Program Overview

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Natural Resources and Ecology Master's Program

The M.S. natural resources and ecology program explores environmental science with a focus on natural resource issues. Current program strengths are in ecology and field biology and environmental policy and planning. The program offers both a research thesis option or an internship option.

What Will I Learn?

You will have the support and guidance of exceptional faculty working at the top of their fields. Experiential learning opportunities are never far with easy access to the Adirondack Park and Lake Champlain Basin. In addition, you will gain mastery in:

• Ecological concepts and methods, experimental design, spatial analysis, taxonomy, statistical methods and applied issues
• Ecological data collection and sampling techniques
• Scientific research questions and methodology

What is Unique About Our Program?

Step into a field all your own and become a professional scientist with our natural resources and ecology program. With the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park and 490-square-mile Lake Champlain as your laboratory, youll immerse yourself in a science career.

What Are My Career Opportunities?

Develop the knowledge, skills, experience and credentials to pursue a successful career in natural resources such as park naturalist; environmental scientist; environmental planner; field ecologist; agency fisheries, forest or wildlife scientist and many others.

Graduates of our program are pursuing a variety of careers and fields including:

• Natural resources
• Environmental science/ecology
• Environmental planning
• Environmental conservation
• Park naturalist
• Forest biologist
• Aquatic/fisheries biologist
• Wildlife biologist

Program Requirements

The program requires 34-37 credits.

Analytical Skills: (7-8 cr.)

• ENV 522 - Environmental Data Analysis (3 cr.)
• SCI 505 - Graduate Seminar in Natural Science (1 cr.)
• SCI 510 - Research Methods (3 cr.)

Applied / Spatial Skills: (6-7 cr.)

Select two courses from the following:

• ENV 511 - Water Quality (4 cr.)
• ENV 517 - Environmental Impact Assessment (3 cr.)
• ENV 519 - Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis (3 cr.)
• ENV 521 - Environmental Law and Policy (3 cr.)
• ENV 581 - Sustainability (3 cr.)
• GEG 532 - Environmental Justice (3 cr.)
• GEG 585 - Sustainable Communities (3 cr.)
• PRE 552 - Public Relations Writing (3 cr.)

Environmental Science-Natural Resources: (9 cr.)

Select at least 9 credits from the following:

• BIO 510 - Plant Diversity and Evolution (4 cr.)
• BIO 545 - Graduate Field Botany (3 cr.)
• BIO 591 - Conservation Biology (3 cr.)
• ENV 506 - Climate Change Science (3 cr.)
• ENV 530 - Wildlife Ecology and Management (4 cr.)
• ENV 531 - Freshwater Ecology (4 cr.)
• ENV 532 - Forest Ecology and Management (4 cr.)
• ENV 533 - River Ecology (4 cr.)
• ENV 536 - Advanced Population and Community Ecology (3 cr.)
• ENV 539 - Wetland Ecology and Management (4 cr.)
• ENV 542 - Paleobiology and Paleoecology (4 cr.)
• ENV 562 - Ecosystem Ecology (3 cr.)
• ENV 570 - Soil Science (4 cr.)
• ENV 580 - Advanced Topics in Ecology (1 to 4 cr.)
• ENV 599 - Independent Study (1 to 15 cr.)

Graduate Electives: (6-8 cr.)

Select two courses from either the Applied / Spatial Skills or Environmental Science-Natural Resources categories.

Internship / Thesis: (6 cr.)

Complete either a final written thesis based upon independent research or a final non-thesis internship as approved by the student's graduate committee.

• ENV 595 - Graduate Research (1 to 9 cr.)
• ENV 598 - Environmental Internship (1 to 15 cr.)

Admission Requirements

General admission criteria include a completed graduate study application, three letters of recommendation, statement of purpose or intent, and official transcripts.

Additional requirements include:

• Bachelors degree in a science discipline from an accredited higher education institution
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale
• Recommended: Satisfactory score on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

International Students

This degree program is designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as an eligible degree for the STEM OPT work authorization extension available to F-1 students. Certain F-1 students who are already approved for post-completion OPT may be eligible to apply for a 24-month extension of their current OPT work authorization called STEM OPT Extension.