Paul Smith's College
About
When it comes to cookie-cutter colleges, Paul Smith’s is anything but. In fact, we’re the only 4-year college inside the boundaries of the world-famous “forever wild” Adirondacks. Students at Paul Smith’s College experience a hands-on education that combines proven career training with a meaningful exploration of self, society and the earth:
Introduction
When it comes to cookie-cutter colleges, Paul Smith’s is anything but. In fact, we’re the only 4-year college inside the boundaries of the world-famous “forever wild” Adirondacks. Students at Paul Smith’s College experience a hands-on education that combines proven career training with a meaningful exploration of self, society and the earth:
- if you’re a forestry major, you’ll play a role in the sustainable management of the college’s 14,000-acre property
- if you’re a fisheries and wildlife science major, you will learn to tag and track different species
- if you’re an entrepreneurial business studies major, you will write a working business plan for a local operation
Living and learning here require a special kind of student – someone who values the abundance of our natural landscape and embraces our spirit of creative self-reliance. We call ourselves Smitties. Sounds like you? Let’s talk!
Our Mission
Paul Smith’s is unlike any college in America. Our location and historic legacy offer students unparalleled opportunities for hands-on learning in the fields of environmental stewardship, forestry management, hospitality and more. Our unique approach is to combine experiential and traditional learning, using the classroom as a launching point for fieldwork, laboratory research, internships and on-the-job experience. As a result, Paul Smith’s College graduates leave with the solid academic background, confidence and real-world experience to thrive in their chosen fields.
Mission Statement
Paul Smith’s College actively educates students to become productive citizens by combining experiential and traditional instruction through our commitment to discovery, discipline, and creativity. Our Paul Smith’s College community, residing within the Adirondack Park, promotes economic, social and environmental sustainability.
Why Paul Smith’s? It’s About the Experience
Here’s the formula: Our academics + our faculty + our location = a college experience you can’t get anywhere else. With approximately 900 students Paul Smith’s is a tight-knit, supportive, and conscientiously “green” college community. We offer 17 Bachelors and seven Associate degree programs.
From Campus to Career
Nine out of ten Smitties — that’s what we call Paul Smith’s alumni — land a job or go to grad school within six months of graduation. Our graduates include environmental policymakers, food truck entrepreneurs, park rangers, resort managers, and Fortune 500 CEOs.
Life in the Adirondacks
They don’t call us the College of the Adirondacks for nothing. Our campus is located inside the six-million-acre Adirondack Park – and when you live here, you become an Adirondacker. We have a Woodsmen Team and a championship snowshoeing team. And every February, you’ll gather with thousands of fellow Adirondackers at Saranac Lake to celebrate the East Coast’s longest-running Winter Carnival. In warm weather, borrow one of the college’s canoes, hike miles of trails at your doorstep, or tackle the campus high ropes course. In winter, you can hit the indoor campus climbing wall and the Olympic ski runs at Whiteface Mountain only 30 minutes up the road.
What Can the Paul Smith’s Experience Do for You?
Come see for yourself. Schedule a campus visit or talk to an admissions officer by calling (800) 421-2605 or emailing us at [email protected].
Locations
- Paul Smiths
New York 30,7777, 12970, Paul Smiths