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.
Online or on-campus Master’s of Natural Resources (M.N.R.)
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.
Inside U of I — Natural Resources
Current students and employees can access additional resources and support for natural resources graduate programs through Inside U of I.
Earn your M.N.R. at the McCall Field Campus
The McCall Field Campus hosts a residential program for the M.N.R. in environmental education and science option. This option is only available on our campus in McCall, ID.
Research-focused natural resources graduate degrees
Advance natural resource science and management through original research. The M.S. and Ph.D. in natural resources programs 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 all of CNR's 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.
M.S. Natural Resources
Prepare to solve the complex problems that face our forests, wildlife, fish, rangelands and natural resources with a Master of Science in natural resources.
Ph.D. Natural Resources
Gain advanced knowledge and research skills to lead natural resource programs, policy issues and research and management initiatives with a Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources.
Complement your undergraduate major with a natural resources minor
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
Meet your natural resources faculty
Natural resources students learn from faculty across the College of Natural Resources. Drawing expertise from multiple departments gives students a broad, interdisciplinary perspective while connecting them with leaders in teaching, research and natural resource management.