Sewanee's Pre-College Field Studies Experience is a summer residential program for talented students who are passionate about the outdoors and interested in advancing their knowledge and skills in the study of the environment. Led by full-time faculty and staff at the University of the South and utilizing its 13,000-acre campus atop the ecologically diverse Cumberland Plateau, the program provides an interdisciplinary introduction to environmental studies. ‌‌This two-week experience explores the diverse ecosystems of the Cumberland Plateau: its forests, coves, streams, lakes, wetlands, and caves. Students participate in ecological exploration with senior faculty examining the plant and animal species that inhabit these ecosystems and use archeological techniques, along with GIS and GPS technology, to study how people have used and changed these ecosystems over time. Students learn how conservation strategies are currently being employed to protect the integrity of Plateau ecosystems into the future.‌ The experience is conducted almost exclusively in the field, featuring field mapping equipment, digital photography, ecological assessment techniques and group research projects. As part of this experience, students have the opportunity to take part in a number of outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, bouldering, canoeing, caving, and mountain biking.

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