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Field camp costs (all in U.S. Dollars) were pulled from syllabi and webpage sources for 63 US-based institutions offering a field camp course. These sources provided varying levels of detail in regards to the cost of their respective camps. "In-state" costs (in-state students or students enrolled at institutions offering camp) and "Out-of-state/non-student" costs (for out-of-state students or students not enrolled in the institutions offering camp) were used when cost details were available. Highest potential cost includes the highest overall cost to attend field camp through an institution, regardless of the students’ status at the institution. The median cost to attend field camp at all US-based institutions as an in-state student is $3,850, with overall costs ranging from a minimum of $1,550 to a maximum of $7,425. The cost for an out-of-state student is $4,581, with costs ranging from $1,550 to $8,000. The median highest potential costs a student could expect to pay is $4,518, with values ranging from $1,550 to $8,954.
The differences in field camp costs between traditional camps (4 to 6 week summer field experience) and non-traditional camps (any camp not classified as a 4 to 6 week summer field experience) were also examined. Of the 63 total camps, 14 were classified as non-traditional and 47 as traditional. Costs for traditional camps are overall higher than for non-traditional camps, with median costs ranging from $4,062 to $4,713 while non-traditional camp costs range from $3,000 to $3,575, depending on student classification. Individual costs range from a minimum cost of $2,100 (traditional) or $1,550 (non-traditional) to a maximum cost of $8,954 (traditional) or $6,450 (non-traditional).
In addition, the range of field camp costs varied regionally across the US. The South has both the institution with the highest cost, at $8,954, and the largest range in field camp costs with a range of $6,504. Conversely, the West has the institution with the lowest cost, at $1,550, and the smallest range ($3,877) between values. This difference in regional costs could be potentially impacted by built-in transportation costs needed to travel to field camps in the West, the region with the highest number of field camps.
