Creative Learning through the Application of Sociological Principles (CLASP) is a nontraditional program designed to help students develop their own concepts, theories, and skills during a nonstructured sociology semester. The program consists of seven phases: (1) first week: testing, simulating, and preparation; (2) second-third weeks: human relations and survival lab in wilderness; (3) fourth-seventh weeks: post-wilderness community problem solving upon return to campus; (4) eighth week: midterm evaluation; (5) ninth-twelfth weeks: skilled experiences; (6) thirteenth-fourteenth weeks: reporting, sharing, discussing, and analyzing; and (7) fifteenth-sixteenth weeks: evaluation and grading. A group of students who had completed two evaluation phases of an outdoor survival program and two different CLASP groups all involved in wilderness educational programs, were examined together with two control groups. The control groups were a conventional beginning class in sociology and a conventional T-group. Results significantly favor CLASP communities over T-groups and control groups in terms of sociological content, changes in self conception, and academic achievements. Strong positive reactions rated the CLASP program as the best learning experience in the students' college career. The program has created considerable "noise" in the traditional academic system for nontraditional education. Recommendations are made for institutions to adapt this survival-type program to the needs of each college department. (Author/BJG)