Natural Resources Management Programs
Undergraduate Programs
Major in Environmental Geology (BS)
Concentration in Geology
Required Core: 46 credit hours
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
GEOL 2110C Historical Geology (4)
GEOL 2320C Introduction to Geospatial Technology (2)
GEOL 3010C Environmental Geology (4)
GEOL 3170C Depositional Environments (4)
GEOL 3250C Earth Materials (4)
GEOL 3300C Structural Geology (4)
GEOL 4140C Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science & Technology (4)
GEOL 4210C Environmental Ground Water Hydrology (4)
GEOL 4320C Environmental Geochemistry (4)
GEOL 4250C Geomorphology (4)
GEOL 4950 Senior Geology Applications (1)
PSYC 3020C Statistics for the Behavioral Science (4) or
FORS 3400 Quantitative Methods (3) or
MATH 3450 Mathematical Statistics (3)
Additional requirements: 26 – 28 credit hours
CHEM 1215 General Chemistry 1 for STEM Majors (3)
CHEM 1215L Chemistry Lab 1 for STEM Majors (2)
MATH 1510 Calculus 1 (4)
MATH 1520 Calculus 2 (4)
Choose one of the following:
PHYS 1230C Algebra-based Physics 1 (4) or
PHYS 1310C Calculus-based Physics 1 (5)
Choose one of the following:
GEOL 4240C Environmental Geophysics (4) or
PHYS 1240C Algebra-based Physics 2 (4) or
PHYS 1320C Calculus-based Physics 2 (5)
Electives: > 5 upper division credit hours
With the advice and consent of an advisor, students take 5 upper division credit hours in geology, math, or an approved science discipline.
Major Total: 74-76 credits hours
Core Requirements: 21 credit hours
Flex Requirements: 10 credit hours
Extended Requirements: 8 credit hours
Proficiency Requirements: 11-17 credit hours
Total for degree: 124-132 credit hours*
*A minor is not required. The number of proficiency credit requirements will vary based on student placement scores. New Mexico Highlands University requires a minimum of 45 upper-division units for the degree.
Concentration in Water Resources
Required Courses: 55 credit hours
BIOL 2620C Ecology and Evolution (4) or
FORS 2020C Terrestrial Ecology (4)
FORS 4080C Limnology (4)
FORS 4170 Watershed Management (3)
FORS 4330C Water Science
FORS 4530 Toxicology in Life Science (3)
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
GEOL 2320C Introduction to Geospatial Technology (2)
GEOL 3010C Environmental Geology (4)
GEOL 4120 Geologic Resources, Laws, and Environmental Policies (3) or
FORS 3150 Natural Resources Law & Policy (3)
GEOL 4140C Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science & Technology
GEOL 4150C Remote Sensing and Analysis (4)
GEOL 4210C Environmental Ground Water Hydrology (4)
GEOL 4250C Geomorphology (4)
GEOL 4320C Environmental Geochemistry (4)
GEOL 4950 Senior Geology Applications (1)
PSYC 3020C Statistics for the Behavioral Science (4) or
FORS 3400 Quantitative Methods (3) or
MATH 3450 Math Statistics (3)
Additional requirements: –17-18 credit hours
CHEM 1215 General Chemistry 1 for STEM Majors (3)
CHEM 1215L Chemistry Lab 1 for STEM Majors (2)
MATH 1510 Calculus 1 (4)
MATH 1520 Calculus 2 (4)
Choose one:
PHYS 1230C Algebra-based Physics 1 (4) or
PHYS 1310C Calculus-based Physics 1 (5)
Major total: 70-76 credit hours
Core Requirements: 21 credit hours
Flex Requirements: 10 credit hours
Extended Requirements: 8 credit hours
Proficiency Requirements: 11-17 credit hours
Total for degree: 120-132 credit hours*
*A minor is not required. The number of proficiency credit requirements will vary based on student placement scores. New Mexico Highlands University requires a minimum of 45 upper-division units for the degree.
