Haub School students study a map on the island of Tenerife during the ENR Capstone Course in 2011.

Haub School Graduate Degree in ENR

View the schedule of public thesis defense presentations by ENR graduate degree candidates.

The Haub School's Environment and Natural Resources graduate degree is a unique concurrent major: all graduate students choose a primary focus in any other department on campus offering graduate degrees. The program gives students the opportunity to add to their traditional graduate program knowledge about the human, policy, legal, and scientific elements of today's most complex environmental and natural resource challenges. Graduate students earn any of the following degrees:

• Master's level major or minor
• Doctoral minor
• JD/MA (in conjunction with a UW law degree) 

If you elect to earn the major at the master's level, your degree will indicate that you earned the "Master of _______ in (Primary Program)/Environment and Natural Resources." For example, a student could earn a Master of Science in Geology/Environment and Natural Resources or a Master of Arts in American Studies/Environment and Natural Resources, etc. A student jointly admitted to the College of Law and the Haub School will earn the Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Environment and Natural Resources.

Our Students

Haub School students make for a diverse group. They pursue studies in fields ranging from creative writing to botany to civil engineering, from any one of the seven UW colleges. Our curriculum model allows flexibility in order to accommodate the unique educational needs and goals of students representing a distinct range of backgrounds. Learn more about our students by reading the profiles of our current Graduate Assistants.

ENR emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving, collaborative process, and multi-perspective analysis of nebulous issues.  That means that the ENR classroom is a dynamic place, where unique collections of people gather for small and lively discussions and where work is often tackled by interdisciplinary teams. Our aim is to provide the kind of innovative pedagogy that simulates working in a complex world.

Admissions 

Graduate major or minor

Prospective ENR students are admitted first to their primary field of study in any master's or doctoral degree program offered by the University of Wyoming. Once you are admitted, you'll meet with an ENR graduate advisor to devise a program of study for ENR.

Joint degree in law and ENR

Students apply separately for admission to the College of Law and Haub School. Joint degree requirements include a statement of purpose, letters of reference, official transcripts, and the Law School Admission Council file. Students are encouraged to submit an application to the Haub School after admission to the College of Law is offered, but may also apply during or immediately after the first year of law school.

Curriculum and Coursework Expectations

Graduate major

Must complete 6 credit hours in the ENR Core: 

• ENR 5000, Approaches to ENR Problem Solving (3 credits)
• ENR 5900, Applied Environmental Assessment (3 credits)

Must complete 9 hours in the ENR Disciplines categories:

• Choose 1 course from 3 of the 4 categories
  • ENR Policy, Law & Economics
  • Human Dimensions of ENR
  • ENR Science and Engineering
  • Quantitative/Qualitative Methods

Graduate minor

Must complete 6 credit hours in the ENR Core, and just 6 hours in the ENR Disciplines categories (students choose 1 course from 2 of the 4 categories).

Download a full menu of ENR Graduate curriculum and course options

Joint degree

Must complete 6 credit hours in the ENR Core:

• ENR 5000, Approaches to ENR Problem Solving (3 credits)
• ENR 5900, Applied Environmental Assessment (3 credits)

Must complete 9 hours in the Disciplines categories:

• Choose 1 course from each of 3 Disciplines categories
  
  • Human Dimensions
  • Science and Engineering
  • Quantitative or Qualitative Methods

Must complete 12 credit hours of environmental or natural resource law courses (such as Environmental, Land Use, Mining, Oil and Gas, or Water Law).

Must complete 3 credit hours in association with a professional internship.

Download a full menu of ENR joint degree curriculum and course options

Thesis 

Graduate major or minor

There is not an additional thesis required for the concurrent graduate major or minor in ENR, though ENR academic advisors are happy to suggest committee members from relevant fields.

Joint degree

Students are required to complete a non-thesis paper or project called known as the "Plan B." Such projects ask students to apply their interdisciplinary training to a relevant natural resource question. Some possible products are a draft policy or set of policy recommendations, an environmental analysis, or a more traditional scholarly paper. In conjunction with an ENR advisor, candidates for the joint degree will build a committee comprised of faculty from the College of Law and ENR, and ultimately defend their work before a public audience and the members of this committee.

Time-to-degree

Graduate major or minor

Generally speaking, our time-to-degree is consistent with your primary program (so, a two year MS Geology paired with ENR will take four or five semesters). Some students find they need an additional semester to complete the double major, but with planning and support, most of our graduate students finish in the same amount of time that it would have taken them to finish their primary degree alone.

Joint degree

The joint degree will typically require at least one additional semester of work beyond the 6 common in the College of Law. Students should plan for 3-4 years to complete the paired programs.

Opportunities

• Assistantships 
• Field study, including international coursework
• Speaker series and professional networking events
• Career advising 
• Scholarships and funding for traditional research and creative endeavors

Alumni  

Graduates of ENR are drawn to careers that allow them to work across traditional disciplinary and professional boundaries: they are well suited to any number of integrative fields, such as public policy, land management, consulting and entrepreneurship, and nonprofit administration. ENR graduates are part of a global and growing alumni network of dedicated natural resource professionals and leaders.

For more information, please fill out this form. Thank you for your interest in the Haub School. We will be in touch shortly!