre or freelance outdoor activities instructor, or work in related areas such as field studies, youth work, development training, outdoor retail outlets, public services or management positions or go on to higher degrees and postgraduate teaching qualifications.