ATU Outdoor Education Courses

06/09/2026

Love the Outdoor and looking for a career less ordinary.
There are some available places on our Outdoor Education degree with degree award options in the following:
🌳Outdoor and Environmental Education,
🌳Outdoor and Environmental Education with Geography and
🌳Outdoor and Environmental Education with Therapeutic Applications.
Applications can be made through the CAO's available places facility, even if you haven't applied for the CAO already this year.

ATU Mayo

01/09/2026

Exchange life in North Carolina USA

A final glimpse of our students on international exchange, this time Ava, who is spending the year at WCU in North Carolina on the Parks and Recreation Management programme.

Mountains, forests, waterfalls, river kayaking and even a taste of American football...looks like she is making the most of the experience.

A very different setting for Outdoor Education and loads more to explore over the year ahead.


ATU Mayo .global

31/08/2026

International Adventure

Another update from one of our students abroad, this time from Leah, who is studying on the BA in Outdoor Education and Geography at ATU Mayo.

She has just returned from her first canoeing trip with USN in Norway, and her own words capture the experience:

“It was absolutely an amazing experience and I am so excited for so much more adventure and learning... there is a brilliant outdoor culture here.”

A new outdoor culture, new people, new places and plenty more adventures ahead. A great opportunity to experience Outdoor Education from a different perspective.

no .friluftsliv .global .mayo

30/08/2026

What a way to start an international exchange!

One of our ATU Outdoor & Environmental Education students, Oisin Bracken, is spending the autumn semester at USN in Norway. Rather than fly, he decided to cycle from home. He described it as a “great way to start the adventure early" ... three and a half weeks cycling through six countries... he just may have a point!

In Norway he’ll experience a different cultural relationship with the outdoors, captured in the Scandinavian tradition of friluftsliv.

And that’s part of what makes international exchange so valuable: encountering different ways of living and thinking, having some of your own assumptions challenged, and making friends with people from across the world.

New places, new perspectives and new friendships ... and quite an adventure getting there!

mayo .global

28/08/2026

🎉 Received a Round 1 Offer from ATU? A huge congratulations to you! 👏

Starting university is an exciting milestone, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.

👉 Visit our CAO Offers Hub for helpful information and to ask our team any questions 🌐 www.atu.ie/offers

27/08/2026

Outdoor Education – just in a different outdoors!

Great to get these photos from Luca, who has just begun his year at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, alongside fellow ATU Outdoor & Environmental Education student, Ava.

A year abroad is much more than a change of scenery. It’s a chance to experience outdoor education in a different landscape, climate and culture – with different approaches, different wildlife (including the occasional snake!) and plenty of new experiences along the way.

Two more of our students, Oisín and Leah are spending this semester at USN in Norway, continuing a long tradition of international exchange on the programme. Over the years, our partnerships with Western Carolina University, USN in Norway and the University of Gävle in Sweden have become an important thread running through the Outdoor & Environmental Education degree.

The students get to head off and soak up another place and another way of doing things – and we get them back, bringing new ideas, experiences and perspectives into their final year in Mayo.

Enjoy every minute, Luca, Ava., Oisin and Leah... We look forward to hearing more as the year unfolds.
global .friluftsliv

24/08/2026

30/06/2026

ATU has introduced a new admissions approach to better support Northern Ireland students applying through the CAO system.

A new two-year pilot will recognise combined A-level and BTEC/Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs), creating a more inclusive and transparent admissions pathway for students applying to ATU from September 2026.

This initiative is part of ATU’s cross-border student mobility project, helping remove barriers and improve progression opportunities for Northern Ireland students.

To find out more, visit ➡️atu.ie/news

27/06/2026