Policy and Administration
Administered by the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
The Policy and Administration Option develops knowledge and skills about policy processes and sciences, public and private organizations, natural resource law and policy, public governance and involvement, and their applications to natural resource management and conservation.
Job Opportunities
Persons graduating from this discipline have obtained employment with state and federal natural resource agencies, environmental consulting firms, nongovernment conservation organizations, international development organizations, forestry management organizations, local, county, and state planning agencies, sustainable farms, private firms, and other organizations.
Faculty Contacts
- Gary Blank, gary_blank@ncsu.edu, 919.515.7566
- Frederick Cubbage, fred_cubbage@ncsu.edu, 919.515.7789
- Jason Delborne, jadelbor@ncsu.edu, 919.515.0106
- Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, jrbryan3@ncsu.edu, 919.515.6300
- Erin Sills, erin_sills@ncsu.edu, 919.515.7784
Curriculum
Prerequisites
A Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree is the only prerequisite required.
Master of Natural Resources Core Curriculum (required)
| Course | Description | Credit Hours | |
| NR 500 | Natural Resource Management | 3 | |
| NR 571 | Current Issues in Natural Resource Policy | 3 | |
| ST 5** | A graduate level statistics course | 3 | |
| FOR 801 | FER Graduate Seminar (or equivalent seminar course) | 1 | |
| FOR 803 | Research Methods | 1 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 11 |
Technical Option Core Curriculum
Students are required to take 9 credits in public administration, environmental law, or policy. Courses may be taken from the list below, or others may used as substitutes with approval of the advising committee.
| Course | Description | Credit Hours | |
| NC State | |||
| PA 507 | The Public Policy Process | 3 | |
| PA 509 | Applied Political Economy | 3 | |
| PA 511 | Public Policy Analysis | 3 | |
| PA 513 | Public Organizational Behavior | 3 | |
| PA 514 | Management Systems | 3 | |
| PA 515 | Research Methods and Analysis | 3 | |
| PA 525 | Organizational Development and Change Management | 3 | |
| PA 546 | Seminar in Program Evaluation | 3 | |
| PA 550 | Environmental Policy | 3 | |
| PA 553 | Disaster, Crisis and Emergency Management and Policy | 3 | |
| PS 536 | Global Environmental Law and Policy | 3 | |
| PS 539 | International Politics and Economy | 3 | |
| ECG 515 | Environmental and Resource Policy | 3 | |
| FOR 784 | Practice of Environmental Impact Assessment | 3 | |
| FOR 509 | Forest Policy | 1 | |
| COM 598O | Seminar in Environmental Communication | 3 | |
| NR 560 | Natural Resource Management and Policy | 3 | |
| NR 595 | Protected Species Conservation | 3 | |
| DUKE | |||
| LAW 285 | Environmental Law | 3 | |
| ENV 835 | Environmental Law | 3 | |
| ENV 274 | Natural Resource and Environmental Policy | 3 | |
| ENV 826 | Global Environmental Politics and Policy | 3 | |
| ENV 557 | Social Science Surveys for Environmental Management | 3 | |
| UNC | |||
| PLAN 301 | Design of Policy Research | 3 | |
| LAW 241/261 | Environmental Law | 3 | |
| LAW 262 | Environmental & Coastal Law | 3 | |
| PLAN 240 | Land Use / Environmental Policy | 3 | |
| PLCY 480 | Environmental Decision Making | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 |
Additional Courses/Requirements
- 10 additional credits of selected courses are required as selected in cooperation with the student’s advisor and advisory committee, which may include:
- NR 695 Master’s Thesis Research or
NR 693 Master’s Supervised Research (up to 6 credit hours)
Students who do not have a background in natural resources or a related field may be required to take up to 12 credit hours of undergraduate course work that cannot be counted towards the MNR degree program, but this is seldom required.
Total Credit Hours: 30 Credit Hours
Projects
Recent Project Titles:
- Evaluating Natural Resource Management Plans and Plan Evaluation Studies.
- Study of Wildlife Poaching and Illegal Wildlife Markets in Afghanistan: Impacts of Poaching and Illegal Markets on the Condition of Afghanistan’s Wildlife.
- 2013 Climate Change Attitudes of Southeast Forestry Professionals: Implications for Outreach.
- Community Based Fire Management: Local Ecological Knowledge and Fire Management.
- The ecosystem service of forests improving air quality: A literature review
- Energy-Efficiency Standards of Federally Funded Housing Rehabilitation Programs in North Carolina
- A Qualitative Assessment of the Stakeholder Engagement Process: Development of the Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy Plan
Links / Additional Information
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Prospective Graduate Students website.