Concentration in Environmental Science
Required Courses: 25 credit hours
FORS 1010C Ecosystems and Humans (4) or
GEOL 2320C Introduction to Geospatial Technology (2)
FORS 3300 Natural Resources Law/Policy (3) or
GEOL 4120 Geologic Resources, Law and Environmental Policy (3)
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
GEOL 3010C Environmental Geology (4)
GEOL 4950 Senior Geology Applications (1)
MATH 3450 Mathematical Statistics (3) or
PSYC 3020C Statistics for the Behavioral Science (4) or
GEOL 4140C Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science & Technology (4)
Additional Science Requirements: 17-18 credit hours
BIOL 2110C Principles of Biology: Cellular and Molecular Biology (4) or
FORS 2020C Terrestrial Ecology (4)
CHEM 1215 General Chemistry I for STEM Majors (3)
CHEM 1215L General Chemistry I Lab for STEM MAJORS (2)
MATH 1510 Calculus 1 (4)
PHYS 1230C Algebra-based Physics 1 (4) or
PHYS 1310C Calculus-based Physics 1 (5)
One additional foundational science or MATH course. (4)
Electives: 30 upper-division credits
With the advice and consent of an advisor, students take a minimum of 34 upper division credits in geology, math, or an approved allied discipline.
Note: Students planning to continue on to graduate school are strongly encouraged to take GEOL 3750 Field Geology as this is a required class in many graduate programs.
Major totals: 73-76 credit hours
Core Requirements: 21 credit hours
Flex Requirements: 10 credit hours
Extended Requirements: 8 credit hours
Proficiency Requirements: 11-17 credit hours
Total for degree: 123- 132 credit hours
*A minor is not required. Additional credit hours may exceed the total degree credit requirement if proficiency courses are required. New Mexico Highlands University requires a minimum of 45 upper-division units for the degree.
Minor in Environmental Science
Required Courses: 21 credit hours
FORS 4130 Ecological and Environmental Monitoring (3)
FORS 4160C Soil Science (4)
FORS 4330C Water Science (4)
FORS 4530 Toxicology in Life Science (3)
FORS 4610 Atmospheric Science (3)
GEOL 4210C Environmental Ground-Water Hydrology (4)
Minor Total: 21 credit hours
Minor in Geology
Required courses: 20 credit hours
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
GEOL 2110C Historical Geology (4)
GEOL 3010C Environmental Geology (4)
GEOL 3170C Depositional Environments (4)
GEOL 3250C Earth Materials (4)
Electives: 3 credits hours
Choose at least one additional 3/4000-level geology course for which prerequisites for that course have been satisfied.
Minor Total: 23 credit hours
Minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Required Courses: 21-22 credits hours
*Choose one of the following:
ANTH 1140 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
FORS 1010C Ecosystems and Humans (4)
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
POLS 1120 American National Government (3)
Additional requirements:
GEOL 2320C Intro to Geospatial Technology (2)
GEOL 4140C Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science & Technology (4)
GEOL 4150C Remote Sensing and Analysis (4)
GEOL 4180C Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4)
GEOL 4940 GIS Capstone Seminar (2)
Elective: 2-3 credit hours (to reach 22 credit hours)
Choose a 3000/4000-level course from Geology, Forestry, Political Science, or Anthropology.
Minor Total: 22 credits hours
*This class (existing course or selected topic) is an elective within the GIS program that varies by discipline. The course fulfills the minor degree requirement as determined by the student’s faculty advisor.
