Fort Lewis College

Classic Colorado awaits at Fort Lewis College

As Colorado’s crossroads of education and adventure, Fort Lewis College blends liberal arts and focused, relevant areas of study with powder days and powwows, mountain biking championships, and break dancing clubs. With the support of an engaged faculty and small class sizes, Fort Lewis College’s diverse student body buzzes with the confidence, resilience, and skills needed to pursue career goals and their best lives yet.

Unique Location

Located at 6,872 feet on a pine-clad mesa overlooking downtown Durango, the Animas River, and San Juan Mountains, FLC’s campus sits in the heart of Southwest Colorado’s endless canyons, deserts, rivers, and alpine. With 300 miles of hiking and biking trails and more than 300 days of sunshine, Southwest Colorado is home to more than 2.3 million acres of public lands, including four world-class ski resorts on national forest, and cultural monuments, such as Mesa Verde National Park and Canyons of the Ancients.

These remarkable destinations serve as a second classroom for Fort Lewis College’s dynamic academic programs, with curriculum weaving in field trips and lab work, internships with local businesses and nonprofits, and undergraduate research and service learning opportunities that are usually only available in grad school.

Learning and Career Opportunities

This unique experiential learning model is made possible by a devoted faculty, who pride themselves on providing personal attention to each student, taking an active interest in their students’ progress, and tailoring their assistance to each learners’ specific needs. Faculty are on a first-name basis with their students, working closely on research projects and providing the platform students need to flourish.

Fort Lewis College’s most popular majors include Adventure Education, Engineering, Teacher Education, Environmental Studies, Business Administration, Biology, Psychology, and Exercise Science, to name a few. Built on a liberal arts perspective, all majors incorporate interdisciplinary course study, ensuring students graduate with a nimbleness and ability to adapt to the swiftly-changing technology that often determines career choices.

Make New Friends

Beyond boasting one of the world’s greatest natural laboratories, top-notch faculty, and well-rounded academic programs, Fort Lewis College is refreshingly small, with 3,356 students. Most classes average around 20 students, making classroom discussion and teamwork flow with ease. Meanwhile, diversity keeps campus lively, with a multicultural population representing more than half of the student body. Students come to Durango from 17 countries, 48 states, and 170 American Indian tribes and Native Alaskan villages.

Beyond career services and tutoring services, FLC provides an awesome environment to make friends to last a lifetime. Each year, more than 70 student-led organizations provide space for interests spanning from theatre, art, and the great outdoors to wellness, faith, diversity, and leadership. One of the most popular arenas of extracurricular activity are intramural sports, like soccer, badminton, cornhole, dodgeball, video gaming, volleyball, racquetball, ultimate frisbee, and others.

Athletics

Led by Skyler, the Skyhawk mascot, Skyhawks athletes participate in 14 NCAA Division II sports, including basketball, football, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball. As well, FLC’s Division I Cycling team claims 23 national championship titles but is not limited to only stellar riders; rather the Cycling Club welcomes anyone who’s curious about biking, wants to improve their skills, or just seeks a place to find fellow pedaling friends. 

Activities

When students aren’t eyeballs deep in study or busy participating in clubs or residence hall life, they’re probably out exploring the many cultural and culinary treasures of downtown Durango located below campus. Durango holds a little something for everyone, from art galleries and farmers markets to festivals and concerts, while a host of coffee shops, bakeries, breweries, and more restaurants per capita than San Francisco keep taste buds satiated. It’s a walkable, bikeable town, and, thanks to all students receiving a free transit pass, also easily accessed by public transportation.  

Like the surrounding community, many Fort Lewis College students are involved in outdoor activities in all four seasons, like backpacking, kayaking, canyoneering, standup paddleboarding, climbing, trail running, and cycling. Gear is available for rental and group outings are organized through the on-campus Outdoor Pursuits program. During winter, skiing and snowboarding is simply irresistible. Experienced riders can choose from boundless backcountry access in the San Juan Mountains, while Purgatory Resort nestled 25 miles north of Durango offers all levels of terrain.

International Students

For international students interested in applying to Fort Lewis College as a first-year student with no prior university-level coursework, official transcripts from a high school or secondary institution can be submitted in English for approval. For a transfer student with prior university-level coursework, both translated and untranslated transcripts from any college or institution must be submitted for approval. First-year and transfer students must also submit official English proficiency test scores (TOEFL or IELTS) and a $40 application fee.

Classic Colorado awaits!

Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?  

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