Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Sherman Lab 101
1910 East West Road
Honolulu HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-7530
Fax: (808) 956-6539
Email: nrem@hawaii.edu
Web: cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nrem/

Faculty

*T. Miura, PhD (Chair)—geospatial analysis, remote sensing
*C. Chan, PhD—agricultural and international development and environmental economics, and management
*S. E. Crow, PhD—soil ecology and biogeochemistry
*R. S. Dacks, PhD—cultural ecosystem services, marine resource management
*J. B. Friday, PhD—tropical forestry/agroforestry extension
*Y. Huang, PhD—hydrology, hydrometeorology, geostatistics research
*T. W. Idol, PhD—tropical forestry/agroforestry
*M. Y. Kaneshiro, PhD—coastal resources management and marine invertebrate zoology
*P. Keral, PhD—political economy and diplomacy of natural resources
*S. Kim, PhD—energy economics, network theory research
*C. M. Litton, PhD—forest ecology and management, biogeochemistry
*A. C. Lowe Mackenzie, PhD—environmental and natural resource economics
*A. A. McGuigan, PhD—agroforestry, food system resilience extension
*K. L. L. Oleson, PhD—ecological economics, ecosystem services
*S. Paik, PhD—agricultural economics, environmental policy extension
*H. Peter-Contesse, PhD—soil ecology and biogeochemistry research
*D. Pompeani, PhD—geochemistry, paleoclimatology, human-environment interactions research
*M. Price, PhD— behavioral ecology, conservation genetics
*P. C. Trauernicht, PhD—wildfire management extension
*Y. Tsang, PhD—ecohydrology
*M. D. B. Vaughan, PhD—collaborative resource management and environmental education
*A. Youkhana, PhD—forestry and agroforestry, bioenergy

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

L. Bremer, PhD—sustainability and ecotourism (WRRC)
K. M. Burnett, PhD—economics, invasive species assessment and management (UHERO)
J. Deenik, PhD—soil quality and fertility (TPSS)
J. DeFrank, PhD—herbicide management (TPSS)
A. El-Kadi, PhD—groundwater hydrology (ERTH)
T. Giambelluca, PhD—climatology, hydrology (GEO)
S. Honarvar, PhD—wildlife management (PCSU)
N. V. Hue, PhD—organic cycling (TPSS)
Q. Li, PhD—environmental chemistry (MBBE)
Y. Li, PhD—tropical forest ecology and management (UH Hilo)
N. Lincoln, PhD—Indigenous crops and cropping systems (TPSS)
A. Mawyer, PhD—anthropology (CPIS)
T. McClellan Maaz, PhD—soil fertility; land management
A. Miles, PhD—sustainable community food systems (UH West)
C. Nelson, PhD—ecology, evolution and marine biology (OCEAN/SG)
T. Radovich, PhD—sustainable farming (TPSS)
A. Sherwood, PhD—phycology, marine and freshwater algal flora and diversity (School of Life Science)
H. Valenzuela, PhD—vegetation physiology and management (PEPS)
K. Winter, PhD—ethnobotany (Heʻeia NERR)

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

K. Carlson, PhD—land systems science (New York University)
L. Crampton, PhD—wildlife management (DOFAW, DLNR)
J. Fox, PhD—social forestry (East-West Center)
A. Friedlander, PhD—biogeography, fisheries (National Geographic)
C. Giardina, PhD—forest ecology (USDA Forest Service)
S. Gon, PhD—native ecosystem management, history of landscape change, biocultural approaches (The Nature Conservancy)
T. Grabowski, PhD—fisheries ecology (UH Hilo, USGS)
D. Jacobs, PhD—tree physiology (Purdue)
P. James, PhD—small-scale fisheries, survey design and implementation, marine protected areas (Dept. of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
D. Kleiber, PhD—equity approaches to fisheries and marine conservation (NOAA)
K. Leong, PhD—human dimensions of natural resource management (NOAA)
H. McMillen, PhD—community-based natural resource management (USDA Forest Service)
M. Pan—fishery economics (NOAA Fisheries)
S. Pooley, PhD—fisheries (NOAA)
L. Raz, PhD—fisheries and aquatic ecosystem ecology
M. Satdichanh, PhD—tropical biodiversity, plant ecology, ethnobotany, land use change (Center for Mountain Futures and Kunming Institute of Botany)
D. Spatz, PhD— wildlife ecology (Pacific Rim Conservation)
A. Strauch, PhD—hydrology (CWRM)
A. Vorsino, PhD— climate change and species distribution (US Fish and Wildlife Service)
M. Weijerman, PhD—tropical marine ecology and coastal management (NOAA)
S. Wongbusarakum, PhD—conservation planning, sustainability (FAME)
L. Young, PhD—seabird conservation (Pacific Rim Conservation)

