Natural Resources

The College of Natural Resources offers a single Master of Science degree encompassing a wide range of natural resource disciplines and issues. Students in the M.S. Natural Resources program work with our internationally recognized faculty across eight programs and a wide range of emphasis areas to address complex natural resource issues. This degree is designed to help future natural resource professionals acquire strong research, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

The University of Idaho gives students ready access to thousands of acres of working forests and rangelands as well as wilderness areas, pristine rivers, lakes and streams. Our close proximity to America’s natural resources offers multiple opportunities to build professional networks and gain hands-on experience solving some pressing natural resource challenges. 

Prepare for Success

You should enter this program with strong communication skills and an ability to understand multiple perspectives. You should also have an understanding of biological and ecological concepts, scientific methods and research paradigms, math and statistics as well as a solid grounding in social science. You should have a strong desire to work both independently and with a team to develop creative solutions for the conservation and responsible management of our natural resources.

Your First Year

The M.S. Natural Resources degree program is administered through the University of Idaho College of Graduate Studies in cooperation with the College of Natural Resources. Admission normally requires completion of undergraduate work in the area of natural and social sciences. If you do not have an undergraduate degree in one of these areas, you may be required to make up deficiencies as determined by an advisory committee. More information on the admission process is available through the College of Graduate Studies.

Apply for Admission

Download the Graduate Admission Application

What You Can Do

Our M.S. Natural Resource graduates get jobs soon after graduating or continue on for doctoral degrees. Our alumni live and work in more than 85 countries and all across the United States. Many choose careers in the private sector with consulting firms, the aquaculture industry, power companies, or with corporations such as Boise Cascade, the Potlatch Corporation or Weyerhaeuser. Others work for state or federal natural resource agencies, tribal governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), volunteer groups and professional associations and societies. 

Opportunities

Our scientists are researching and exploring the programs listed below:

• Conservation social sciences
• Ecology and biogeosciences of forest and rangeland ecosystems
• Fire sciences and management
• Fisheries resources
• Forest products
• Forest sciences and management
• Rangeland sciences and management
• Wildlife resources

Current Research

As an M.S Natural Resources graduate student, you could be involved in research projects such as:

• Investigating the restoration of landscapes after wildland fire
• Understanding and managing invasive plant and animal species
• Developing new and better building materials from woody biomass
• Exploring the potential of alternative wood fuel sources for energy production
• Researching the human dimensions in planning and managing protected areas and parks
• Assessing the relationship of habitat degradation on wildlife population sustainability
• Enhancing the capability of GPS and GIS tools for management of forests and other natural resources
• Probing the impacts of natural resource decisions on local and regional communities
• Examining the ecological interaction of domestic livestock with grassland and shrubland resources
• Studying the impacts of pathogens, lowered water quality and harvesting on wild fish runs in the Pacific Northwest

Faculty Involvement

Students in the M.S. Natural Resources program work closely with a faculty advisor who serves as a mentor throughout the degree program and beyond. Faculty assist M.S. Natural Resource students in developing appropriate study plans, finding research funding, developing professional networks, fostering professional skills, honing critical thinking and analytical skills as well as serving as a source of personal and professional support.