College Credit
Other than the many graduate papers written on hiking the AT, PCT, CDT, has anyone negotiated college credit for the actual hike itself and their experiences along the way? Thanks!
College credit for taking a 6 month vacation? I hope our education system hasn't sunk to that level.
Guess again.Originally Posted by max patch
Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe - Thomas Sowell
To clarify, any such granting of credit would obviously (or apparently not so obviously) require the appropriate amount of work or research to qualify for college credit.
I've met at least 2 thru-hikers already who got 3 credits (i believe they said 3) for their AT hike.
I know one of them was from College of the Atlantic.
Hey, my old business partner is teaching fly fishing to 3 different colleges now.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
gettin' credit for somethin' anyone can do. damn! only in America
Nothing for just hiking the trail
The closest thing I know of is the Student Conservation Association. You can apply for various college internships through them all across the nation at national parks, forest service, perserves, or other agencies.
I can only guess you would have to it as a design your own course praticum or masters thesis about hiking the trail. You just have to check your school to see if they will accept a non-traditional project.
''Tennessee Viking'
Mountains to Sea Trail Hiker & Maintainer
Former TEHCC (AT) Maintainer
Ask Warren Doyle. He's a prof.
Some college institutions might give a thru hiker college credit for phy.ed requirements (usually between 1-3 credit hours). Certainly, the average BA/BS degree requires about 128 hours, so the 1-3 credits isn't much.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
I know of several folks who've received credit/grades for very specific things, such as scientific papers (usually dealing with wildlife, plants, etc). I also know of some people who've received some credit for artwork done while on the Trail, usually photograpy or video work. I suspect you'd have better luck with schools or classes that stress individual study and individual personalized study projects. Come up with the idea, project first, then approach the right instructor with your ideas. Good luck!!
That is funny,hiking the AT for 6 months is a vacation?
OUR education system? How do you define OUR education level?
Just a typical WB bash the educated one.
naturejunkie,good luck...I wish you the best of luck!
Funny someone should mention a class in fly fishing. . . I actually had it for a PE class in the 70's and was good at it. I'd never done anything like it before, but had to have a PE class and it was the only thing I could schedule. I took it and was better than some of the guys! We had to cast with a fly rod and a rod and reel, and we had to be able to hit specific targets at different lengths out. It wasn't a course that was easy, but I ended up enjoying it.
uh, yeah it isThat is funny,hiking the AT for 6 months is a vacation?
Very few places will give credit just for hiking the AT. Many places are flexible in giving credit for 'life experiences' or special topics courses. It would be easiest to pull this off if you propose some intellectually viable project that just happens to involve hiking the trail. It would help a lot if you have a sympathetic professor. Usually you would have to write a substantial paper or project report at the end to get the credit. Certainly people have written trail journals that would qualify for credit -- for example, Jan Liteshoe has written a pretty good book from hiking the Long Trail. I'd think that an interesting sociological study could be done on thru hiker culture.
There are a few schools that offer an "Outdoor Leadership Program", for example http://www.gcc.mass.edu/programs/olp/
What's even more interesting is that some fields of study basically require field work and undergraduates often get to do field work. For example, I've known primatologists that studied monkeys in the Peruvian Amazon, monkeys in Nepal, bonobos in Zaire, etc. A glaciologist might get to go to Antarctica, Greenland or to mountain glaciers.
Language students can sometimes get credit for foreign travel. I'd think hiking some of the old pilgrimage routes in Spain would be good for some credits in Spanish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_St._James
Foreign students majoring in English might get credit for hiking the AT.
I'm looking at this from the perspective of an educator and I think it is absolutely legitimate to consider developing a curriculum that could capitalize on thru-hiking and/or long-distance hiking in general. I believe setting up a 9-12 credit semester based upon a successful hike is an achievable and worthwhile effort.
Many educational options, such as study abroad, semester at sea, etc. have an element of vacation; however, that does not de-legitimize the actual work associated with the experience. With the appropriate development, credit options could be created in American History, Appalachian History, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology, Psychology, Ecology, Biology, Environmental Studies, Physical Education, Exercise Physiology, etc.
Anyway, thanks to those who actually answered the question. Cheers!
We should all get honorary degrees from Appalachian State.
I'm guessing any major that will allow you to earn credits for hiking the AT will result in a degree where your only job option is teaching the same thing to others so they can get the same degree.
What we need are some orthopedic surgeons to hike the AT.
Pain is a by-product of a good time.
Some High Schools here in Maine have been offering courses in Outdoor Leadership for several years.
How does a professor verify a thru-hike? A bunch of pictures? Knowhow? I've never thru-hiked but I could pass as one in conversation. Even got pics of me in the woods with a huge beard.
up over the hills, theres nothing to fear
theres a pub across the way with whisky and beer
its a lengthy journey on the way up to the top
but it ain't so bad if you have a great big bottle o'scotch
Here is a list of colleges (and other organizations) with accredited outdoors programs:
http://www.aee.org/accreditation/programs
Last year there were a couple of guys that said they were getting college credit.....something like they had to write a few papers about their experiences or the area or something while they were out there...
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