The only four-year college in the Adirondacks, offering hands-on learning across 14,000 acres of wilderness.
Paul Smith's College offers Associate, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts degrees across 20+ programs. Hands-on learning is central to the curriculum, with students engaging in fieldwork, internships, and research. Notable programs include Forestry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Culinary Management, Business Management, and Ecological Restoration. The college operates two on-campus training restaurants (Ganzi: Palm Training Restaurant and A.P. Smith's Bakery) and a student-run sawmill. Graduate programs include MS Natural Resources Conservation and MPS Sustainable Tourism Management, designed for working professionals and completable in 12 months.
The 14,200-acre rural campus sits on Lower St. Regis Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, offering abundant outdoor recreation including canoeing, kayaking, and water sports. Most students live on campus in residence halls organized by class year. Student clubs span outdoor activities (Adventure Sports, fishing, hunting), academic interests (Society of American Foresters, Wildlife Society), and cultural groups (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Anime and Gaming). The Saunders Sports Complex includes a fitness center, gymnasium, and a 32-foot climbing wall. Dining is managed by Sodexo at Lakeside Dining Hall.
Paul Smith's College accepts applications through the Common App or its own application; applications are free. The college emphasizes curiosity, ambition, and heart over test scores alone. Fall 2021 acceptance rate was 75%. The college welcomes first-year, transfer, homeschooled, international, and graduate applicants. No specific standardized test requirements are mentioned in the provided sources.
The Bobcats compete in 16 sports through the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) and Yankee Small College Conference. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, ice hockey, rugby, and soccer; women's sports include basketball, cross country, ice hockey, rugby, soccer, and volleyball; co-ed sports range from alpine skiing and biathlon to woodsmen competitions and esports. The college is renowned for its woodsmen team, which holds a nine-year winning streak (1957–1966) and won the 2024 Spring Meet National Championship. Women's hockey won the inaugural AAU College Hockey Women's National Championship in 2024; men's hockey won their first AAU national tournament game in 2026.