Deep Springs College
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1917
- HeadquartersBig Pine, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Deep Springs College firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Deep Springs College
- Legal name
- Deep Springs College
- Website
- https://deepsprings.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1917
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Deep Springs College industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Junior Colleges (6112), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Services (61)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Junior Colleges (Associate-Degree Granting) (EDAHADAC), Great Books/Core Curriculum Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAM)
Keywords
Where Deep Springs College is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Big Pine
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Deep Springs College business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Donations and Annual Fund: The primary funding mechanism is donor contributions through the Annual Fund, which covers approximately 58% of operating expenses. Close to 50% of alumni contribute annually.
- Endowment Income: Endowment generates approximately 35% of annual operating expenses through investment returns.
- Farm and Ranch Operations: USDA Certified Organic cattle ranch and 150-acre hay farm sell hay and beef cattle for modest income, covering approximately 7% of operating expenses.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Others | Full scholarship covering tuition, room, and board |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Deep Springs College product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Deep Springs College offers a fully accredited two-year liberal arts honors program that grants an Associate of Arts degree and provides a full scholarship to all admitted students covering tuition, room, and board. The program is organized around three pillars — academics (small seminars averaging 8 students), manual labor (approximately 20 hours per week on a working cattle ranch and alfalfa farm), and student self-governance (student participation in admissions, faculty hiring, and policy). Students typically transfer to top four-year institutions after completing the program.
Product overview
Deep Springs College is an accredited two-year liberal arts college offering a single unified educational program built upon three pillars: academics, student self-governance, and manual labor. All admitted students receive full scholarships covering tuition, room, and board. The academic program includes required Summer Seminar, Writing, and Public Speaking courses, alongside elective courses in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts. Students also participate in the Labor Program (working approximately 20 hours weekly in farm, ranch, kitchen, or facilities roles) and the Self-Governance Program (where the Student Body participates in admissions, faculty hiring, and college operations through four committees). The college grants Associate of Arts degrees and prepares students for transfer to four-year institutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Two-Year Liberal Arts Honors Program A two-year full-scholarship liberal arts honors program granting an Associate of Arts degree, built upon three pillars: academics, student self-governance, and manual labor. Designed for exceptional college-bound students demonstrating curiosity, self-reflection, work ethic, and interest in service to humanity.
- Labor Program A mandatory program in which students work approximately 20 hours per week in positions including Cook, Baker, Butcher, Cowboy, Dairy, Farm, Garden, Mechanic's Assistant, and Orderly. Operates on a fully functional USDA Certified Organic cattle ranch and 155-acre alfalfa farm, with most students rotating positions every two months.
- Student Self-Governance Program A program in which the Student Body governs itself and participates in college operations, including admissions decisions, faculty hiring, and policy-making, through four standing committees: Applications, Curriculum, Review and Re-invitations, and Communications. Students also serve on the Board of Trustees as one-year student trustees.
- Summer Seminar An intensive introduction to Deep Springs academics for incoming students, often taught by interdisciplinary teams and focusing on ethics and governance through literature, philosophy, and social sciences.
- Writing Program A writing-intensive required program where students learn to write well and offer constructive criticism, with attention to crafting cogent arguments.
- Public Speaking Program A required program taken throughout students' time at Deep Springs, in which all students give two graded speeches per semester and receive peer and professor feedback.
- Elective Courses Courses in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts (including Conservation Science, Aristotle's Ethics, Painting, Mathematics in Political Life, and The Modern Essay) selected by students from proposals submitted by professors each semester. There are no majors, and students typically take two to three classes per semester.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 95% of alumni complete a Bachelor's degree, and over 50% earn graduate or terminal degrees
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Deep Springs College
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Deep Springs College technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Deep Springs College partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- League of Nunnian SchoolscoreThe League of Nunnian Schools is a consortium of educational institutions inspired by L.L. Nunn's educational philosophy. Together with the Telluride Association (founded 1911), the League supports existing and developing Nunnian projects in America and around the world. Member schools share the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance with focus on moral character development.
- Telluride AssociationcoreFounded by L.L. Nunn in 1911, the Telluride Association operates Telluride Houses at Cornell and University of Michigan, as well as summer programs for high school students. Deep Springs was Nunn's final educational project.
- Gull Island InstituteminorNunnian institution in Massachusetts built around the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance.
- Tidelines InstituteminorNunnian institution in Alaska built around the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance.
