Interdisciplinary Studies

Adirondack Experience for First-Year Students

Contact: Environmental Studies Department
311 Satterlee Hall, (315) 267-2768, envstudies@potsdam.edu

The Adirondack Experience is a coordinated program for first-year students who are concerned about environmental issues and want to get outdoors to learn about the region. The program is offered in the Fall semester, and includes four courses (12 credits) from different disciplines that share a common environmental studies emphasis. A highlight of the program, the Friday field trips in the Adirondacks, provide a great way to integrate the classes through applied learning. Students also explore our relationships with nature through journal writing, projects, class discussion and hands on fieldwork. Courses include composition, environmental studies, ecology and a first year success seminar, but may change slightly year to year.

The Adirondack Experience is open to all first-year students, and is particularly appropriate for those interested in Potsdam’s Environmental Studies major or minor. The program fulfills several general education requirements and is limited to 20 students.