Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership

VU course code: SBOL | CRICOS: 099055M | Level of study: Undergraduate
3 years full time or longer for part time
Hybrid
Footscray Park
24 February 2025
16 February 2025
Overview

Overview

Launch an exciting career in the great outdoors, with Victoria University's Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership.

This unique degree is designed to meet the needs of the outdoor-education and recreation sectors, helping you create a rewarding lifelong career.

You'll learn to apply your on-campus study through a range of activities in our outdoor labs. This practical experience combined with your knowledge of the natural environment, group leadership and planning will open up diverse career possibilities in adventure tourism, environmental education, outdoor recreation, nature tourism and more.

We offer an exceptional opportunity to gain career experience through a paid internship with The Outdoor Education Group. This internship has been designed to work in tandem with your study, so you can apply best-practice theory to real situations.

Throughout the Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership program, the main themes will be explored through adventure-based activities such as:

  • bushwalking
  • canoeing
  • cycling
  • white-water rafting
  • alpine activities
  • rock-climbing.

Join VU for one of the most adrenaline-packed degrees in Australia!

Entry requirements

When assessing your application, we consider your educational achievements and work experience, as well as your skills and personal attributes (where relevant).

Applicants for this course will need to meet the entry criteria outlined below. If you don’t meet the entry criteria, you may be able to gain entry by first completing a related course or unit(s). We call this a ‘pathway’.

You may also be eligible for course ‘credits’, where you are granted a unit or units towards your qualification for equivalent previous study or work experience, so you can graduate sooner.

ATAR requirements

No minimum ATAR required

This course does not have a minimum ATAR requirement for entry. Read the entry criteria for this course below.

Why ATAR is not applicable

You do not need an ATAR score to apply for this course. Instead, you need to have successfully completed secondary school and to meet any requirements outlined below. Our courses and support programs are designed to prepare students from diverse cultures for success, regardless of their ATAR, age, education or socioeconomic background.

Entry criteria

Credit & Entry pathways into this course


Victoria University is committed to providing a transparent admissions process. Find out more about how to apply for our courses, and our commitment to admissions transparency. Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee entry into this course. Past academic performance may be considered.

Course structure

To attain the Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership, students will be required to complete 288 credit points consisting of:

  • 96 credit points of First Year Core units
  • 96 credit points of Professional Core units

Plus one of the following: Option A:

  • 96 credit points of SMAOLI Outdoor Leadership Industry Internship Major studies

OR Option B:

  • 96 credit points of Major studies from the approved list

OR Option C:

  • 96 credit points of Minor studies from the approved list

Units

Fees & scholarships

University fees vary, depending on how much the government contributes towards course costs (if anything).

Read below to find out about the fee ‘type’, the estimated yearly tuition costs for this course, and the financial support on offer (including our generous scholarship program).

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) is subsidised by the government, reducing it to the amount listed here. Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens will qualify for a CSP place. If your course is not Commonwealth supported, or you don't qualify, you'll pay full fees.

Learn more about Commonwealth Supported Places

10% discount for alumni

If you’ve previously completed a qualification with us, and you’re paying full fees for this course, you may be eligible for a 10% discount.

Find out how

Fees

Scholarships

Careers

The Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership offers several career pathways:

  • camp program manager
  • environmental educator
  • outdoor educator
  • outdoor adventure guide, instructor or facilitator
  • park ranger
  • teaching (with additional Master of Teaching (Secondary Education))
  • business owner
  • eco and adventure tourism.

The nature-based outdoor economy offers many career opportunities. An industry-based report Outdoors Victoria and Sport and Recreation Victoria – Victoria’s nature based outdoor economy, indicates this industry is worth $7.4 billion annually to Victoria’s economy, employing 71,000 full-time jobs.

On graduation, you may continue on to our Master of Teaching (Secondary) to become a registered teacher.

Affiliations & memberships

When you study this course you benefit from affiliations and memberships with the Outdoor Education Group and Outdoors Victoria.

VU stories

Want a career in outdoor recreation?
National Head of Educational Delivery with Outdoor Education Group
"Nowhere else in the country can outdoor education students gain the valuable and unique blend of practical skills, academic understanding and on-field experience that VU’s Bachelor of Outdoor Leadership offers."
Want a career in outdoor recreation?