Natural Resource Sciences

The Natural Resource Sciences (NRS) program prepares students for the environmental challenges of the 21st century. The Master of Natural Resources Management (M.N.R.M.), Master of Science (M.S.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees are interdisciplinary and offer a broad, systems- based approach toward managing natural resources. NRS graduates are prepared to compete for and be productive in jobs where issues reach beyond a single discipline or subject area. They have the skills necessary to address problems from a sustainable social-ecological perspective. Flexible interdisciplinary wide-reaching

The M.S. and Ph.D. programs four sub-plan options:

Entomology
Natural Resource Management
Precision Agriculture
Rangeland Ecology and Wildlife Management
Soil Science

The M.N.R.M program is coursework only and can be done in-person or online. Through the NRS graduate program, students gain a breadth of knowledge in relevant planning, analysis, and management in a wide variety of natural resource fields from pollinators to pest management, cropping systems to soil health, wetlands to wildlife, and restoration to grazing management.

The NRS graduate program is to provide formal education in a chosen specialty area, introductions to other subject areas, appropriate course work in analytical methods, and research and writing experiences in the general area of natural resource management. Problem recognition, definition, analysis and resolution, along with critical thinking are the ultimate learning objectives.

Admissions Requirements

The graduate program in Natural Resources Sciences is open to qualiﬁed graduates of universities and colleges of recognized standing and meet the Graduate College requirements.

Financial Assistance

Both research and teaching assistantships may be available through the participating academic units. Application for an assistantship must be made directly to a department. Applicants are considered based on scholarship and potential to undertake advanced study and research. Limited scholarships are available.

To qualify for the M.N.R.M. degree, the candidate must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 30 semester credits of course work in the selected curriculum. This can be done in person or online.

To qualify for the M.S. degree, the candidate must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 30 semester units in the selected curriculum, an oral examination, and a thesis or comprehensive study paper.

To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, the candidate must satisfactorily complete a course of study of no less than 90 semester credits (including 30 semester credits from the M.S. degree or equivalent), both a written and an oral preliminary examination, a research-based dissertation, and an oral final examination on the dissertation. In addition, the candidate presents ﬁnal public seminar based on the dissertation research. For more speciﬁc information, please refer to the School of Natural Resource Sciences website.

Courses are offered by the School of Natural Resource Sciences and other participating academic units. These include:

Agribusiness and Applied Economics
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Agricultural Systems Management
Anthropology
Biology
Botany
Civil Engineering
Communication
Computer Science
Economics
Entomology
Geosciences
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Mathematics
Microbiology
Philosophy
Plant Pathology
Plant Sciences
Political Science
Range Science
Sociology
Soil Science
Statistics
Zoology

Master of Science

Plan A - Master's Thesis Option

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Entomology, Natural Resource Management, Rangeland Ecology and Wildlife Management, and Soil Science Sub-plans
Electives (must be didactic credits and approved by advisor)		21
Master's Thesis (ENT 798, NRM 798, RNG 798, SOIL 798)		9
Total Credits		30

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Precision Agriculture Sub-plan
ABEN 682	Instrumentation & Measurements	3
ABEN 790	Graduate Seminar	1
PAG 654	Applications of Precision Agriculture	3
Electives (must be approved by advisor and include at least 10 didactic credits)		17
PAG 798		6
Total Credits		30

Plan B - Master's Paper Option

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Entomology, Natural Resource Management, Rangeland Wildlife and Ecology Management, and Soil Science Sub-plans
Emphasis Area Courses (ENT, NRM, RNG or SOIL)		5
Electives (must be approved by advisor and include at least 21 didactic credits)		21
Master's Paper (ENT 797, NRM 797, RNG 797, SOIL 797)		4
Total Credits		30

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Precision Agriculture Sub-plan
ABEN 790	Graduate Seminar	1
PAG 654	Applications of Precision Agriculture	3
Electives (must be approved by advisor and include at least 18 didactic credits)		24
PAG 797		2
Total Credits		30

Emphasis Areas:

Entomology
Soil Science
Natural Resource Management
Rangeland Ecology and Wildlife Management

Minimum credit requirements are listed below. Specific courses shall be decided by the students' advisor and committee.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Master's to Ph.D.		60
Didactic coursework (700-789, 791; 800-889, 891)		15
Additional Courses
Doctoral Dissertation (899)

