Sitka Campus with aurora in sky

Campus

Outer Coast is situated in Sitka, Alaska at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp on the historic Sheldon Jackson Campus.

Because we make the Sheldon Jackson Campus our home, we as students and staffulty have a responsibility to acknowledge and reconcile with the complex legacy of Sheldon Jackson’s colonial legacy. Sheldon Jackson College, Alaska’s oldest institution of higher education, was founded in 1878 as a Presbyterian mission school — a boarding school — which contributed significantly to the forced assimilation and cultural genocide of Alaska Native peoples. Later, as Sheldon Jackson College, the school helped to nurture generations of Alaska Native scholars, scientists, and leaders. 

Read our Land Acknowledgement for more information about the land that Outer Coast is on.

Life on Campus

In fall 2020, the inaugural Outer Coast Year Student Body produced a Vogue-style 73 Questions video to give prospective students a sense of what life is really like on campus. Watch their interviews here:

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Sweetland Hall

Sweetland Hall is a two-story dormitory with a dining hall and commercial kitchen. Outer Coast students occupy two hallways of the facility and share some common spaces and the dining hall with other camps and programs throughout the year.

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Yaw Arts Center

The Yaw Arts Center is a one-story building with classrooms and offices. It is the current administrative and academic home of Outer Coast.

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Smokestack

The Smokestack is an open, two-story community gathering space with tables, a stage, a snack counter, and a loft.

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The Quad

The campus centers around a main quad with grass fields and walkways. Members of the Outer Coast and Sitka communities use the open space for outdoor gatherings, meals, sports, and down time.

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Student Lounge

The student lounge, located in Sweetland Hall, is the main gathering place for Student Body meetings and other SB activities. The space has lovingly been deemed ‘The Nest’, ‘The Pasture’, and ‘The Pit’ by various past Outer Coast cohorts.

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Dining Hall

Student meals are provided in the Sitka Fine Arts Camp dining room, located within Sweetland Hall. Meals can either be eaten in the dining hall or taken grab-and-go and eaten elsewhere.

Living in Sitka

Sitka is an island community accessible only by boat or plane. Located in the midst of the Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest temperate rainforest, Sitka abounds with life. Approximately 9,000 people call Sitka home, including Sitka’s first people, the Tlingit. On any given day of the week, community members come together to attend concerts, science lectures, potlucks, square dances, and other local events. Notable local institutions include Sitka Tribe of Alaska, KCAW community radio, Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Sitka Sound Science Center, and the University of Alaska.

Yeey aaní káx̱ g̱unéi x̱too.aat (May we walk on your land). Outer Coast is situated on Lingít Aaní, the ancestral home of the Tlingit peoples. We strive to build a community of safe, inclusive, and integrative learning for all. Learn more.