NOLS and Saybrook University Pioneer Innovative New Master’s Program

Lander, Wyoming—NOLS and Saybrook University have partnered to launch an innovative new Master’s in Leadership program that balances online study with outdoor education. A 32-credit, three-semester program beginning in January 2019, the NOLS Saybrook MA in Leadership includes three wilderness expeditions led by NOLS and several residential conferences. In this immersive yearlong program, NOLS expeditions complement academic theory, offering students a chance to apply their learning in practical situations where their decisions have real-world consequences.

Saybrook’s signature hybrid learning model, which pairs graduate-level online coursework with experiential, face-to-face learning, offers students a background in leadership fundamentals from ethics, problem-solving, and systems thinking to cultural awareness and sustainability. Customized NOLS expeditions in Vernal, Utah, and Palmer, Alaska reinforce the online curriculum, challenging students to practice and apply knowledge of leadership concepts to real-world situations while backpacking, canyoneering, and canoeing.

“Between expeditions, students will get a chance to deliberately ask themselves, ‘How did I show up in my group the last time out? What did I learn, and what do I want to change this time?'” says Anne Magnan, Director of NOLS Custom Education. “And then they’ll go out and test those ideas. It’s an opportunity for students to blend academic learning with supervised practice.”

Learn more about the NOLS Saybrook Master’s program curriculum, expedition locations, and more here.

About NOLS: NOLS is the world’s most comprehensive wilderness school. Students learn communication, good judgment, and grit through developing outdoor skills, risk management, and wilderness medicine expertise in a hands-on environment. Students of all ages graduate from their courses prepared to step forward and lead their communities in a changing world. To learn more about the NOLS experience or to bring a course to your business or organization, call (800) 710-NOLS (6657) or visit www.nols.edu.

About Saybrook University: A nonprofit, regionally-accredited university, Saybrook was established on the pioneering idea that for progressive change to take place, it needs to be holistic. Saybrook University provides rigorous graduate education that inspires transformational change in individuals, organizations, and communities, toward a just, humane, and sustainable world. For more information about Saybrook University, call (888) 308-0032 or visit www.saybrook.edu.

To learn more about the NOLS Saybrook MA in Leadership program, please contact: 

Anne Magnan
Director, NOLS Custom Education
NOLS World Headquarters
284 Lincoln St., Lander, WY, 82520
307-335-2246 Direct
[email protected]

[Editor’s Note: The NOLS Saybrook Master’s course ran in 2018–2019 but is not currently offered, as of January 2020.]