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Bachelor's to Ph.D.		90
Didactic coursework (601-689,691; 700-789, 791; 800-889, 891)		27
15 must be at the 700 or 800 level
Additional Courses
Doctoral Dissertation (899)

Adnan Akyuz, Ph.D.
University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994
Research Area/Activity: Applied Climatology and Microclimatology/Climate Based Agricultural Management

Larry J. Cihacek, Ph.D.
Iowa State University, 1979
Research Area/Activity: Erosion and Productivity Relationships, Conventional and Alternative Crop Management, Carbon Sequestration, Nutrient Management

Dennis Cooley, Ph.D.
University of Rochester, 1995
Research Area/Activity: Ethics (Bioethics, Environmental, Agricultural, Business, Professional, and Theoretical)

Edward (Shawn) DeKeyser, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2000
Research Area/Activity: Wetland Ecology, Wetland Assessment and Monitoring, Invasive Species Ecology and Management, Native Prairie and Wetland Restoration

Tom DeSutter, Ph.D.
Kansas State University, 2004
Research Area/Activity: Trace Elements, Land Application of Byproducts, Inorganic Soil Chemistry, Soil Environmental Condition

Paulo Flores, Ph.D.
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Research Area/Activity: Precision Agriculture, Applications of UASs/Drones in Agriculture, UASs/Drone Imagery Analysis, GIS Applications for Precision Agriculture

Caley Gasch, Ph.D.
University of Wyoming, 2013
Research Area/Activity: Soil Ecology, Restoration, Reclamation, Monitoring of Degraded Soils

Benjamin Geaumont, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2009
Research Area/Activity: Evaluation of Upland Bird Survival Habitat Use, Upland Game Species

Kelsey Griesheim, Ph.D.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, 2022
Research Area/Activity: Soil Fertility, Resource Management, Fertilizer Efficiency, Nitrogen Management

Christina Hargiss, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2009
Research Area/Activity: Wetland Assessment, Water Quality, Water Use, and Urban Ecosystems

Robert Hearne, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1995
Research Area/Activity: Water Resources Management Institutions, Water Markets, Protected Area Management, Economic Valuation of Environmental Goods and Services

Torre Hovick, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, 2014
Research Area/Activity: Global change, Avian Ecology, Fire Ecology, Rangeland Management

Xinhua Jia, Ph.D.
University of Arizona, 2004
Research Area/Activity: Soil and Water Engineering, Hydrology

Zhulu Lin, Ph.D.
University of Georgia, 2003
Research Area/Activity: Water and Soil Resources, Environmental Modeling

Lindsay Malone, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022
Research Area/Activity: Climate Smart Approaches to Agriculture, Soil Management, Soil Health, Science Communication

Jack E. Norland, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2008
Research Area/Activity: Restoration Ecology, Application of Remote Sensing to Natural Resources Management, Study of Natural Resources Management Problems in a Socio-Ecological Setting Including Urban Systems

Deirdre Prischmann-Voldseth, Ph.D.
Washington State University, 2005
Research Area/Activity: Integrated Pest Management, Biological Control, Insect Ecology

David A. Rider, Ph.D.
Louisiana State University, 1988
Research Area/Activity: Insect Systematics

David Ripplinger, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 2012
Research Area/Activity: Bioproducts / Bioenergy Economics

David Roberts, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, 2009
Research Area/Activity: Agricultural Production Methods, Precision Agriculture Technologies, Biofuels Policy

Travis Seaborn, Ph.D.
Washington State University, 2019
Research Area/Activity: Conservation Biology, Climate Change, Genetics, Social-Ecological Systems, Fish and Wildlife

Kevin Sedivec, Ph.D.
North Dakota State University, 1994
Research Area/Activity: Plant Community Ecology, Grazing and Wildlife Interaction, Reclamation of Energy Developed Lands, Range Nutrition, Range Monitoring

Dean D. Steele, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota, 1991
Research Area/Activity: Irrigation and Environmental Engineering

Joseph D. Zeleznik, Ph.D.
Michigan State University, 2001
Research Area/Activity: Dendrochronology of Ponderosa Pine and Bur Oak, Bur Oak Regeneration, Riparian Forest Restoration

University Catalog 2024-25

Natural Resource Sciences

Plan A - Master's Thesis Option

Plan B - Master's Paper Option