Natural Resources Schools and Programs in The United States

Natural Resources Studies in The United States

You can study natural resources in the United States at Colorado State University.

Are you an enthusiast of natural resources and its conservation? If the answer is yes, then you should consider pursuing natural resources as a study, and if you are still thinking of where to pursue it, consider the United States.

Natural resources as a study

This course aims to offer education to students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels who want to make a contribution to natural resources policy, and management decisions made in an environment that is influenced a lot by technical elements, and also social, political, legal, and economic factors. The course enables students to increase their knowledge and experience in ecology, management, planning, administration, and natural resource policy.

Studying natural resources in the US

In the US, the study of natural resources is mostly focused on the management and preservation of natural ecosystems. Emphasis is on the rangeland, desert, and forest ecosystems of arid and semi-arid surroundings.

At all levels of education, especially graduate and doctoral, the course prepares students for positions in natural resource organizations and management agencies and also teaching and research in the fields of natural resource science, planning, management, and conservation. Students are normally encouraged to acquire a wide comprehension of political and social organizations since they impact basic human being relations and their environment, especially those involving the climate, soil and water resources, animals, and plants.

Besides the courses in natural resources, students can also choose from a broad variety of minor subjects, for instance, global change, public administration, anthropology, ecology, plant science, wildlife ecology, animal science, watershed management, and soil science among others.

Students who have already earned an undergraduate degree in the field and wish to do an M.S. degree in the field have to complete 30 units inclusive of a thesis, which can earn a student as many as 5 units. Those not writing a thesis have to do a minimum of 36 units. Those pursuing a doctorate degree have to complete a minimum of 63 units. These units are spread out as follows: 36 units in the major, 9 units from the minor and 18 units of the dissertation.

Applicants for both the graduate and doctoral degree programs and expected to submit three letters of recommendation, a well-written letter of intent, a summary of coursework, and scores on the graduate record examination. Applicants are required to have finished an undergraduate major in natural resources or other closely linked fields with strong training in social, physical, and biological sciences.

Career opportunities for natural resources students

Students with an undergraduate, graduate or doctorate degree can get jobs in state and federal natural resource agencies, and also budget and legislative policy offices. They can also work in non-governmental organizations; or in trade associations and corporations concerned with administration and natural resources policy. Students can also work in private research organizations, universities, consulting firms, and in international development agencies.