Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
Program Overview
Take advantage of two of the nation’s most highly regarded environmental and science education programs by combining your studies at Antioch University with a year immersed in teaching environmental education and learning natural history at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.
This partnership allows you to combine graduate credits earned at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and Antioch University to earn your MS in Environmental Studies. You can also choose a Certificate in Environmental & Sustainability Education, taken entirely at Wolf Ridge.
Wolf Ridge’s Teacher and Naturalist Training Program
Wolf Ridge has a long and proud history of teacher and naturalist training, with over 1,000 alumni occupying positions in respected natural resource, sustainability, and educational organizations around the world. Take experiential graduate classes while teaching K-12 students on 2,000 beautiful acres, situated in northern Minnesota between the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Lake Superior’s north shore.
You choose which comes first. Begin your graduate studies in either the graduate-naturalist program at Wolf Ridge or at Antioch University's New England campus.
Academic Study Plan Articulation
Antioch University and Wolf Ridge anticipate that most students who enroll in the Master of Science in Environmental Studies program will begin in the certificate program at Wolf Ridge and then matriculate at Antioch to complete their graduate studies at the Keene, New Hampshire campus. However, students may elect to reverse this and begin their studies at Antioch and then complete their degree requirements through the certificate program at Wolf Ridge. Students who wish to combine the Antioch Certificate in Environmental Education and Sustainability with additional graduate credits from Antioch in order to earn a Master of Science degree have two options:
OPTION A
Residency at Wolf Ridge to complete the Certificate in Environmental Education and Sustainability, followed by matriculation at Antioch to complete the remaining 24 credits needed for the Master of Science in Environmental Studies.
OPTION B
Matriculation at Antioch University to complete 24-36 credits towards the Master of Science in Environmental Studies, followed by residency at Wolf Ridge to complete the Certificate in Environmental Education and Sustainability.
Students have five years from the completion of Certificate courses at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center to matriculate at AUNE and apply those courses towards the Antioch Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science.
| Master of Science in Environmental Studies Concentrations: | Total Number of Program Credits | Maximum allowable credits to be applied towards the MS Degree: |
| Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability | 36 | 6 |
| Conservation Biology | 36 | 6 |
| Environmental Education | 36 | 12 |
| Self-Designed Studies | 36 | 6-12 |
Participation in the International Service Program
Students matriculating in the ES MS degree program at Antioch following Wolf Ridge would be eligible to participate in the International Service Program. This option is available to students pursuing a concentration in Advocacy for Sustainability and Social Justice, Conservation Biology, Environmental Education, and Self-Designed Studies.
If students wish to combine the Wolf Ridge certificate program with the International Service Program, they will be able to transfer in 3-9 credits, depending on their ES MS concentration, toward their MS Degree. The certificate 3-credit Internship cannot be applied to the ES MS/MI. If accepted into the U.S. Peace Corps, students will earn 6 credits for their service. These 6 credits and the time spent serving in the Peace Corps will be tuition and fee-free.
A credit breakdown for the program would be as follows:
Up to 9 credits from Wolf Ridge
- ESC 5501-A Community Ecology: Natural History of Lake Superior (3crs)
- ESE 5020-B Foundations of Environmental Education & Sustainability (3 crs)
- ESE 5470-A Environmental Education Methods: Nature Teaching and Learning (3 crs)
21 credits at Antioch University
- 6 credits at Antioch in connection with Peace Corps service
- Peace Corps Internship (3 crs)
- Peace Corps Research Project (3 crs)
Students would be required to spend a minimum of 2 semesters at AUNE before departing for the Peace Corps. They would have the option to complete all on-campus coursework in advance of their Peace Corps service or to leave for Peace Corps service after 2 semesters.
Earn your MS in Environmental Studies, with an Environmental Education concentration:
- Transfer 12 graduate credits from courses at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
- Earn 24 credits at Antioch University (New England campus)
- Intern anywhere in the world
- Teach in the Boundary Waters and Minnesota’s Lake Superior & the Adirondacks, Green and White Mountains, and along the eastern coast
Earn your MS in Environmental Studies, with an Advocacy for Social Justice concentration
- Transfer 6 credits from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center’s graduate-naturalist courses
- Earn 30 credits from Antioch University (New England campus)
Earn your MS in Environmental Studies, with a Conservation Biology concentration
- Transfer 6 credits from Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center’s graduate-naturalist courses
- Earn 30 credits from Antioch University (New England campus)
Earn your MS in Environmental Studies, with a Self-Designed Studies concentration
- Transfer 12 graduate credits from courses at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.
- Earn 24 credits at Antioch University (New England campus)
Contact Your Antioch Admissions Counselor
Please don’t hesitate to contact Melissa Baptiste, Admissions Counselor for the graduate and doctoral programs in Environmental Studies.
This is a specialized program that may not be able to be combined with other specialized programs.
Meet our current Wolf Ridge alumni
Emma Rohleder
Emma Rohleder grew up in Calgary, Canada, and now considers Minnesota her home state. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Ecology from the University of Minnesota in 2015 and, after a year as an English teacher in France, has been working in environmental education since. She has worked at environmental education and nature connection schools in Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington, Oregon, and California. While living and working at Wolf Ridge from 2016 to 2018, she discovered the joy of tracking animals in the snow and picking heirloom tomatoes. At Antioch, she is an active Co-Coordinator for Community Garden Connections, excited about exploring the smaller-scale wilderness of tomato jungles and kale forests. She declares herself a lover of snails and a story-based educator.
Kaylyn Borucki
Kaylyn Borucki grew up exploring the rural landscape outside a small town in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Michigan State University in 2013, she spent three years working as a zookeeper in Detroit, Michigan. She left the zoo for the Northwoods of Minnesota as a 2018-2019 Wolf Ridge Graduate Naturalist to explore the possibilities of a career in environmental education. After an exciting year working with the education animals, exploring the woods with students, and getting a feel for graduate-level work, transitioning to Antioch felt like a natural fit. Her passion is fostering connections between people, animals, and the natural world.
Where are they now? Previous Antioch University New England Graduates who joined us from Wolf Ridge:
- Dylan Kelly, University of Minnesota Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development
- Marie Fargo, Public Programs Coordinator, Great Lakes Aquarium
- Luciana Ranelli, Teton Science School Field Education Faculty
Antioch University Environmental Education students and graduates have also completed internships at Wolf Ridge, including:
- Tori Dahl, who served as Wolf Ridge’s Farm Field Manager post-graduation. Learn more about Tori Dahl
- Allie Silverman completed one of her professional internships at Wolf Ridge and now works as an Outdoor Education Instructor with Cody Outdoor Classroom (Freedom, NH)