Minor in Outdoor Adventure Leadership

The minor in the Department of Kinesiology’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership (KOAL) in partnership with Venture is designed to allow students to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities to work (and recreate) in a variety of adventure activities, while fulfilling the requirements for one of the approved degree programs at the University. The courses that satisfy the minor are primarily housed within the Kinesiology Department in the College of Health and Human Services and represent different aspects of the outdoor adventure field.

GPA REQUIREMENTS

Students matriculated at UNC Charlotte and planning to declare Outdoor Adventure Leadership as their minor must have an overall GPA of at least 2.0.

Students must attain an overall GPA of 3.0 in all coursework within the minor.

COURSEWORK

The minor in Kinesiology’s Outdoor Adventure Leadership (KOAL) consists of a minimum of 18 semester hours of approved coursework, including:

  • KNES 1231: Introduction to Outdoor Adventure (2 credits)
  • KNES 3236: Theory and Foundations of Adventure Education (3 credits)
  • KNES 4431: Practicum in Outdoor Adventure Leadership (2-4 credits)
  • An “Intensive Experience” class (chose at least one from 3 options)
    • KNES 2230 Wilderness Experience – 2 credits -Fall
    • KNES 2233 Rock Climbing – 2 credits – Fall/Spring
    • KNES 2236 Challenge Course Activities – 2 credits – Spring
  • An “Outdoor Leadership-based” class (chose at least one from 2 options)
    • KNES 3230 Wilderness Trip Leading – 3 credits – Spring, possibly Summer
    • KNES 3235 Challenge Course Facilitation – 3 credits – Fall
  • Approved Electives (minimum of 4-5 credits)

FINAL PRACTICUM

KNES 4431, your final practicum course, will involve playing an active leadership role either with Venture or another (approved) outdoor program. A journal and regular check-in with the course instructor will be included in this capstone experience.

Options could include:

  • planning and leading a wilderness trip for Venture,
  • leading groups at the Venture Challenge Courses,
  • serving as a teaching assistant for one of the KOAL courses,
  • working at another local program (for example the US National Whitewater Center) delivering adventure programming,
  • summer work in the adventure field.

ELECTIVES

The minor requires a minimum of 4-6 credits of “electives”.

Any of the above classes not already taken to fulfill a requirement may be counted as electives. (For example, a student may take KNES 3230 and KNES 3235. One of these classes would fulfill the “Outdoor Leadership” requirement; the other would count towards the 5 elective credits. The same goes for KNES 2230, KNES 2233 and KNES 2236.)

Additional approved electives include:

  • KNES 2237 – Raft Guiding (2 credits, Spring)
  • KNES 2238 – Whitewater Kayaking (2 credits, Fall – every 2 years)
  • KNES 2239– Rock Climbing Management (2 credits – Spring (every 2 years)
  • KNES 2218 & 2219–Scuba diving (3 credits)
  • KNES 2220– Advanced Scuba (1 credit)
  • KNES 2290– Emergency Medical Response (3 credits)
  • BIOL 3144 – Ecology (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • BIOL 3229 – Field Botany (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • COMM 2105 – Small Group Experience (3 credits) [note that this class is currently restricted to certain majors]
  • COMM 2107 – Interpersonal Communication (3 credits) [note that this class is currently restricted to certain majors]
  • COMM 3135 – Leadership, Communication, and Group Dynamics (3 credits)
  • COMM 3136 – Leadership, Service, and Ethics (3 credits)
  • EDUC 2100 – Intro to Education and Diversity in Schools (3 credits)
  • ESCI 2010 – National Parks: Science Behind the Scenery (3 credits)
  • ESCI 3150 – Natural Environments of North America (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • MDSK 3160 – Learning and Development” Birth through Adolescence (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • PSYC 3111 – Psychology of Learning (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • PSYC 3130 – Social Psychology (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • SOCY 4263 – Sociology of Small groups (3 credits) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • SOWK 2182 and/or 2183 – Human Behavior in the Social Environment (3) [note this course has prerequisites]
  • Students may petition for other classes to count toward elective credits.
  • Independent Study in First Aid which could be given for completing a certification in Wilderness First Responder (3 credits), or Wilderness Advanced First Aid (2 credits) or Wilderness First Aid (1 credit) (needs to be arranged through an approved provider.)
  • Independent Study in Outdoor Adventure through taking one of the courses offered by Outward Bound or the National Outdoor Leadership School or similar type program.

A note on progression: The ideal progression is to take the 1000 level, then 2000 level, etc., with electives taken at anytime. However such a progression may not always be possible for students. It is highly recommended that students in the Minor confer with the Venture teaching staff when planning their personal course progression.