Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES) is an interdisciplinary degree program that prepares students for careers in natural resource management, restoration ecology, sustainability, environmental quality, environmental policy, urban planning, climate science and renewable energy, along with other emerging areas. Job opportunities in these fields are rapidly growing in response to a changing global climate and interconnected world economy. The public and private job sectors are increasingly more focused on topics related to sustainability and the conservation of natural resources. NRES students are attracted to the major because of the experiential, hands-on courses offered with the added flexibility to choose upper-level specialty courses. As a result, students are prepared for the workforce through acquired field and laboratory skills, and a self-directed study of what they care about, whether that is protecting critical wildlife habitat, improving food security, restoring ecosystem services, or educating the public. Additionally, the broad array of social and natural science disciplines in the curriculum gives students an understanding of the interrelated issues and diverse perspectives surrounding natural resource management.
The major has common course requirements that are designed to introduce all NRES students to the technical and socioeconomic dimensions of natural resource management and policy. These required courses include a two-week summer field experience (NRE 320 ), a pre-professional internship (NRE 399 ) or research experience (NRE 395 , and a problem-based senior capstone course (NRE 471 ).
Students cultivate their interests by completing nine hours of self-directed course work across an Analytical Skill Development Area (ASDA), or “skills”, and an Environmental System Emphasis Area (ESEA), or “systems”. Courses completed for the ASDA and ESEA are selected from a diverse list of choices in each area. Students choose from six different skills, in areas of economics and policy analysis, field and laboratory methods, geospatial approaches, environmental education capacities, and renewable energy competencies. Their chosen skill area is complemented with a system, in areas of conservation biology, natural resource planning, environmental soil science, water resources, forestry, wildlife ecology and management, agricultural sustainability, geological processes, climate science, or related areas.
For the NRE 399 or NRE 395 course, students are encouraged to align their chosen internship or research experience with their ESEA and/or ASDA. NRES majors have completed internships in several other countries, although most are conducted in the U.S. with federal organizations such as the National Park Service and Forest Service, non-profit organizations, local nature preserves, environmental consulting firms, private corporations, and both state and local governments. Details on recent student internships and research projects are available on the NRES program website (http://nres.ca.uky.edu/). For the senior capstone course, students apply knowledge gained in previous courses to a group-based project, which addresses a specific natural resource issue through research, data collection, problem-solving, and collaboration with real-world stakeholders in Kentucky.
Graduation Requirements
To earn the Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, students must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours with at least a 2.0 grade-point average. A minimum of 45 credits must be from upper division courses (300 level and above). In consultation with an advisor, students select ASDA and ESEA which focuses course work in a student’s area of interest.
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