Natural Resources Management
This is an archived copy of the 2018-19 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://bulletin.ndsu.edu.
With increasing human pressure and a growing need to balance competing demands, our world needs new and better ways to manage society’s impacts on the environment. The Natural Resources Management program prepares students for challenging careers requiring the sustainability perspective and global social perspective necessary for examining and solving complex natural resources management problems. Our goal is the highest and best societal uses of natural resources while maintaining the integrity of life-sustaining socio-ecological systems. Career opportunities abound in federal, state and local government, the private sector, non-profit conservation and environmental organizations, as well as higher education and research.
An interdisciplinary major in NRM leads to a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. Students benefit from faculty engagement from the various colleges across the university in the coordination of the program, classroom teaching and advising.
During the first four semesters of the NRM program, students complete a broad foundation of core courses in the social, biological, and physical sciences. The second half of the program offers students the opportunity to focus on a specific area of interest (emphasis). NRM offers six emphasis areas, each allowing students the flexibility to select courses for specialized career preparation.
- Biotic Resources Science: deals with basic scientific principles that govern the interrelationship between biotic (e.g., plants, animals) and abiotic factors (e.g., climate, soils) in major ecosystems and the use of these principles for environmentally sound management of both natural and agro-ecosystems.
- Environmental Communication: is designed for environmentally oriented students preparing for careers in communication fields such as journalism, public relations, broadcast media and the internet.
- Natural Resources Economics: prepares students for management, administrative, regulatory, and policy positions that require a broad understanding of natural resources management and allocation.
- Physical/Earth Resources Science: leads to an understanding of the physical and chemical aspects of ecosystems. Topics of study include hydrology, water management and quality, waste management, soil properties, energy resources and land-use management.
- Pollution Control: focuses on the principles and practices of managing natural resources for pollution control. Topics include the technical aspects of pollution as they relate to water, air/solids, earth/soils, and the impact of environmental pollution on biotic factors. Students interested in this emphasis are strongly urged to complete College Algebra before entering the NRM program.
- Social Sciences: concentrates on human factors (social, political, anthropological) in environmental management and environmental disaster management, while recognizing constraints and opportunities presented by physical and biological factors.
- Sustainability and Resiliency: focuses on how to build capacity to deal with change; prepares students through system, strategic, and anticipatory thinking.
Plan of Study
Please note this is a sample plan of study and not an official curriculum. Actual student schedules for each semester will vary depending on start year, education goals, applicable transfer credit, and course availability. Students are encouraged to work with their academic advisor on a regular basis to review degree progress and customize an individual plan of study.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| BIOL 150 & 150L | 4 | BIOL 151 & 151L | 4 |
| MATH 103 | 3 | ENGL 120 | 3 |
| NRM 225 | 3 | Humanities & Fine Arts Gen Ed | 6 |
| NRM 150 | 1 | Wellness Gen Ed | 2 |
| ENGL 110 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| COMM 110 | 3 | CHEM 121 & 121L | 4 |
| ECON 201 | 3 | NRM 264 | 3 |
| GEOL 105 | 3 | SOIL 210 | 3 |
| SOC 110 or EMGT 101 | 3 | STAT 330 | 3 |
| POLS 115 or 215 | 3 | Decide on Emphasis area - see below | |
| Decide on Emphasis area - see below | Elective | 3 | |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ECON 481 | 3 | HIST 434 or 435 | 3 |
| NRM 431 | 3 | RNG 452 | 3 |
| Upper level Sociology, EMGT, POLS | 3 | Emphasis core | 8 |
| Upper level ENGL Gen Ed | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Emphasis core | 3 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 18 | 17 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Emphasis core | 15 | NRM 462 | 3 |
| Emphasis core | 12 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 18 | ||
| Total Credits: 129 | |||
Natural Resources Management Emphasis Areas
Biotic Resources Science
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Choose One Tract - Required 6 credits | 6 | |
| CHEM TRACT | ||
| General Chemistry II | ||
| Survey of Organic Chemistry | ||
| MANAGEMENT TRACT | ||
| Rangeland Resources Watershed Management | ||
| Introduction to Range Management | ||
| Required 32 additional elective credits | 32 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Sustainability
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 12 credits | ||
| NRM 420 | Sustainable Scenarios in Natural Resources Management | 3 |
| NRM 401 | Urban-Ecosystem Management | 3 |
| SOC 431 | Environmental Sociology | 3 |
| or SOC 404 | Community Assessment | |
| or POLS 442 | Global Policy Issues | |
| or POLS 453 | Environmental Policy and Politics | |
| NRM 454 | Wetland Resources Management | 3 |
| or NRM 402 | River and Stream Resource Management | |
| or SOIL 410 | Soils and Land Use | |
| or BIOL 475 | Conservation Biology | |
| Required 26 additional elective credits | 26 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Physical/Earth Resources Science
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 13 credits | ||
| CHEM 122 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 122L | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 300 | Environmental Geology | 3 |
| or GEOG 412 | Geomorphology | |
| SOIL 322 | Soil Fertility and Fertilizers | 3 |
| or SOIL 351 | Soil Ecology | |
| SOIL 410 | Soils and Land Use | 3 |
| or SOIL 444 | Soil Genesis and Survey | |
| Required 25 additional elective credits | 25 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Social Sciences
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 10 credits | ||
| SOC 340 | Social Research Methods | 3 |
| SOC 341 | Social Research Methods Laboratory | 1 |
| SOC 404 | Community Assessment | 3 |
| SOC 405 | Community Development | 3 |
| Required 28 additional elective credits | 28 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Pollution Control
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 23 credits | ||
| MATH 165 | Calculus I | 4 |
| CHEM 122 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 122L | General Chemistry II Laboratory | 1 |
| ME 221 | Engineering Mechanics I | 3 |
| ME 222 | Engineering Mechanics II | 3 |
| CE 309 | Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| CE 370 | Introduction to Environmental Engineering | 3 |
| CE 408 | Water Resources and Supply | 3 |
| Required 15 additional elective credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Environmental Communication
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 16 credits | ||
| COMM 112 | Understanding Media and Social Change | 3 |
| COMM 200 | Introduction to Media Writing | 3 |
| NRM 421 | Environmental Outreach Methods | 3 |
| COMM 485 | Risk and Crisis Communication | 3 |
| COMM 325 | Applied Research Methods | 4 |
| or SOC 340 & SOC 341 | Social Research Methods and Social Research Methods Laboratory | |
| Required 22 additional elective credits | 22 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |
Natural Resources Economics
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required 9 credits | ||
| MATH 144 | Mathematics for Business | 4 |
| ECON 341 | Intermediate Microeconomics | 3 |
| STAT 331 | Regression Analysis | 2 |
| Required 29 additional elective credits | 29 | |
| Total Credits | 38 | |