Paul Smith's College

Our academics + our faculty + our location =
a college experience you can’t get anywhere else. 

With approximately 750 students, Paul Smith’s is a tight-knit, supportive, and conscientiously “green” college community. We offer 20+ bachelor’s and five associate degree programs, as well as a master’s degree in natural resources conservation.

From campus to career
Nine out of ten Smitties—that’s what we call Paul Smith’s alumni—land a job or go to grad school within six months of graduation. Our connections run deep, whether it’s with the natural environment or with local businesses in nearby world-famous Lake Placid. Paul Smith’s College graduates gain real-world experience through personal, hands-on learning, and go on to be environmental policymakers, entrepreneurs, park rangers, resort managers, and Fortune 500 CEOs.

Life in the Adirondacks
They don’t call us the College of the Adirondacks for nothing. Our campus is located inside the six-million-acre Adirondack Park, and when you live here, you take on the region’s resourceful, enterprising and adventurous spirit. We have renowned collegiate woodsmen’s and snowshoeing teams. And every February, you’ll gather with thousands of fellow Adirondackers in Saranac Lake to celebrate the East Coast’s longest-running Winter Carnival. In warm weather, borrow one of the college’s canoes, hike miles of trails at your doorstep, or tackle the campus high ropes course. In winter, you can hit the indoor campus climbing wall, ski 25+ miles of Nordic trails or take Olympic ski runs just 30 minutes from campus at Whiteface Mountain.

At Paul Smith’s College, it’s about the experience.
As the only four-year institution of higher education located in the Adirondack Park, Paul Smith’s provides real-world, hands-on learning in fields such as business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences, and natural resources. We are able to draw on industries and resources available in our own backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. Our community of resourceful, enterprising, supportive, and adventurous individuals collectively provide experiential education, student support in the classroom and beyond, and meaningful opportunities for our alumni. We pride ourselves on research and advocacy on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people who inhabit it.