Custom Programs
Recapping The Wildwood School’s Custom NCOAE Program
…Nothing makes us happier here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) than meeting up with three busloads of seventh and eighth graders in a wilderness area and then teaching them about how to get along in an outdoor setting — in this case Joshua Tree National Park with its breathtaking sandstone…
Gap Semester
…Make an impact with a gap program that extends your education around the world. Learn more about NCOAE gap year programs and register today….
Expeditions
Wilderness First Aid (Hybrid) – North Carolina
Our skillful medical first-aid training is for outdoor educators looking to professionally certify their emergency preparedness….
Student Profiles
Meet the NCOAE Student: Tina Haver Currin, WEMT
…Tina Currin, an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast, recently completed NCOAE‘s W-EMT course. Learn more about how her journey led her to us!…
Education Without Walls
Update from NCOAE Spinoff — Education Without Walls
…If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you may recall that Education Without Walls (EWOW) began more than a decade ago here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Today, EWOW has become a successful organization — a self-sustaining not-for-profit complete with its own administrative staff, board of directors, programs, and…
NCOAE Recommends
When It Comes to Program Backpacks, NCOAE Opts for Osprey
Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) we’re not very big on endorsing products or brands. In fact, if you were to research our blog all the way back to the first entry at the end of 2013, you probably won’t find more than two or three posts chatting up products…
Outdoor Educator Training
UNCW Students Can Earn 6 Credits While on Winter Break in Patagonia
…How would you like to spend three weeks in windswept Patagonia, summiting a 19,000-foot-high peak in the Andes, taking on Class III and IV rapids alongside a volcano — and picking up six college credits for adding this adventure to your academic experience? The University of North Carolina-Wilmington (UNCW) is offering this 24-day course (EVS…
Meet the Team
Meet the Team: J.T. Schexnayder III, NCOAE Outdoor Program Coordinator
…Coming off a four-year stint as coordinator for a university outdoor recreation program, J.T. Schexnayder III is proving to be a masterful leader as our outdoor program coordinator. Raised in Myrtle Beach, S.C., this neighboring state native led his middle school peers on backpacking, climbing, caving and paddleboard expeditions to backcountry areas in his home…
Essential Eligibility Criteria
Our Essential Eligibility Criteria lists basic functions required to participate in an NCOAE activity or program….
Staff Profiles
Get to Know Us: Dr. Christopher Davis, NCOAE Medical Director
…Dr. Christopher Davis, The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education’s medical director, spent most of his adult life combining his passion for helping others with his love of the outdoors. He serves as medical director for all of our field courses and trainings, including wilderness medicine and EMS training programs, ad outdoor educator and…
Staff Profiles
Get to Know Us: Chris Brooks, NCOAE’s EMS Program Director
…Growing up in a small town in the foothills of North Carolina, Chris Brooks claims his lifetime dream from the age of 5 was to become a paramedic. Today, he is the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Director here at The National Center for Outdoor and Adventure Education (NCOAE), where he teaches EMS courses in order…
Life At NCOAE
The Time to Begin Preparing for Summer Adventures Started Yesterday
…Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) you can find us toiling year-round to bring our students and clients the very best in guided outdoor adventures with meaning. So, as far as our staff is concerned, we’re always in the “getting ready mode” for outings in the wilderness. But as we…
About NCOAE
At NCOAE, Partnerships Keep Us Outside and Global
…One tree doesn’t offer the strength of a forest, just as one organization can’t lead an entire industry. According to others, we here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) have distinguished ourselves as outdoor and adventure education industry leaders. But without collaborations, our ability to be creators and innovators would be…
Student Profiles
Meet the NCOAE Student: Will Newman, Hybrid EMT Course Graduate
…Meet NCOAE Student Will Newman and learn how our Intensive Hybrid EMT course jumpstarted Will’s education and career!…
Gap Semester
…Take a deeper look at what life during an NCOAE Gap Semester is really like. Explore a day in the life on campus and in the field…
Staff Profiles
Get to Know Us: Ricardo Flores, NCOAE Field Instructor
…The thing that makes Ricardo Flores exceedingly well qualified to serve as a National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education field instructor is his love of the outdoors and experience in group dynamics through his corporate management experience. Specifically, Ricardo formerly worked as a logistics manager and a project manager for Proctor & Gamble, which…
Academic Credit
College Credit Now Available for Select NCOAE Courses and Trainings
…One of the hallmarks of a great outdoor education program provider is its ability to become accredited by the leading trade group for the industry. Another sign of a top-notch outdoor education organization is a willingness to align its courses and trainings such that when students successfully complete a course or training, they can apply…
Adult Courses
Academic Relationship with UNCW Results in a Trio of Field Courses
…The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) has forged an academic relationship with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) that will see UNCW students earning up to six academic credits for participating in and completing educationally-focused backcountry expeditions thousands of miles from campus and lasting up to a month. Beginning next spring,…
NCOAE Curriculum
NCOAE Embraces Place-Based Learning
…Embedded in each of our outdoor and wilderness-based experiential education courses is the delivery of place-based learning, which was first introduced by David Sobel in his groundbreaking book, Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities. Place-based learning connects students to history, landscape, geography, and people through the intense exploration of a specific area which, along the…
Expeditions
High School Summer Semester – 10/11th Grade Oregon
Explore the remote Pacific Northwest, on a 25-day wilderness expedition!…


