Great Smokies Experience

High school students: earn college credit in the Great Smoky Mountains

The application for the Great Smokies Experience 2024 is now available.  This year’s program takes place from July 18-29th.  We are looking for high school students entering their junior and senior year, and recent high school grads that are interested in learning about the complex relationship between social and environmental systems.  

The Great Smokies Experience is a credit-bearing introductory college experience that it coordinated by expert instructors from Maryville College, The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and Mountain Challenge.  Students will get a hands-on experience learning about environmental issues while kayaking down the Little River, living in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hiking to the summit of Mount Le Conte, and much more!  Please feel free to contact the Great Smoky Experience coordinator, Dr. Andrew Gunnoe at andrew.gunnoe@maryvillecollege.edu with any questions.   

For more information, explore our frequently asked questionslearn about our educators, and get to know some of the ideas that drive this program.

Participants who successfully complete this program will earn credit for a three-hour Introduction to Environmental Issues and Sustainability Studies (ENV/SUS 101) class from Maryville College in Tennessee, a student-centered, four-year college just 30 minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Students will spend most of this class living at Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with the remaining time taking place on campus at Maryville College and at other important sites in Southern Appalachia. Students will go on breathtaking hikes, take a canoe trip to the Tellico Reservoir, take scientific species surveys, explore the National Park at night, climb up Mt. LeConte, investigate the Maryville College Woods, and spend time in a classroom tackling big questions about the environment and our relationship to the earth.

The cost per student for the entire 10-day program is $1,799 and includes tuition, fees, room and board, all special events, and transportation to and from the Park. Students will spend the majority of the course living in the national park at Tremont, and the remainder will take place on the Maryville College campus and other important Southern Appalachia sites. 

PS. While you’re here, make sure to check out Maryville College’s Sustainability initiatives, as well as our majors in Environmental/Sustainability Studies, and our programs in Environmental Science.

Great Smokies Experience 2015

Apply Now ❯

Faculty & Staff
Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Andrew Gunnoe
Associate Professor of Sociology
View More

Apply Now ❯

Faculty & Staff
Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Andrew Gunnoe
Associate Professor of Sociology
View More