The sustainability and management of freshwater resources is an increasingly important and complex challenge. Watershed Science is the study of water quantity and quality using a systems perspective that integrates both sustainability science and management.

Beginning in Fall 2022, students in the Watershed Science and Sustainability major will have the opportunity to select concentrations in Watershed Science, Watershed Sustainability, or Watershed Data. Coursework available covers watershed sustainability, land use and snow hydrology, water quality, water law and economics, and watershed measurements.

Students gain expertise in their concentration area with hands-on experience in assessment of water measurements, development of technical skills in data analysis and modeling, and skill in writing and technical communication. Our graduates emerge as well-prepared watershed scientists trained for careers in hydrology, water resources, and sustainable water management.

* Priority Courses vary based on selected Watershed Science and Sustainability concentration. Access curriculum check sheets to confirm required courses.

**For STAT-based coursework completed at community college, an additional upper division statistics course “supplement” for 1-credit must be taken at CSU once transfer is completed.

Forests and rangelands sustain the broad range of natural goods and ecosystem services we use and enjoy every day. This major with its diverse concentrations prepares you to understand and manage animal, soil, water and vegetation resources on lands that carpet much of the earth’s ground. Cultivate your curiosity and join a renowned CSU legacy continuing to expand the wide scope of forest and rangeland stewardship.

Our concentrations are accredited with the Society of American Foresters (SAF) or the Society for Range Management (SRM). Accredited degrees certify that students who complete these degrees are well qualified to meet certain professional standards in their chosen field. Some careers may require their candidates to have degrees from programs with certified accreditation.

Enhance forest productivity, economic value and conservation by learning how adaptive management methods and technologies are the future of forest management.

Focus on the biology of trees and the ecology of forests. You’ll learn to manage forests and their unique ecosystems that include many other plant and animal species.

Find the balance between fire as a natural ecological process and as a forest management tool. Learn how wildfire can rejuvenate a forest.

Find solutions to management challenges and learn new conservation techniques to oversee rangelands that have multiple economic and social uses.

Become resourceful to administer diverse strategies on rangeland and forest resources across the public and private sectors.

* applies to all FRS concentrations except for Rangeland Conservation Management
^ applies to Forest Biology concentration
~ applies to Forest Fire Science Concentration

Restoration ecology addresses this century’s challenge of healing lands damaged by intensive human use and resource extraction such as mining, deforestation and land fragmentation. You’ll understand foundational ecological processes and be equipped with skills needed to restore the functions and aesthetics of damaged ecosystems.

You’ll become well versed in the biological, physical and ecological science foundation of restoration ecology for damaged forest and rangeland ecosystems. Practice repairing and renewing our natural areas using ecological processes and human intervention.

Natural Resources Management provides you with a broad understanding of just how interconnected our social, political, and ecological systems are. This knowledge empowers you to address natural resource conservation and management challenges through designing sustainable solutions. With theory and practice, you’ll be part of creating adaptive and resilient ecosystems amidst global scales of complexity and change.

An integrative approach in this major enables you to develop local natural resource solutions that are also applicable at global scales. You’ll discuss issues from individual citizen engagement in conservation all the way up to global climate change while exploring the intersection of science and management and becoming well versed in biological, physical and social sciences.

The Geology major constitutes a broad curriculum that allows students to obtain a sound academic and practical basis for professional geosciences careers. Common private and public-sector careers include water, energy, mineral and other natural resources, geological hazards, regulatory management, and education. The major also provides a solid background for subsequent graduate training in specialized fields that include economic geology, hydrology, geophysics, environmental geology, resources management, public policy, and many other areas.

The Geology curriculum provides a technical background within the broader framework of a liberal arts education. Emphasis is placed on integrating field studies in the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere with on-campus classroom and laboratory work. In addition to a solid core in geology, students complete substantial course work in math, the physical sciences, communications, and the liberal arts that lead to effective quantitative, decision making, and communications skills. Four Geology major concentrations are offered: Environmental Geology, Geology, Geophysics, and Hydrogeology.

Environmental Geology prepares students to address the environmental implications of geologic processes and human effects on the earth. Graduates commonly find careers in environmental, engineering, and groundwater firms, and in government agencies.

The Geology concentration covers general geology, emphasizing a practical and field-oriented approach that is suited to employment opportunities in the energy and mining industries and other traditional geologic fields. This concentration also provides a strong basis for graduate studies in geology.

