-
Heidi Asbjornsen
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORProgram Coordinator for Forestry -
Catherine M. Ashcraft
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -
Russell G. Congalton
PROFESSORProgram Coordinator for Environmental Conservation & Sustainability -
Mark J. Ducey
PROFESSOR -
Theodore E. Howard
ASSOCIATE DEANProfessor -
Thomas D. Lee
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORGraduate Program Coordinator -
Marianne K. Litvaitis
PROFESSOR -
Robert A. Robertson
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR -
Rebecca J. Rowe
ASSOCIATE PROFESSORProgram Coordinator for Wildlife & Conservation Biology -
James Thomas Taylor
PROFESSOR
Natural Resources: Environmental Conservation M.S.

Program Overview
NATURAL RESOURCES: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Students in the Environmental Conservation option typically have a BS/BA degree or strong background in environmental and natural resource sciences with a keen interest in combining the natural sciences with the social sciences. Those without this background may be accepted upon completion of some additional fundamental courses. Areas of interest include natural resource policy, conservation biology, sustainability, ecological ethics and values, international environmental affairs, and spatial data analysis (remote sensing and GIS). After successful completion of the MS degree, students have gone on to work for federal and state agencies, for private industry, and for non-governmental organizations.
Contact
Wendy F. Rose
Curriculum & Requirements
Degree Requirements
An M.S. degree is conferred upon successful completion of a program of not less than 30 credits for natural resources options: forestry, environmental conservation, environmental economics, general, soil and water resource management, and wildlife and conservation biology.
Course Requirements or Equivalents
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
EDUC 904 | Qualitative Inquiry in Education (Policy oriented) | 4 |
Or | ||
NR 903 | Approach to Research | 2 |
And with NR 903, choose one of the following additional research methods classes for a total of 4 credits: | 2 | |
Grant Writing | ||
Writing and Publishing Science | ||
Scientific Communication | ||
Or an alternative with approval from the Graduate Coordinator | ||
NR 993 | Natural and Environmental Resources Seminar | 1-2 |
or NR 947 | Current Issues in Ecosystem Ecology | |
NR 996 | Natural Resource Education (1 credit ) | 1 - 2 |
or LSA 900 | College Teaching | |
Select one of the following Quantitative methods courses: | 3-4 | |
Applied Biostatistics II | ||
Design, Analysis, and Interpretation of Experiments | ||
Introduction to Applied Analytic Statistics | ||
Econometrics I | ||
Quantitative Methods in Earth Sciences | ||
Statistical Methods for Research | ||
Design of Experiments I | ||
Topics in Probability and Statistics I | ||
Analysis of Ecological Communities and Complex Data | ||
Quantitative Ecology | ||
Introduction to Statistical Analysis | ||
Research Methodology and Statistics I | ||
Research Methods and Statistics III | ||
Sociological Methods I: Intermediate Social Statistics | ||
Sociological Methods III: Advanced Social Statistics | ||
Sociological Methods IV: Qualitative and Historical Research Methods | ||
Or an alternative with approval from the Graduate Coordinator | ||
Select one of the following: | ||
NR 899 | Master's Thesis (and a formal presentation of the thesis) 1 | 6 |
NR 998 | Directed Research (and directed research results) 2 | 4 |
1 | The thesis option will provide a research-based thesis that is the foundation for a peer-reviewed publication. |
2 | The directed research option shall consist of a project, designed and conducted by the student, culminating in a scholarly paper or report that is suitable for publication in the respective field of scholarship. |
An approved program of study plan is required during the first semester.
Environmental Conservation Option Requirements
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Select one of the following Ecology courses: | 4 | |
NR 806 | Soil Ecology | |
NR 811 | Wetland Ecology and Management | |
NR 830 | Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
NR 834 | Tropical Ecology | |
NR 851 | Aquatic Ecosystems | |
NR 857 | Remote Sensing of the Environment | |
NR 965 | Community Ecology | |
MEFB 825 | Marine Ecology |