UMaine Farmington’s Outdoor Recreation Business Administration program (ORBA) combines students’ passion for the great outdoors with marketable skills, allowing them to manage, or start their own, outdoor recreation-related businesses.

GET YOUR OUTDOORS ON!

The University of Maine at Farmington has earned a national reputation for excellence, gaining stature as one of the finest public universities in the northeastern U.S. It has also gained a reputation as one of the most outdoors-focused colleges in New England.

UMaine Farmington has been rated one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report 22 times since 1998. U.S. News also named UMF a Best Value School and AffordableColleges.com rated UMF a Top-50 Best Value Public University for Out-of-State Students. Farmington is located in Western Maine, a region that is nationally acclaimed as a winter and spring outdoor adventure capital – attracting outdoor enthusiasts from across North America and beyond to the region. With outstanding ski areas, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails, fat bike trails, whitewater rafting, kayaking, snowmobiling, fly-fishing, hiking and more, there’s something for everyone. Learn more about the Farmington/Wilton region here.

Perfectly situated at the gateway to Sugarloaf and Sunday River ski areas, UMF is right smack in the middle of some of the best hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, camping and rafting in the northeast. Miles of trail running and mountain bike paths are situated just off campus with groomed Nordic skiing trails and night skiing at Titcomb Mountain located on the other side of town. The Sandy River flows right beside its athletics fields, ideal for swimming, paddling and fishing. Or hike the Flint Woods and Bonny Woods trails a short walk up the street from campus. And a quick drive takes outdoors-oriented UMF students to the extensive Maine Huts & Trails system, the Appalachian Trail, Mt. Blue State Park and Tumbledown Mountain, as well as Wilson and Clearwater Lakes.

Students heading for the slopes at the University of Maine at Farmington

Students headed for the slopes

COMBINE ACADEMICS WITH THE OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE

UMaine Farmington capitalizes on its unique environment, offering an Outdoor Recreation Business Administration program (ORBA). This degree combines students’ passion for the great outdoors with marketable skills, allowing them to manage or start their own four-season outdoor recreation-related businesses. Farmington’s ORBA program was developed with input and guidance from leaders in the outdoor adventure and tourism industry – business leaders who informed UMF of the specific skillsets they sought in their own workforce.

Farmington’s ORBA students gain the knowledge and skills to succeed in a variety of outdoor recreation fields: marketing, writing and oral presentation, event management and planning, problem-solving and decision-making, leadership and more. UMF also offers an Alpine Operations Certificate program that provides core skills in the skiing industry, while also preparing students to earn PSIA Level-1 certification.

The Alpine Ops program uses Farmington’s Titcomb Mountain (just seven minutes from campus) as its on-hill learning lab. Thanks to a generous donation from Sunday River and Sugarloaf, all full-time UMF students get a free season pass to Titcomb Mountain and free learn-to-ski and learn-to-ride lessons, taught by fellow UMF students in its Alpine Operations Certificate program.

THE PERFECT PLACE TO SPEND YOUR COLLEGE YEARS — OUTDOORS!

The University offers all students – as well as members of the area community, a backpack full of epic outdoor adventures through its popular Mainely Outdoors adventure program. Mainely Outdoors offers a range of exciting guided trips, clinics and events: hiking Tumbledown Mountain, overnight camping at Acadia National Park, mountain biking the Carrabassett Rail Trail, skiing at Sugarloaf, overnight camping at Gulf Hagas, hiking the Poplar Stream Falls trail, snowshoeing, and learn to Ski-&-Ride at Titcomb Mountain. Mainely Outdoors even rents gear: snowshoes, Nordic skis, mountain bikes, canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, camping gear and more. If you’re into the outdoors, as many of college students are, then the University of Maine at Farmington is a perfect location to spend your college years.

For more information on all of UMF programs, visit the UMaine Farmington website.

See Activity Maine’s feature on UMF, originally published in the Winter/Spring 2017-2018 issue of the Activities Guide of Maine.

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