Hultz Hall
Room 163
Hultz Hall is located on
Albrecht Boulevard
just south of IACC (Campus Map)
Natural Resources Management
The Natural Resources Management curriculum is designed to offer a B.S. degree preparing students to fill positions requiring a broad background in natural resources as well as in-depth emphasis in one or two specific areas. Farmers, ranchers, business people and policy makers are facing ever more complex, multidisciplinary and international problems dealing with natural resources and the environment. This program prepares graduates for a multidisciplinary and culturally diverse workplace.
The Program
Natural resources management (NRM) is an interdisciplinary major offered as a four-year bachelor of science degree. The curriculum is divided into 88 core credits required of all students, and 40 emphasis credits selected by the individual student from six areas of interest.
NRM Core -- This group of courses provides each student a broad foundation in the social, biological and physical/earth sciences. The NRM core also satisfies North Dakota State University’s General Education requirements and includes 15 elective credits referred to as core electives.
NRM Emphasis -- During the third and fourth years of the program, students focus on a specific area of interest — an emphasis. The majority of courses are selected from a diverse group of approved electives. NRM offers six emphasis areas:
- 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 natural resources and agroecosystems.
- Environmental Commuication — is designed for environmentally oriented students preparing for careers in communications 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 Science —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.
- Social Sciences —concentrates on human factors (social, anthropological, political) in environmental management and environmental disaster management, while recognizing constraints and opportunities presented by physical and biological factors.
The Faculty
NRM is an inter-college/trans-disciplinary program actively engaging faculty from four colleges in the coordination of the program, classroom teaching and advising. The four colleges represented are: the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources; College of Engineering and Architecture; College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; and the College of Science and Mathematics.
Career Opportunities
Policy makers, elected officials at all levels of government, business leaders, farmers and ranchers are facing ever more complex, multidisciplinary and international problems dealing with natural resources and the environment. NRM graduates are prepared with the skills and knowledge for examining these problems from a holistic ecological perspective and a global social perspective. Federal government employment opportunities include: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, Agency for International Development, Peace Corps and more. State government opportunities include: departments of natural resources, water management agencies, parks and recreation agencies, agriculture departments, health departments, Public Service Commission, Cooperative Extension Service, state Agricultural Experiment Stations and university and secondary school education. Many positions also are available with local government units. Private sector employment opportunities include mining and forest product companies, consulting firms, water organizations and non-profit conservation and environmental organizations.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
The College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources; College of Engineering and Architecture; and College of Science and Mathematics award scholarships each year. Contact the Office of the Dean within the appropriate college for information and application forms. Student loan, grant and work-study information is available from Student Financial Services.
- Agri. 189 - Skills for Academic Success 1 -
- Anth. 111 - Introduction to Anthropology 3 -
- Biol. 150, 150L - General Biology I and Lab - 4
- Biol. 151, 151L - General Biology II and Lab 4 -
- Econ. 201 - Principles of Microeconomics - 3
- Engl. 110, 120 - College Composition I, II 3 3
- NRM 150 - Intro to NRM 1 -
- NRM 225 - Natural Agro-ecosystems - 3
- Core Elective 3 3
- Totals15 16
Second Year
- Biol. 364 - General Ecology - 3
- Chem. 121, 121L - General Chemistry I and Lab 4 -
- Comm. 110 - Fundamentals of Public Speaking 3 -
- Econ. 202 - Principles of Macroeconomics 3 -
- Geol. 105 - Physical Geology 3 -
- NRM 264 - Natural Resources Management Systems - 3
- Soil. 210 - Intro to Soil Science - 3
- Stat. 330 - Introductory Statistics or
- Math. 166 - Calculus II - 3-4
- NRM 225 - Natural Agro-ecosystems - 3
- Wellness Elective - 2
- Core Elective 3-4 3
- Totals16-17 17-18
Third Year
- AgEc. 375 - Applied Agricultural Law 3 3 3 3
- ASM 259 - Measurements in Natural Resources Systems 1 1 1 1
- Econ. 481 - Natural Resource Economics 3 3 3 3
- Hist. 333 - US Environmental History 3 3 3 3
- Phil. 215 - Contemporary Moral Issues 3 3 3 3
- Humanities and Fine Arts Elective 3 3 3 3
- Emphasis Required Courses 3 8 19 7
- Emphasis Electives 15 10 - 11
- Geol. 412 - Geomorphology or
- Soil 444 - Soil Genesis and Survey - 3-4 - -
- Soil 217 - Introduction to Meteorology and Climatology - - 3 -
- Soc. 340, 341- Social Research Methods I and Lab - - - 4
- Stat. 331 - Regression Analysis - - - 2
- Emphasis Area Electives 6 10 4 5
- Humanities and Fine Arts/Cultural Diversity Elective 6 6 6 6
- Total 33 32-33 33 33
- Emphasis Area Electives 3 6 - -
- Humanities and Fine Arts/Cultural Diversity Elective 6 6 6 6
- Total33 32-33 33 35
- ASM 475 - Management of Agricultural Systems or
- Soil 491 - Seminar - 2 - -
- CE 309 - Fluid Mechanics - - 3 -
- CE 370 - Introduction to Environmental Engineering - - 3 -
- Geog. 455 - Geographic Information Systems or
- ARSc 452 - Geographic Information Systems
- in Range Survey 3 3 3 3
- NRM 491 - Senior Seminar 1 1 1 1
- Phys. 251, 251L - University Physics and Lab - - 5 -
- Emphasis Area Electives 21 19 12 19
- Electives 3 3 - 7
- Total 29 29 27 31
- Curriculum Total 128 128 128 128
Pollution Science: Students interested in this emphasis are strongly urged to complete college algebra before entering the NRM program.
College of Science and Mathematics: Students who wish to earn their degree from this college must complete a total of 18 units in humanities and social sciences. Depending on course selection, this requirement may increase the total units required for degree completion.
Prerequisites: Some emphasis courses require prerequisites which are not included in the NRM Core and should be taken as core electives. A prerequisite list is available from the NRM office.
Minors: Several emphasis areas have one or more embedded minors. A minor list is available from the NRM office.
Contact Information
Dr. Carolyn E. Grygiel
Director, Natural Resources Management
North Dakota State University
Hultz Hall 163
Fargo, ND 58105
Tel: (701) 231-8180
Fax: (701) 231-7590
E-mail: Carolyn.Grygiel@ndsu.edu
Web: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/nrm/
Office of Admission
North Dakota State University
124 Ceres Hall
Fargo, ND 58105
Tel: (701) 231-8643
Fax: (701) 231-8802
Email: NDSU.Admission@ndsu.edu
Web: www.ndsu.edu/prospective/students/
(6/07)
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Fact sheet index
- The Program
- The Faculty
- Career Opportunities
- Financial Aid and Scholarships
- Sample Curriculum
- Emphasis Areas
- Contact Information