Adventure Studies | Thompson Rivers University

Turn your passion for adventure into a career

We provide one of the most extensive adventure studies training in the world. Build technical and leadership skills to prepare for an exhilarating career in the adventure industry. Enter the field with confidence. Click here to explore more videos.

Student testimonials

Programs

Adventure Guide Certificate

Start your journey into adventure sports and the outdoor industry through hands-on field courses and modular classroom instruction.

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Adventure Guide Diploma

Ladder from the certificate into the diploma — a program that sets the standard for technical guide training in Canada. Diploma students focus on technical skill specialization, business management skills, and self-directed expeditions.

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Bachelor of Tourism Management

Advance your career by applying credits from the Adventure Studies program toward a degree in tourism management with a major in adventure studies.

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Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

Build a degree aligned with your interests in the adventure industry, in collaboration with a faculty member.

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Annual reports

Step into the world of TRU Adventure Studies with our latest Annual Report — a look back at a year defined by growth, innovation, and real-world impact. From launching the new Pathways to Adventure program to deepening our commitment to truth and reconciliation on Secwepemcúl’ecw, this year has been truly transformative. Discover how our students are building hands-on leadership in wild places, and how our faculty and alumni continue to push the boundaries of what adventure education can be. Whether you’re a current student or a future guide, this report offers a window into how TRU is shaping the adventure industry — and how you can be part of what comes next.

2024 - 2025 Annual report

Adventure, truth and reconciliation in Secwepemcúl’ecw

The Adventure studies department is based out of the traditional lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc within Secwepemcúl’ecw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc people. The department welcomed the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which called upon educators to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into the curriculum and has undertaken many initiatives to help remedy the gaps in historical knowledge that perpetuate ignorance and racism.

Our faculty are accomplished adventurersMessage from James Rodger, Department Co-Chair

At TRU we are resurrecting adventure as an antidote to the tedium, mundanity and toxicity of modern urban and industrial life. Travelling abroad, hiking in backcountry, skiing unchartered powder bowls, climbing rock and ice faces, rafting or canoeing in whitewater rivers, and riding ocean waves on a surfboard are just some of the adventurous pursuits that make up the programs at TRU.

Message from the Chairs

What you need to know

Adventure tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry in British Columbia.

Guides are the backbone of the adventure tourism industry.

Growing companies in the adventure tourism industry are looking for employees who are qualified in adventure sport activities and who possess effective interpersonal, hospitality and organizational and business skills.

The Adventure Studies Department office receives dozens of job offers each year, and many companies have realized the benefits of hiring exclusively from this resource of adventure students.