GIS Certificate
Required Courses: 18 credit hours
Choose one of the following:
ANTH 1140 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
FORS 1010C Ecosystems and Humans (4)
GEOL 1110C Physical Geology (4)
POLS 1120 American National Government (3)
Additional requirements:
GEOL 4140C Fundamentals of Geospatial information Science & Technology (4)
GEOL 4150C Remote Sensing and Analysis (4)
GEOL 4180C Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4)
GEOL 4940 GIS Capstone Seminar (2)
Certificate Total: 18 credit hours
Certificate in Forest and Watershed Restoration
The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute will be responsible for delivering the Forest and Watershed Restoration Certificate Program In collaboration with members of the Advisory Board and Highlands, a combination of field-based, classroom, and web-based coursework and instruction will be developed. Existing courses in Highlands’ course catalog related to prerequisite quantitative and written expression skills will be used; however, these courses may also be transferred from other colleges/universities.
Required Courses: 12 credit hours
FORS 1160 Introduction to Restoration Ecology; Field Skills (3)
FORS 2150 Restoration Practices and Prescriptions (3)
FORS 2180 Restoration Monitoring and Inventory (3)
FORS 2190 Forest Harvesting & Forest Worker Safety (3)
Certificate Total: 12 credits hours
Graduate Programs
Master of Science in Natural Science
Concentration in Environmental Science and Management
Required Core Courses: 15 credit hours
BIOL 6000 Research Methods in Life Science (3)
FORS 5250 Field Safety Practices (1)
GEOL 6220 Advanced Topics in Geology or
FORS 6200 Advanced Topics in Natural Resource Management (2/2) *
FORS 6250 Advanced Quantitative Methods in Natural Resource Management (3)
FORS/GEOL/BIOL 6500 Graduate Seminar in Life Science (1/1/1/1) **
*Repeated for credit with different subject matter for a total of 4 credits.
**Repeated 4 times for a total of 4 credits.
Elective Credits: ≥12 credit hours
Students, with the advice and consent of the advisor, choose from 5000- and 6000-level course in Geology, Forestry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, or other appropriate disciplines to bring the total number of credits to at least 34 semester hours.
Thesis: 1 credit hour minimum
GEOL 6990 Thesis (VC 1-7) *
*Students register for thesis until complete which may exceed the one credit-hour minimum. No more than 7 thesis credits can be counted towards the student’s program of study.
Elective Credit Requirements:
Student are required to take a minimum of 12 (thesis) and 22 (non-thesis) elective credits. With the advice and consent of an advisor, students choose 5000- and 6000-level courses offered in Forestry, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or other appropriate disciplines to develop their program of study.
Degree Total:
Thesis ≥34 credit hours
Non-Thesis: ≥40 credit hours.
Concentration in Geology
Required Core Courses: 15 credit hours
FORS 5250 Field Safety Practices (1)
BIOL 6000 Research Methods in Life Science (3)
GEOL 6220 Advanced Topics in Geology OR
FORS 6200 Advanced Topics in Natural Resource Management (2/2) *
FORS 6250 Advanced Quantitative Methods in Natural Resource Management (3)
GEOL/BIOL/FORS 6500 Graduate Seminar in Life Science (1/1/1/1) *
*Repeated for credit with different subject matter for a total of 4 credits.
**Repeated 4 times for a total of 4 credits.
Elective Courses: ≥12 credit hours
Students, with the advice and consent of the adviser, choose from 5000- and 6000-level courses in Geology, Forestry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, or other appropriate disciplines to bring the total number of credits to at least 34 semester hours.
Thesis: 1 credit hour minimum
GEOL 6990 Thesis (VC1-7) *
*Students register for thesis until complete which may exceed the one credit-hour minimum. No more than 7 thesis credits can be counted towards the student’s program of study.
Degree Total: ≥34 credit hours
Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems
Undergraduate Prerequisite:
GEOL 1110 Survey of Earth Science (4)
FORS 1010 Humans and Ecosystems (4)
POLS 1120 American National Government (3)
ANTH 1140 Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology (3)
Required Courses (15 credit hours):
GEOL 5140C Fundamentals of Geospatial Information Science and Technology (4)
GEOL 5180C Advanced Geographic Information Systems (4)
GEOL 5150C Remote Sensing and Analysis (4)
GEOL 5940 Capstone Seminar (3)
Certificate Total: 16 credit hours