become an instructor

Credit: Stéphane Terrier

Become a NOLS Field Instructor

We teach in classrooms and remote wilderness locations

NOLS Field Instructor

We look for educators who are growth-oriented and passionate about teaching.

To become a NOLS field instructor, your first step is to complete a NOLS Instructor Course. The Instructor Course is expedition-based training focused on preparing you to teach NOLS’ expedition core curriculum: leadership, risk management, outdoor skills, and environmental studies.

Applications for Spring/Summer 2020 Instructor Courses are now open. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2019. Take a look at the FAQs to learn more about instructor courses with NOLS.

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Course participants white water rafting at the Gates of Lodore in Colorado.

River Instructor Course You’ll travel in rafts and ...

River Instructor Course

You’ll travel in rafts and kayaks through deep incisions of limestone, shale, and sandstone.
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Course participants backpacking in the distance through a field of tall grass in the Southwest.

Southwest Instructor Course This 24-day instructor course combines ...

Southwest Instructor Course

This 24-day instructor course combines foundational leadership training with a 16-day backpacking expedition and focused top-rope rock climbing.
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A student looking out over snowy peaks while mountaineering in the Wind River Range.

Rocky Mountain Instructor Course Build on the technical outdoor ...

Rocky Mountain Instructor Course

Build on the technical outdoor skills you already have as you fine-tune your teaching skills through an in-depth examination of the NOLS curriculum.
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A lake surrounded by distant mountain peaks in the Wind River Range.

Professional Instructor Course - Mountain This course is designed for ...

Professional Instructor Course - Mountain

This course is designed for those who already have extensive experience teaching in the outdoors.
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Become an Instructor for NOLS Wilderness Medicine

Instructors are first and foremost intentional educators. They teach the recognition, treatment, and prevention of wilderness emergencies across all NOLS Wilderness Medicine courses including: 2-day Wilderness First Aid, 10-day Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals, 30-day Wilderness EMT, and more. 

To become an instructor, you need to complete the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Instructor Training Course (ITC), a 7- or 10-day intensive training in Lander, Wyoming.

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“It’s the absolute best to watch a student act with confidence during a medical scenario, step up to lead a travel day, or push themselves to try something new.”

- Robin Larson, NOLS Instructor

 

 

A course poses with a prop plane bringing them re-ration food and supplies while mountaineering in the Alaska's Wrangell Mountain Range.
A course participant breaks into a smile while backpacking in the desert.
Participant sits in a beached kayak holding the fish he caught for breakfast in Alaska's Prince William Sound.
Instructor teaches rappel class at Cochise Stronghold in Arizona.
Instructor wearing curly wig and climbing gear poses at Lankin Dome in Wyoming.
Students have fun paddling on a flat water section of the Nisutlin River in the Yukon.
A course participant consults a map while skiing in Grand Teton National Park.
Instructor addresses group of seated students with desert scenery in the background.
A student gives their horse a kiss while horsepacking in Wyoming's Wind River Range.
Students practicing Wilderness Medicine with a large canyon behind them
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