The collaborative sustainability course invites students to learn in the great outdoors at Paul Smith’s Adirondack campus.
Excelsior University has partnered with Paul Smith’s College to offer an innovative new summer course, Humans, Health, and the Environment: A One Health Approach, focused on teaching sustainability concepts through an immersive outdoor learning experience at Paul Smith’s campus in the Adirondack Mountains. The course explores the One Health philosophy—an approach recognizing the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment they share—with a hybrid educational program combining online coursework with a week of on-location learning in the Adirondacks.
The core of the course is a field residency at Paul Smith’s College from August 3-9, 2025, where students will connect their studies with practical applications in nature. Participants will gain hands-on experience in understanding how domestic, agricultural, and wild animal populations intersect with human communities through guided field studies and expert-led thematic campfire discussions. Topics explored during the field residency include plant identification, zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, pollinators and food security, water and human health, sustainable agriculture, and the impact of the outdoors on physical and mental health.
“This collaboration with Paul Smith’s College reflects Excelsior University’s commitment to building community and providing unique experiential learning opportunities for our students,” said David Schejbal, Excelsior University president. “Through partnerships like this, Excelsior is creating a seamless environment for learners to enhance their online education with unforgettable in-person experiences and practical skills that will serve them throughout their lives.”
“Our partnership with Excelsior University underscores Paul Smith’s College’s commitment to expanding access to hands-on, immersive education,” said Dan Kelting, President of Paul Smith’s College. “By combining our distinctive strengths with Excelsior’s expertise in online learning, we’re enabling students to enrich their virtual studies with impactful, real-world experiences. Situated in the heart of the Adirondacks, Paul Smith’s offers unparalleled access to one of the nation’s most vibrant natural classrooms, an ideal setting for this kind of collaboration. We’re excited to continue investing in partnerships that prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and agility to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world.”
SUST 300 Humans, Health and the Environment: A One Health Approach
The 3-credit course that features a one-week immersive experience for learning outdoors, connecting with other Excelsior students, and gaining practical skills. The course is enrolling students now through June 27 for Excelsior’s Summer II term, beginning June 30. The course cost of $2,751 includes tuition, meals, and housing for the one-week residential field experience. The course is open to current Excelsior students, alumni, and the general public.
In SUST 300 Humans, Health and the Environment: A One Health Approach, you’ll explore the complex relationships between human, animal, and environmental health. You’ll spend week 6 of this 8-week course at Paul Smith’s College. At Paul Smith’s, you’ll connect theory with nature and passion with practice through the lens of the One Health philosophy that recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. The course includes two weeks of online coursework and five weeks of self-paced course readings and activities.
Whether you’re a future health leader, an eco-advocate, craving purpose-driven exploration, or simply a lover of nature, this course is for you. Step outside the ordinary.
More information: https://www.excelsior.edu/page/summer-course-with-paul-smiths-college.
Media coverage:
WNYT-TV13, Albany, NY: https://clipping.kinetiq.tv/clipping/download/2025/5/21/2495d16c-5cc4-4b5a-a68f-5b4ecf76aa8a.mp4
Spectrum News: https://clipping.kinetiq.tv/clipping/download/2025/5/22/23ec2fb2-2997-4b8b-b484-356ad17f8a7f.mp4