* Graduate Faculty

The Academic Program

The Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) program emphasizes the science and management of natural resources as the foundation of sustainable socialecological systems. It provides students with scientific knowledge of the physical, chemical, biological, economic, social, and policy elements of natural resources management and allows them to understand the principles that underpin productive, sustainable natural resource use, and enhanced environmental quality. Graduating students will be able to grapple with contemporary resource use problems and assist in sound decision making for optimizing land use and managing agricultural and forestry systems, watersheds, coastal ecosystems, and landscapes in an ecologically sound manner. Graduates will also be skilled in addressing resource and environmental policy issues and the needs of diverse stakeholders and communities including policy makers, planners, and communities. Indigenous knowledge and practices will be integrated with Western science, where possible, to address local management issues. Students will be trained in the use of quantitative and qualitative methods and modeling and other decision tools for managing natural resources and stewarding the environment.

Undergraduate Study

BS in Natural Resources and Environmental Management

The bachelor of science degree in natural resources and environmental management is a science-based interdisciplinary degree emphasizing natural resource management and decision-making to support conservation and sustainable development. The focus is on tropical island ecology and terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, with special consideration given to Hawaiʻi’s unique physical and diverse social environment. The program gives students the ability to conceptualize and critically analyze environmental problems, identify management options, implement suitable interventions, and evaluate their effectiveness. Students receive comprehensive training in basic and applied natural and social sciences, management skills and techniques, and real-life problem-solving including working with resource managers and communities. Students also develop an individual specialization in an upper division study area of their choice. Graduates have challenging and rewarding career opportunities with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private businesses in resource-based industries and environmental protection. The BS degree also provides solid academic preparation for post-baccalaureate professional training and graduate study in natural resources and related environmental fields.

Advising

Undergraduate majors are required to report for advising prior to registration each semester. An entering student must meet with the NREM undergraduate program advisor and a CTAHR academic advisor to determine the student’s interest and preparation for the NREM major. After choosing a pathway and specialization, the student is assigned to a permanent faculty advisor, with whom they meet every semester to plan courses and chart progress toward graduation. The faculty advisor assists the student in arranging an internship (NREM 492 ), selection of elective courses, career advising, and professional development. Students must also meet with a CTAHR academic advisor each semester to discuss academic progress, course scheduling, and other general issues.

Entrance Requirements

First-year students may be admitted directly into the program when they apply to UH Mānoa. Students transferring from another program in the UH System or other universities must have a minimum 2.5 GPA for transferable credits.

Graduate Study

NREM offers the following graduate degrees: MS, Master’s of Environmental Management (MEM), and PhD degrees in Natural Resources and Environmental Management; a university-wide Graduate Resource Management Certificate; and a university-wide graduate degree specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology.

The NREM graduate program integrates natural and social science in order to understand and manage tropical and subtropical terrestrial and aquatic social-ecological systems, with a particular emphasis on islands. The interdisciplinary NREM curriculum stresses the application of science (biological, physical, and social) to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and the environment. The program provides the scientific foundations to assess ecosystem structure and function, human behavior, and the reciprocal relationships between humans and their environment. Students acquire quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and advanced technical skills that enable them to solve contemporary resource use and environmental problems across contexts and scales. NREM graduates serve as skilled leaders in management and policy, teachers, and researchers within both the public and private sectors.

Specialization Areas

NREM is an interdisciplinary department that offers integrative graduate curricula necessary for quality decision-making and solution-oriented natural resource and environmental management. As a foundation for graduate training, all NREM students are expected to acquire a common base of knowledge embodied in a set of core courses. Beyond that, students are expected to develop knowledge and skills within a chosen specialization area. This helps to ensure that students have the real-world skills needed to perform specific tasks, analyze resource management and policy issues, carry out original research, and effectively perform outreach and educational activities.

Examples of specialization areas include but are not limited to: forestry, plant ecology & conservation, wildlife ecology & conservation, soil & water conservation, coastal ecology & management, GIS & remote sensing, watershed hydrology, natural resource planning, environmental policy, cultural resources management, community resource management, environmental organizing & advocacy, and green enterprises & sustainability.

The student’s advisor and thesis/dissertation committee will assist in choosing appropriate course work and research, or other activities, to fully develop a specialization area. Students are expected to declare a specialization area by the completion of their first year in the department. It is, however, the responsibility of students to know and observe all regulations and procedures relating to the program as well as those of UH Mānoa and Graduate Division.

