Department of Natural Resources

Understanding people, landscapes and natural resources

Study the relationships between people, natural systems and the resources that sustain our communities through CNR’s Department of Natural Resources.

As a natural resources student, you'll explore the complex challenges facing our forests, watersheds, public lands and communities, including climate adaptation, conservation, recreation, land-use conflicts, sustainability and resource management. As a campus student working alongside faculty mentors and community partners, you'll gain hands-on experience in Idaho's forests, rivers, rangelands and wildlands — one of the nation's most diverse living laboratories.

Whether you're pursuing a flexible online master's program or advanced doctoral research, you'll graduate prepared to lead solutions that balance environmental stewardship, community needs and the sustainable management of natural resources.

Explore our natural resources graduate degrees

The Department of Natural Resources offers two graduate programs. Our Online – Master of Natural Resources program designed to be a flexible program for professionals and our research degrees – M.S. Natural Resources and Ph.D. Natural Resources. 

Explore our M.N.R. degree and emphasis areas

The Master of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) is an interdisciplinary, course-based graduate program designed for current and aspiring natural resource professionals. The program integrates perspectives in ecology and management, planning and policy, society and human dimensions, and emerging tools and technologies to provide a systems-based understanding of natural resources.

Open to students from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds, the M.N.R. helps graduates develop the knowledge and skills needed to address today's complex natural resource challenges.

Complete your degree fully online or through a combination of online and on-campus courses. Choose from more than 60 online natural resources courses to customize your degree and transfer up to 12 credits toward your program. Students may also pair the M.N.R. with the graduate certificate in fire ecology, management and technology to further specialize their studies.

• M.N.R. Fire ecology and management option
• M.N.R. Fish and wildlife science and management option
• M.N.R. Integrated natural resources option
• M.N.R. Restoration ecology and habitat management option

"Many concepts and theories I learned during my M.N.R. program were applied regularly during my internship. ...It was evident when interacting with the public on occasion, where much of the knowledge I had accumulated was tested, whether through answering questions related to fisheries or providing complex information in a manner easily understood by a general audience... Courses such as Science Synthesis and Communication, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Conservation Biology, and Fish Physiology were at the forefront of nearly all the tasks and duties I carried out." 

-Kincaid Pollock, Fish and Wildlife Sciences and Management M.N.R.

Research-focused natural resources graduate degrees

Advance natural resource science and management through original research. These degrees are designed for students who want to conduct independent research and contribute new knowledge to the field, working alongside world-class faculty mentors at the frontier of natural resources science. You'll investigate complex ecological, social, and natural resource challenges while completing a thesis or dissertation, with hands-on access to unique field laboratories and facilities and opportunities to publish and present at scientific conferences.  

Degrees draw on faculty across CNR's three departments (Fish and Wildlife Sciences; Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences; and Natural Resources and Society), with research supported by the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station and partner research units while preparing graduates for careers in research, academia, government agencies, nonprofits, industry, and resource management leadership. 

Undergraduate: Earn a minor in natural resources

Gain a strong foundation in natural resource science and management through the Natural Resources undergraduate minor. This flexible program complements a wide range of majors and helps students better understand the relationships between people, land and natural systems.

Learn more about earning a minor in natural resources

Natural resources department faculty

Connect with expert faculty and staff who support and mentor students in natural resources graduate programs. Explore program leaders and core faculty shaping interdisciplinary teaching and research.

• Fish and Wildlife Sciences
• Natural Resources and Society
• Forestry, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences