Keep Learning & Creating Change

Credit: Oscar Manguy

Build on Your AmeriCorps Experience

It’s time for the next step. You’ve completed your term of service, and you’re ready for a new adventure. Enter NOLS, the global leader in wilderness education.

Use your AmeriCorps education award to travel the world, explore the outdoors, and continue building your leadership skills.

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Download: Guide to AmeriCorps Matches at NOLS
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Why NOLS?

With NOLS, you can:

  • Develop your leadership skills in a dynamic environment
  • Gain global perspective & cultural awareness
  • Earn industry-respected Wilderness Medicine certifications
  • Prepare for a career in the outdoor industry, emergency response, or experiential education 

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What You Need to Know

For open-enrollment expedition courses spanning 61 days or longer, NOLS will match your education award up to $2,000.

Terms and Restrictions

  • Matches cannot be applied to Alumni, Custom Education, Risk Services, Instructor, or Wilderness Medicine courses.
  • Supplies are limited - matches are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • In addition to your AmeriCorps award, you can apply for a need-based NOLS scholarship 

Explore Featured Courses

Semester & Year Expeditions

Now is the perfect time to travel, learn new outdoor skills, and continue your leadership education on an extended wilderness expedition. Use our $2,000 match program to help fund your next adventure.

Wilderness Medicine Courses

Build your emergency response skills and outdoor resume while learning to care for patients in remote settings. Use your AmeriCorps award for any Wilderness Medicine course, from a 2-day introduction to Wilderness First Aid to earning your EMT certification on a month-long Wilderness EMT course.

Outdoor Educator & Trip Leader Expeditions

Learn to lead confidently in the wilderness and develop the skills you need to pursue a career in outdoor education. Practice effective risk management and try out new leadership strategies. Return prepared to teach in the wilderness and beyond.

Expeditions for Ages 23+

Get ready for a 1- to 2-week adventure where you’ll focus on learning one key outdoor skill, like whitewater rafting or backcountry skiing, with a group of adult peers. Work with a new team, and continue developing the skills you need to be an effective community leader.

Travel the World with NOLS
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Explore Our Worldwide Campuses

Learn from Communities around the World

Travel to places you’ve never been and engage with local communities. On a NOLS expedition, you might help a Chilean family with ranch chores in Patagonia, practice your conversational Hindi over a cup of chai in the Himalaya, or hike with Maasai guides in Tanzania.

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Continue to Serve

On a NOLS expedition, service might mean renovating a school building, teaching English to local students, or restoring trails. On a Wilderness Medicine course, you’ll learn how to help yourself and others in an emergency.

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NOLS Stories from AmeriCorps Members
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“AmeriCorps and NOLS both offer the opportunity to learn by doing, which creates a lasting outcome of understanding how to achieve goals in a healthy group setting. I think a NOLS course took what I learned at AmeriCorps and added another layer of experience to my understanding and practice of leadership.”

—Travis Davis NOLS grad