The Geophysics concentration combines a strong foundation in geology with additional training in geophysics, physics, and mathematics. Students pursuing this concentration are well prepared both for employment opportunities in traditional geological fields, and for graduate training in any aspect of geophysics, including seismology and exploration geophysics.

The Hydrogeology concentration provides additional training in geological aspects of water resources and allied disciplines, while ensuring that students are well prepared for a variety of geological fields. Students pursuing this concentration will be particularly well prepared for employment in environmental, engineering, and groundwater firms, government agencies managing or assessing water resources, or for graduate training in hydrogeology or other water resource-related disciplines.

Students in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources degree gain skills to see a conservation issue through the eyes of varied stakeholders, to understand perspectives of an issue that may be different than their own, and how to work effectively with others in order to collaboratively address environmental issues.

Students in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources acquire the skills to envision a desired conservation outcome, and then design a plan and identify the steps needed to help that outcome come to fruition. The Human Dimensions of Natural Resources degree prepares students for a variety of jobs in conservation, with an emphasis on jobs that require strong interpersonal skills, leading others, and collaborating with people with diverse insights and opinions. These skills are transferable to a wide gamut of conservation jobs, such as an outdoor education instructor, park ranger for a protected area, or an associate with an environmental planning firm.

With concentrations in Natural Resource and Global Tourism, this degree prepares students for careers in natural resource related tourism positions in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

The curriculum emphasizes courses in tourism management, marketing and planning, natural resources, tourism business, and social sciences to develop appropriate skills for managing recreation and tourism enterprises. This can included, but is not limited to, managing resorts, tour companies, outfitting and guiding companies, major corporations, ecotourism companies, cruise lines, state travel and tourism offices, national and international tourism offices, travel and tourism bureaus, hotel and lodging associations, meeting planner groups, and ski/tour associations.

Global tourism prepares students for careers with private, for-profit enterprises that provide services to tourists. Students are provided cross-cultural experience by learning a second language, studying at a university abroad, and participating in an international internship.

Natural Resource Tourism prepares students for careers in natural resource related tourism positions in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. The curriculum emphasizes courses in tourism management, marketing and planning, natural resources, business, and social science to develop appropriate skills for work in recreation and tourism enterprises.

The major in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology begins with a strong dedication to the foundational coursework in areas of biology, calculus, chemistry, physics, and an introduction to wildlife biology. This foundation builds towards our more specific higher-level coursework and is designed to provide an excellent pathway for internships, wildlife and natural resource-related careers, and/or graduate studies and research. All of our concentrations require a 4-week summer course (NR220), which is held at the CSU Mountain Campus.

Common careers include private and public sector wildlife monitoring and management, consulting, wildlife biology, and research. The major also provides a solid background for work for non-profits such as The Nature Conservancy, government agencies, or environmental conservation education.

This concentration is a critical area of study for research, management and conservation of aquatic systems, with emphasis on the insects, fish, and other aquatic life supported in these systems (including humans). Students in this concentration are well prepared for positions such as fisheries biologist, research scientist, or water quality and policy specialist. Potential employers range from aquaculture and commercial fisheries to state and federal wildlife agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service/US Forest Service.

The Fisheries concentration also requires a work experience (80 hours + 1-credit internship course) that can be an internship, summer job, or volunteer position.

This concentration focuses on terrestrial species and how they interact with a variety of landscapes and ecosystems. The coursework contains a broad spectrum from avian ecology, to amphibians, to our more “charismatic megafauna” (bears, wolves, elk, deer, etc.).

In the upper-level courses, there are opportunities for students to choose a more specific direction for study (mammology, ornithology, herpetology, wildlife diseases, global wildlife conservation, etc.). This concentration prepares students for work with species in a variety of ecosystems.

This concentration provides students with broader knowledge across both aquatic and terrestrial disciplines as well as a focus on the systems that support them. There is also a more focused exploration of the human, historical, and political aspects that have shaped conservation efforts and what can be done to ensure sustainable practices and management of natural resources.

Students who pursue this concentration tend to have more interest in policy, legislation, and conservation efforts on a broader scale (ecosystems/habitats). They may not be tied to working with a specific species, but may instead be interested in biota across an entire biome. Students interested in working with marine systems will often choose this concentration to gain a broader background that could include terrestrial animals as well as fish and their aquatic environment.