BA (Hons) in Adventure Education
University of the Highlands and Islands
Key Information
Select location
Campus location
Fort William, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
4 - 8 years
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 13,980 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* Scotland or EEA (outside of the UK): £1,820 per year | UK: £9,250 per year (Years 1, 2 and 3) | International: £13,980 per year
Introduction
What is special about this course?
Adventure Education is fundamental to the modern adventure sector as well as an important area of employment, creating exhilarating outdoor learning experiences for others through adventure sports and activities.
BA (Hons) Adventure Education is based at the School of Adventure Studies, within UHI West Highland. You will be based in Fort William, the Outdoor Capital of the UK, living and working at the foot of Ben Nevis, in a region that is unique for its rich variety of outdoor opportunities. This gives you access to a diverse and vibrant community of like-minded students, as well as the flexibility to progress into an alternative future pathways such as Adventure Tourism Management or Adventure Performance and Coaching.
Unlock your potential and become a future-shaper of the adventure sector. Links with other programmes in the Adventure Pathways Scheme will broaden your professional skills and expertise, giving you access to a diverse range of careers in many different adventurous settings.
We work closely with Adventure Education providers, including a close partnership with the Outward Bound Trust®, to give you direct access to professional-level experiences and practice, as well as having a wide range of national and international links for opportunities like work placements, student exchanges and shared practice.
Special features
- Access to outstanding outdoor sports facilities set amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK
- Receive tailored outdoor activity skills development and professional NGB training and assessment with the School of Adventure Studies' 'practical credits system': continuous professional skills development throughout your degree and beyond
- Be part of a vibrant and active student community of outdoor enthusiasts based in Fort William – the Outdoor Capital of the UK
- Easy transfer options available between adventure programmes within the School of Adventure Studies: Adventure Tourism Management and Adventure Performance and Coaching.
- Excellent links and work-placement opportunities with many adventure-based businesses and institutions in Scotland, the UK and internationally
- Residential field trips, clubs, international expeditions and many other opportunities to enhance your skills and experience in adventure activities
Accommodation
We offer modern student accommodation in Fort William ideally suited to students on this course.
Admissions
Curriculum
Content
Year 1 - CertHE
Core modules are:
- Foundations of outdoor learning
- Adventure Geography: the Scottish perspective
- Introduction to professional adventure practice
- Introduction to sports coaching and leadership
You will also choose one option modules which may include:
- Adventure education journeys
- Introduction to adventure tourism
- Human structure and function
- Marine and coastal tourism in the UK
- Activity performance and skill acquisition
- Preparing for work-based and placement learning
- Adventure markets: products and services.
Year 2 - DipHE
Core modules are:
- Nature and learning
- Social theory for adventure education
- Outdoor learning and teaching practice
- Understanding adventure
- Adventure operations and risk management
You will also choose one option module which may include:
- Applied coaching and leadership
- Applied tourism guiding and interpretation
- Work placement: team working and communication
- Performance and analysis of specialist skills
- Marine environments
- Principles of sport and exercise psychology
- Social history of the Highlands and Islands
- Contemporary marketing
Year 3 - BA
Core modules are:
- Planning international expeditions
- Resilience: personal development and experiential learning
- Anthropology of place: adventure education and cultural perspectives on nature
- Investigation: personal and social development in adventure education
- Research skills
You will also choose two option modules which may include:
- International expedition leadership
- Adventure therapy
- Work placement: industry specific skills
- Climate change
- Risk and incident management
- Management of adventure tourism
- Developing entrepreneurial effectiveness
- Applied sport and exercise psychology
Year 4 - BA (Hons)
Core modules are:
- Inclusive adventure
- Critical perspectives of adventure education
- Applied adventure education practice
- Perceptions of risk and decision making
You will also choose a double-credit project or research-based module, either:
- Dissertation or
- Adventure pathways professional project (major expedition venture or legacy project)
Program Outcome
The BA (Hons) Adventure Education programme prepares you for a career as a professional educator with a wide range of abilities, responsible for providing safe, authentic, adventurous experiences to help people discover, reflect and develop. You will expand your knowledge, understanding and skills to be able to plan, prepare and lead adventure education activities in potentially challenging and wild places.
Career Opportunities
What can I do on completion of my course?
With a degree in Adventure Education, you will hold a valuable array of knowledge and skills that are transferable to any of the various aspects of the UK or international adventure sector. The specific pathway you take will be vital in helping you shape your own chosen career. Adventure Education covers a wide range of career pathways and specialist fields, including:
- Outdoor centres; schools; educational expedition operators; adventure therapy; criminal justice rehabilitation
- Countryside ranger and environmental interpretation
- International expeditions
- Working in adult education
- Management and business development training
- Leadership and management roles in activity organisations
- Postgraduate teaching qualifications
Your career will grow and change as the years go on, and you may progress into any one of a range of exciting areas, so you may also find yourself involved in:
- Guiding, coaching and instructing in adventurous activities
- Adventure tourism
- Marine wildlife tourism
- Military or emergency services
- Higher-level adventure sector leadership - shaping future policy and practice