Natural Resources and Environment is a professional school dedicated to preparing the next generation of practitioners for leadership positions in the management of resources so that they may meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.

Master’s Degree Programs

The school offers two master’s degrees, an M.S. in natural resources and environment and an M.L.A. in landscape architecture.

Students in the M.S. program may specialize in one of eight fields of study:

• Aquatic Sciences: Research and Management
• Behavior, Education and Communication
• Conservation Biology
• Environmental Informatics: GIS and Modeling
  
• Environmental Justice
• Environmental Policy and Planning
• Sustainable Systems
• Terrestrial Ecosystems

Landscape architecture students have two programs to choose from:

• Three-year accredited M.L.A. degree
• Two-year program for those individuals interested in obtaining a second degree in landscape architecture at the master’s level, practicing landscape architects seeking advanced education, and those interested in pursing a doctoral degree

Dual Degree Options

The hallmark of the master’s program is its interdisciplinary focus. This focus can be extended even further through the pursuit of a dual degree. Because the school is part of one of the greatest research universities in the world, the options are many. Each natural resources and environment field of study provides an excellent foundation for earning a dual degree.

Two popular options are the three-year M.S./MBA program, administered by the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, a partnership between Natural Resources and Environment and the Ross School of Business, and the four-year M.S./J.D. program with the University of Michigan Law School.

The Doctoral Program

The school offers a Ph.D. degree in Natural Resources and Environment and a Ph.D. in Landscape Architecture. Both curricula are research-based and support the pursuit of either a highly focused course of study or one that broadly addresses complex, interdisciplinary issues.

The faculty’s research agenda can best be described as Global Change broadly defined. Scholars are focused on environmental changes and their relationship to a sustainable society. Areas of major concentration include Human Population, Food Production, Land Use, Biodiversity and Natural Products.

Graduate Certificate Programs

The school administers two graduate certificate programs, one in the Industrial Ecology and another in Spatial Analysis. Both certificate programs may be pursued by current University of Michigan graduate students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program. Those individuals who have received a post-baccalaureate degree within the last five years do not need to be enrolled in a degree-seeking program in order to earn these credentials.

The Undergraduate Program

At the University of Michigan, undergraduate opportunities to study the environment are available through the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Students may major in Program in the Environment or complement another major area of study with a minor in the Environment or Global Change.

Program in the Environment’s popularity increases each year. Its curriculum features prerequisite and core requirements as well as a field experience and specialization requirements. For more information, visit Program in the Environment.