- Outer CoastminorNunnian institution in Alaska built around the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance.
- Thoreau CollegeminorNunnian institution in Wisconsin built around the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance; maintains an expanding list of microcolleges.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Deep Springs College competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- College of the Atlantic: College of the Atlantic is a tiny, residential liberal arts college in Bar Harbor, Maine with a single-discipline (human ecology) curriculum and an experiential, project-based pedagogy. It shares Deep Springs' small scale, mission orientation, and emphasis on hands-on learning.
- Sterling College (Vermont): Sterling College is a small, residential, work-oriented liberal arts college in Vermont emphasizing environmental stewardship and hands-on land labor. Its integrated work-study model and rural setting overlap with Deep Springs' labor pillar and ranch-based pedagogy.
Direct peers
- Thoreau College: Thoreau College is a Wisconsin-based Nunnian microcollege built on the three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance. As a League of Nunnian Schools member, it explicitly mirrors the Deep Springs model on a smaller, newer scale.
- Thomas Aquinas College: Thomas Aquinas is a small Catholic residential liberal arts college centered on a Great Books, discussion-based curriculum with no majors, electives, or textbooks. Its small seminar classes and integrated curriculum mirror Deep Springs' structure on the academic pillar.
- Outer Coast: Outer Coast is a sister Nunnian institution in Sitka, Alaska built around the same three pillars of Labor, Academics, and Self-Governance as Deep Springs. It is the most direct programmatic peer and a fellow member of the League of Nunnian Schools.
- Antioch College: Antioch is a tiny, progressive, residential liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning, work-study co-op programs, and self-governance. Its small scale, mission-driven identity, and alternative educational model parallel Deep Springs' three-pillar approach.
- Bennington College: Bennington is a small, residential liberal arts college with progressive pedagogy, narrative evaluations rather than grades, and strong emphasis on student agency and self-direction. It shares Deep Springs' counter-mainstream identity and emphasis on student ownership of education.
- Hampshire College: Hampshire is a small, progressive, residential liberal arts college emphasizing student-directed learning, portfolios over grades, and self-governance traditions. Its size, mission, and openness to non-traditional curricular structures make it a close peer to Deep Springs' self-directed ethos.
- St. John's College (Annapolis & Santa Fe): St. John's College is the most directly comparable U.S. institution: a small, residential, Great Books liberal arts college built around seminar-style discussion and a rigorous shared curriculum with no traditional majors. Like Deep Springs, it is highly selective and known for its distinctive, counter-mainstream pedagogy.
Broad incumbents
- Bard College: Bard is a well-known residential liberal arts college with progressive curricular features (e.g., early college, modular courses) and a broader, more conventional footprint than Deep Springs. It receives Deep Springs transfers and serves as an indirect comparator for alternative higher-education positioning at greater scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Deep Springs College social profiles
Digital presenceDeep Springs College compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Deep Springs College financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Deep Springs College leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Deep Springs College funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Deep Springs College M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Deep Springs College
What does Deep Springs College do?
Deep Springs College offers a fully accredited two-year liberal arts honors program that grants an Associate of Arts degree and provides a full scholarship to all admitted students covering tuition, room, and board. The program is organized around three pillars — academics (small seminars averaging 8 students), manual labor (approximately 20 hours per week on a working cattle ranch and alfalfa farm), and student self-governance (student participation in admissions, faculty hiring, and policy). Students typically transfer to top four-year institutions after completing the program.
Is Deep Springs College a public or private company?
Deep Springs College is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Deep Springs College founded?
Deep Springs College was founded in 1917. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Deep Springs College based?
Deep Springs College is headquartered in Big Pine, United States, in the North America region.
How does Deep Springs College make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Annual Fund is the primary driver. The others are endowment Income and farm and Ranch Operations.
Who are Deep Springs College's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are College of the Atlantic and Sterling College (Vermont). Direct peers are Thoreau College, Thomas Aquinas College, Outer Coast, Antioch College, Bennington College, Hampshire College and St. John's College (Annapolis & Santa Fe). Bard College is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Deep Springs College have an API?
No public API is recorded for Deep Springs College.
What industry is Deep Springs College in?
Deep Springs College's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHACAH, Residential Liberal Arts Colleges, with a secondary code of EDAHADAC, Junior Colleges (Associate-Degree Granting). Its NAICS code is 6112 and its SIC code is 8200.