FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington is offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in outdoor recreation business administration, university President Kathryn A. Foster recently announced.

The University of Maine System board of trustees approved the measure.

“We’re so excited to be able to offer our students a full bachelor’s degree in this expanding Maine industry,” Foster said. “This enhanced ORBA program renews UMF’s commitment to Maine’s four-season outdoor recreation sector and reaffirms our active partnership in the state’s continued overall economic development.”

An emphasis on business administration in the outdoor recreation sector sets Farmington’s ORBA program apart from similar programs available in New England, qualifying some out-of-state students for the New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Break program, according to a statement from UMF.

All students have the opportunity to take business classes on subjects such as retail operations, financial management for recreation and tourism, and human resources development, in addition to coursework in outdoor recreation and adventure sports such as snow sports, the river industry, hiking and camping, golf and inland fishing.

A required, six-credit internship is a core component of the program. It provides students with on-the-job experience that opens doors for future employment options, with many internships providing some type of compensation to help with student expenses.

Clyde Mitchell, UMF professor of business, will oversee the ORBA program and is looking at ways to make the degree more flexible and responsive to the industry’s changing needs.

“UMF is ideally located to prepare students in the outdoor recreation sector,” Mitchell said. “We’re just about an hour from many of Maine’s largest adventure sports and recreation areas. With this advanced program, we will continue to give our students the necessary skill sets to live and work in this region or at any four-season recreation area and pursue a lifestyle and a profession they’re passionate about.”

The program was originally developed in 2009 in collaboration with an advisory board of leaders from Maine’s four-season recreation industry. They indicated the need for a program that focuses on the development of business knowledge and leadership skills appropriate to careers at all levels in the outdoor recreation industry.

The new ORBA bachelor’s degree program will likewise have the guidance of a board of outdoor recreation leaders that will be chaired by Dana Bullen, CEO of Sunday River.

Students enrolled in the program can choose to remain in the interdisciplinary degree program or change to the new degree program. New students will automatically be admitted to the bachelor’s degree program beginning this fall.

For more information, visit www.umf.maine.edu/majors-academics/outdoor-recreation-business-administration/