College of Natural Resources

The College of Natural Resources has a unified Departmental Honors Plan applicable to all degree programs in the College; note, however, that the Honors degrees are awarded by the individual Departments, not the College.

Departmental Honors Advisors:

Watershed Sciences:
Wayne Wurtsbaugh, BNR 106, ext. 72584, wayne.wurtsbaugh@usu.edu
Helga Van Miegroet, NR 226, ext. 73175, helga.vanmiegroet@usu.edu

Wildland Resources:
Gene Schupp, NR 330, ext. 72475, eugene.schupp@usu.edu
Helga Van Miegroet, NR 226, ext. 73175, helga.vanmiegroet@usu.edu

Environment and Society:
Mark Brunson, NR 201B, ext. 72458, mark.brunson@usu.edu

Eligibility for Acceptance: Qualified students will have cumulative GPAs of at least 3.30 and will have declared a major in the College of Natural Resources.

Program of Study: The 15-credit requirement for Departmental Honors in the College of Natural Resources is met by successfully completing the following requirements:

6 credits from the following list of courses, completed under a contract with the professor: (The goal is to provide Honors-enhanced versions of foundational courses used by many degree programs to increase breadth of knowledge in the Natural Resources).

  • WATS 3700
  • WATS 4930
  • EnvS 3000
  • EnvS 4000
  • WILD 4900

3 credits completed in one of the following ways:

  • An upper-division Honors course from a related discipline, completed under contract, in order to enhance breadth.
  • A graduate-level course in the student's major or area of specialization in order to enhance depth.
  • A seminar offering an integrative experience, such as WATS 5330 or a CNR Honors Special Topics Seminar.

3 credits in an upper-division course in your area of specialization, completed under contract witht the professor.

3 credits of Undergraduate Research under your departmental prefix (e.g. WATS 4970). This is for work associated with developing and conducting your Honors Thesis.

Public presentation of your Thesis/Project, either orally or in poster format.

Requirements for completion of degree: The successful candidate will graduate with a cumulative University GPA of 3.3 with a GPA of 3.5 in all Honors and all College of Natural Resources courses. Many students have found it helpful to relate the courses taken on Honors contract to the final thesis/project.