Kendra Liddicoat, Discipline Coordinator
Room 235, Trainer Natural Resources Building
Phone: 715-346-2028
Email: kliddico@uwsp.edu OR cnr@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/natres

This discipline is in the COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES .

Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff: J Buchholz, B Franzen, A Haines, A Holland, B Lackey, K Liddicoat, L Markham, T Quinn, M Rader, M Ruether.

Adjunct Support: D Lueck.

Academic Standards for Resource Management

To graduate in any major or minor in human dimensions of natural resource management, you must have a minimum in-major grade point average of 2.25.

Academic Standards for the Department of Natural Resources 

You must apply for official acceptance as a College of Natural Resources major before the beginning of your junior year. Requirements for acceptance to the fisheries and water resources, forestry, wildlife, resource management (in the human dimensions of natural resource management discipline) or soil and waste resources major are:

1. Complete 45 university credits.
2. Have at least a 2.00 grade point average in courses required for the major.
3. Complete an application to the College of Natural Resources. We will notify you within four weeks of your application, and if accepted will assign an adviser. Certain 300-400 level courses are restricted to approved CNR and/or biology majors. Nonmajors must have written consent of instructor to enroll.
4. If you are transferring to UW-Stevens Point to major in the College of Natural Resources, Wildlife Ecology excepted, you must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00. To be accepted as a CNR major, complete steps 1-3 above.

To be retained as a major or minor and to be approved for graduation, you must meet the minimum grade point average established for your discipline in all UW-Stevens Point courses taken within the major or minor (2.75 to student teach in resource management), including transfer courses, regardless of any declaration of academic forgiveness. Minimum GPA by discipline:

1. 2.0 GPA for Paper Science and Engineering  and Chemical Engineering .
2. 2.25 GPA for all major options and minors in the CNR with the exception of the Forest Ecosystem Restoration and Management option in forestry, and Wildlife Ecology.
3. 2.50 GPA for Wildlife Ecology  and the Forest Ecosystem Resoration and Management  option in forestry.

PLEASE NOTE: Entry of new students into the Resource Management: Wildland Fire Science Option, BS  has been suspended as of Fall 2020.

Graduate Programs

Brenda Lackey, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Room 100, Trainer Natural Resources Building
Phone: 715-346-2076
Email: brenda.lackey@uwsp.edu
Web: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/Pages/UW-Stevens-Point-CNR-Graduate-Programs.aspx?ControlMode=Edit&DisplayMode=Design#

The College of Natural Resources offers two different graduate degrees:

• Master of Science (MS) in Natural Resources :
  This is a thesis-based program leading to the MS degree with an emphasis in one of the following areas: forestry, wildlife, fisheries, water resources, environmental education/interpretation, soil science or waste management. This degree will prepare you for a research or management career, or for further study leading to a PhD.
• Master of Natural Resources (MNR) : 
  This is a non-thesis program offered completely online. The MNR is for advanced practitioners in natural resource management (and related fields) who are seeking a terminal degree to develop research, leadership, administrative, and communication skills. The degree is intended to assist participants in pursuing management roles within their current organizations and to enhance their professional abilities for promotion consideration. This degree will prepare you for a career in natural resources management.

Admission to the Master of Science Program 

Please submit the following:

1. UW-Stevens Point application for graduate study which includes official transcripts for all college courses.
2. Application to the College of Natural Resources graduate program
3. Resume
4. Copy of a paper written by you
5. Essay describing your professional interests and goals
6. Two letters of recommendation
7. Official Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores, if available. A waiver to this requirement may be granted by the Associate Dean if the GRE has not been taken at the time of application AND for international students only; TOEFL or IELT Scores. Minimum guideline scores for each test are as follows:
   1. For the GRE, you must have a minimum combined Verbal and Quantitative score of at least 300.
   2. For the TOEFL, you must have a score of at least 80 on the Internet-based test.
   3. For the IELT, you must have a score of at least 7.
8. You must also have a 3.00 grade point average during your last two years as an undergraduate.

If you fail to meet the minimum admission requirements for GRE, TOEFL, IELT scores or grade point average, you may be accepted if your prospective adviser submits a letter of acceptance to the Associate Dean for inclusion in your graduate file.

You do not need an undergraduate major in one of the natural resource specialties. However, you may have to take additional courses to make up deficiencies in your undergraduate curriculum. If you have an undergraduate major in social sciences or humanities, you could have more deficiencies than someone with a major in the sciences.

Admission/Acceptance to our Master of Science program involves two parts:

1. Your graduate application file must be complete, meaning all your application items have been received by the College. (Please follow the steps indicated on our Application Procedure page)
2. You, as the student applicant, must recruit a member of the CNR graduate faculty to agree to serve as your graduate adviser. It is up to you to contact faculty members directly who share your interests and discuss your application. Graduate faculty members may request additional materials from a student applicant.

If the CNR Main Office is notified by a graduate faculty member that they agree to serve as your graduate adviser AND all your application materials are received, then an acceptance letter will be sent to you. If you have not been successful in recruiting a graduate adviser, then you are not accepted into our program. As a courtesy, letters are sent to unsuccessful graduate program applicants usually in July or August for the fall semester and January for the spring semester.

Admission to the Master of Natural Resources Program

Please submit the following:

1. College of Natural Resources MNR application
2. UW-Stevens Point application for graduate study which includes official transcripts of all college work.
3. Resume
4. Essay describing your professional interests and goals
5. Two letters of recommendation
6. Foreign applicants must submit TOEFL or IELT Scores with minimum scores of 80 or 7 respectively
7. Official transcripts of all college work

You must have a 3.0 GPA during the last two years of undergraduate or graduate study. If your GPA is under the 3.0 minimum you may request a panel review of your application for a waiver to that requirement.

Post Baccalaureate Concentration in Environmental Studies (for teacher licensure)

If you are a teacher with a license in secondary science you may receive licensure in environmental studies after completion of this concentration. Additional requirements include completion of Praxis II, Professional Development Portfolio, and student teaching at the appropriate developmental range and certification area. For more information, contact the School of Education  at 715-346-2040.

Programs

• Conservation and Community Planning, BS
• Conservation Law Enforcement, BS
• Environmental Education and Interpretation, BS
• Resource Management: Environmental Science and Management Option, BS
• Resource Management: Wildland Fire Science Option, BS
• Resource Management: Wildlife Education Option, BS

• Conservation Law Enforcement Minor
• Environmental Communication Minor
• Environmental Education and Interpretation Minor
• Environmental Education for Educators Minor
• International Resource Management Minor
• Resource Management Minor

• Climate Change Certificate
• Energy Policy Certificate
• Environmental Education and Interpretation Certificate
• Environmental Science for Educators Certificate

• Environmental Science and Management, AAS

• Natural Resources, MNR
• Natural Resources, MS

• Environmental Education and Interpretation Professional Certificate

Courses

The resource management major is described under the heading “human dimensions of natural resource management” above.

• NRES 795 - Graduate Seminar
• NRES 796 - Independent Study
• NRES 797 - Research Methods, Design and Analysis
• NRES 798 - Graduate Project Work
• NRES 799 - Thesis