Field-based learning in higher education is lacking both in practice at colleges and in research within the academic literature. This study aims to address these deficits by exploring the benefits and possibilities of executing field study in higher education across a variety of courses. We report the results of a qualitative research design that included the observation of five courses and an analysis of a field study database within the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Approximately eight students per observed course were interviewed three times during their course to assess perceptions of the class, their peers and instructor, the field experiences, and their motivation throughout the course. In total, 130 individual interviews were conducted with 45 students and 721 field trips from 2015-2018 in the database were analyzed. Results revealed that field-based learning enhances the degree of relatedness students feel with their classmates and instructors, they have a greater degree of intrinsic motivation in the course, and these experiences facilitate learning in ways that may not be replicated in the traditional classroom. In addition, we created a typology of field-based learning, which includes eight different trips that could be employed in higher education courses. We also identified general strategies to improve the execution of these trips.