3 Hidden Gem Work Colleges for Students Who Want to Get Their Hands Dirty

Colleges and universities come in all styles, shapes, and sizes, from bustling state flagship universities to intimate and intellectual liberal arts colleges and everything in between. For students seeking a less traditional academic experience that incorporates the development of hands-on work experience, Work Colleges just might fit the bill. 


What exactly are work colleges? According to the Work Colleges Consortium, work colleges are “four-year, degree-granting, liberal arts institutions that engage students in the purposeful integration of work, learning, and service. Unique to work colleges is the requirement that all resident students participate in a comprehensive work-learning service program for all four years of enrollment.” 


Moreover, colleges operating under the model of work-learning typically offer highly reduced tuition prices thanks to students’ contributions to the college’s daily function. Students seeking community and exceptional experiential learning opportunities should dive into a few of our favorite work colleges.


Warren Wilson College 


Guided by the philosophy that “the world needs curiosity,” Warren Wilson College offers its students a liberal arts education spanning 20 majors and 28 minors. Initially founded as the Asheville Farm School, WWC is now home to 825 undergraduates who pursue rigorous academics while completing 8-15 hours of work per week (where each hour of work payment goes directly toward tuition payments. 


In addition to standard academic offerings, WWC students can pursue studies in subject areas like Printmaking & Bookforms, Ecological Forestry, Expressive Arts Therapy, and Outdoor Leadership. To graduate, students must participate in the Work Program and make a Community Engagement Commitment. As part of the work program, students are assigned to work for crews in areas of interest, and student work includes roles such as farm management, blacksmithing, and academic support. Students engage deeply with community issues such as food insecurity, race and immigration, and environmental stewardship through experiential learning opportunities arranged by the college. 


Undergraduate Population: 825 

Location: Swannanoa, North Carolina

Cost of Attendance: $52,030


Berea College 


Founded in 1855 by an abolitionist activist, Berea College is the first college in the Southern United States to be co-educational and racially integrated since opening its doors. Berea College operates under a Tuition Promise and offers each of its undergraduates the equivalent of a four-year scholarship. Students finance any remaining fees for housing and incidentals with earnings from their campus work positions. 


Berea College features bachelor’s degrees in 28 academic fields, including nursing, engineering technologies and applied design, and health and human performance. Business, Computer Science, and Biology are among the most popular majors. As part of the college’s labor requirement, Berea students work approximately 10 hours per week through campus and service jobs in academic, extracurricular, and community fields. Highlights of the Berea Labor Program feature positions on the Berea College Farm, organizing student opportunities in the office of Student Affairs, and gaining hospitality experience as staff in the historical Boone Tavern hotel and restaurant. Students can develop hands-on, artisanal skills through the Berea Student Craft program, which promotes the education of the whole person through creative skill development in crafts like broomcraft, weaving, and woodworking. Many Finished student works are displayed in the college’s collections or are sold to fund additional works. 


Undergraduate Population: 1,500

Location: Berea, Kentucky

Cost of Attendance: $10,576


Deep Springs College


The only two-year institution on this list, Deep Springs College, located in the California desert, is a far cry from the typical community college. Founded as a men’s college initially, Deep Springs only began admitting women in 2019. Offering admission to approximately 12-15 students per year, Deep Springs College provides an intimate and innovative academic experience that is rooted in three pillars: Academics, Labor, and Self-Governance. 


While there are no formal majors at Deep Springs, academics are rigorous, intensive, and seminar-style. To graduate, students are required to complete a 3-course core curriculum, which includes a first-year summer seminar, a writing intensive, and public speaking. Students can fill the rest of their academic pursuits with a broad range of elective courses. Offerings are diverse, in-depth, and innovative and include seminars like History and the Future of Infectious Disease, Automechanics, Documentary Film-making workshop, and Fractals and Chaos in Natural Systems. 


Deep Springs is also a working cattle ranch, and students must complete approximately 20 hours of work each week in exchange for a full-tuition scholarship and housing. Student work positions are seasonal and varied but include Butcher, Gardening, General Labor, and Kitchen. Despite this labor-intensive approach to education, Deep Springs students are well-equipped for success. After completing their two years at the college, Deep Springs students typically transfer to traditional four-year universities, and “graduates have most commonly finished their degrees at Yale, Brown, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago and other well-regarded universities and colleges.” 



Undergraduate Population: 30 (approximately)

Location: Deep Springs, California 

Cost of Attendance: n/a


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