Year in the Sonoran

  Mexico

• Baja: 
Loreto

  United States

Tucson

Term: Fall 
Dates: October 5 -March 17, 2010

Description: For two years, NOLS has been running some of the longest courses in the history of outdoor education, 135 days, the equivalent of a year at college.

The Sonoran Desert spans 120,000 square miles from the American Southwest to the tip of Baja California, Mexico. Your NOLS year will be one of crossing boundaries, from the U.S. to Mexico and from the arid desert to the sea. You'll sea kayak, sail, climb and hike in the unique Sonoran ecosystem, the most lush, diverse desert in North America, while also learning about the distinctive local cultures through Baja natural history and Southwestern literature.

The Year in the Sonoran will take you far from the classroom and place you right in the middle of your education. When you return to campus you'll have new skills, motivation and a years worth of college credit.

* Backpacking, Southwestern Literature and Baja Culture:
Backpacking will be the thread that runs through your entire year. First you'll explore the Gila Range, setting the foundation for your course, then you'll travel through the Galiuros Wilderness to study the celebrated writers of the American Southwest. In Mexico, you'll learn about Mexican ranchero culture in the Sierra de San Francisco.

* Rock Climbing:
Cochise Stronghold is a beautiful remote climbing area in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona that provides excellent opportunities to cover a comprehensive climbing curriculum, including moving on rock as well as rope and anchor systems.

* Wilderness First Responder (WFR):
Presented by WMI of NOLS, this 80-hour certification designed for outdoor professionals will give you the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions in remote settings.

* Leadership Education and Development Seminar (LEADS):
This closer look at the NOLS leadership curriculum is designed to explore in greater depth your own style of leadership and that of your coursemates.

* Sea Kayaking:
Paddling the wild desert coastline of the Baja Peninsula includes hands-on expedition planning, interpreting tides and currents, reading weather conditions, and exploring the underwater world through snorkeling, free diving, and, potentially, spear fishing.

* Coastal Sailing, Baja Natural History and Whale-Watching:
While on our 22-foot Drascombe Longboat you'll work toward mastering the mechanics of sailing this open boat, including sail and line handling, wind awareness, anchoring procedures and capsize recovery. Then you will spend time with local naturalists, students and fisherman observing endemic flora and fauna, global warming evidence, and the migration of gray whales.

* Independent Student Expedition:
Independent travel is an important part of an extended NOLS experience, and the successful completion of the Sonoran Year will culminate in an opportunity for you to apply all of your accumulated knowledge and skills to an autonomous student expedition.

Highlights:
College Credit:
(Optional)

27 Semester Credit Hours
4 Hours Biology
2 Hours Environmental Ethics
4 Hours Leadership Techniques
8 Hours Skills Practicum
4 Hours Risk Assessment
2 Hours Expedition Planning
3 Hours WFR credit

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: USD 20,550

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Scholarships are Available. Each year NOLS offers over USD 800,000 dollars in scholarship assistance. Scholarship aid is available to applicants who show great potential to excel as NOLS students and who would be unable to attend without financial aid. These scholarship dollars are made available through the generosity of alumni and friends to the NOLS Fund. Our graduates realize the great impact a NOLS education has and volunteer both time and money to further the school's mission.

Application Process Involves:

• Phone Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

NOLS The National Outdoor Leadership School's Mission Statement: The mission of the National Outdoor Leadership School is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment.

Year Founded: 1965