Admission and Deficiencies

Regular, probationary, and conditional status is determined based on the student’s academic performance at the time of application. If admitted as regular status, the student may start their formal graduate program immediately. If admitted as probationary or conditional status, the student will have specific criteria that must be fulfilled such as a BS or MS degree, course deficiencies, expected minimum GRE score of 302-308 combined Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning (equivalent to 1,100-1,200 on the prior scale), or other documents. These criteria are specified in the letter of acceptance, and should be discussed immediately with their advisor upon matriculation. It is expected that students will move from probationary and/ or conditional status to regular status by the end of their first year by completing Form I. Applicants for the MS degree are required to have a BS or equivalent degree and applicants for the PhD degree are required to have an MS or equivalent degree (but see below for admission to the PhD degree without a BS degree).

NREM requires prior completed course work (with a grade of C or higher) that is equivalent to or higher than NREM 203 , NREM 220 (or ECON 130 ), NREM 310 , CHEM 151 , and BIOL 171 . Students who do not have course work in one or more of these areas may be accepted into the program, but will be expected to make up course deficiencies within their first 1-2 semesters on campus and complete Form 1.

The minimum required TOEFL score (for foreign applicants only) is: (a) MS student: 550, 213, or 80 for paper-based, computer-based, or internet-based examinations, respectively; and (b) PhD student: 600, 250, or 100 for paper-based, computer-based, or internet-based examinations, respectively. The minimum required IELTS score is: (a) MS student: 6.0 and (b) PhD student: 7.0. The TOEFL/IELTS requirement applies to all foreign students, except those who are native speakers of English or have received a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree from an accredited/recognized college within the last five years in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, or Australia. Students with low TOEFL/IELTS scores are required to enroll in remedial ELI (English Language Institute, www.hawaii.edu/eli/) courses.

Students Applying to PhD Program

(1) Admission to PhD After Finishing NREM MS

An NREM PhD student who also completed their MS in NREM and has subsequently been accepted into the NREM PhD program has the option to take directed reading (NREM 699 ) for half of the required elective credits (12 of the 24) if NREM courses that are applicable to the student’s degree have already been taken as part of the MS degree plan. At least 6 of the non-NREM 699 credits must be for graduate research methods courses. Also, the student is still required to take all 7 credits of NREM PhD core classes. In the case where a student took some/all of these core credits as electives during their MS degree program, an equivalent number of 600-level credits (but not NREM 699 ) must be taken.

(2) Admission to PhD Without Finishing NREM MS

A currently enrolled NREM MS student can be admitted into NREM’s PhD program prior to completing their MS degree if ALL of the following criteria are met:

Unanimous approval by the student’s MS committee
Record of excellent academic achievement including, at a minimum:
- Maintaining a GPA >3.5 in the MS NREM program
The student has the proven ability to undertake independent research, which can be demonstrated by ALL of the following:
- Authored/co-authored (student as 1st author) > 1 presentation at a national or international professional conference
- Authored/co-authored (student as 1st author) > 1 peer reviewed journal article
- Accrued > 2 years of meaningful research experience at school, jobs etc.

(3) Admission to PhD From BS

A student with a BS degree can be admitted directly into NREM’s PhD program if ALL of the following criteria are met:

A faculty member agrees to advise the student and commits to at least 3 years of funding
The student has a record of excellent academic achievement including, at a minimum:
- Undergraduate GPA >3.5
- Average verbal, quantitative and written GRE scores >75th percentile
The student has the proven ability to undertake independent research, which can be demonstrated by ALL of the following:
- Authored/co-authored (student as 1st author) a minimum of 1 presentation at a national or international professional conference
- Authored/co-authored (student as 1st author) a minimum of 1 peer reviewed journal article
- Accrued at least 2 years of meaningful research experience at school, jobs, or internships

Advising

Admitted students will check in with their advisor upon arriving on campus. An advisor has been identified for every student based on the student’s stated interest and consent of the advisor. If you do not know who your advisor is, check with the NREM office staff or the graduate chair immediately. The primary responsibilities of the advisor during your first semester are to verify entrance and background deficiencies, prescribe remedial courses as early as possible in the student’s program, and provide guidance in course selection. All of these items should be completed by the end of the student’s first year. Submit Form I to the graduate chair upon fulfilling all deficiencies. If there are no deficiencies, Form I should be submitted at the beginning of the first semester. The student should meet with their faculty advisor regularly to track their progress.

Programs

Bachelor’s

Master’s

Doctorate

Natural Resources and Environmental Management, PhD