Masters of Resource Management
Encyclopedia
The Masters of Resource Management degree is a graduate degree program in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University
in Burnaby, British Columbia
, Canada
. This program is designed for both recent graduates and individuals with experience in the private or public sector in dealing with natural resource
s and the environment
. The program seeks students from a range of disciplines including biology
, engineering
, chemistry
, forestry
, geology
, business
, economics
, geography
, planning and social sciences
. The program is recognized as an accredited sustainable planning program by the Canadian Institute of Planners
and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
, ecology
, ecological economics
, earth systems, research methods), six elective courses, a field workshop, and a research project.
The aim is to increase familiarity and competence in understanding the dynamics of natural resources, the strategies and techniques of natural resource and environmental planning
and management, and the biological, physical, social, economic and institutional implications of resource decisions. Students also become familiar with various quantitative methods of analysis and aids to decision making
. In the field of natural resources, in particular, it is important that an academic degree provide a foundation for problem-solving as well as creative and critical thinking rather than focus primarily on subject matter such as fisheries, economics, or forestry.
Graduate student research projects required to complete the degree evaluate the effectiveness of existing natural resource management policies and, where appropriate, present alternatives. Students apply a range of approaches including cost-benefit analysis
, simulation modeling
, legal and institutional assessment frameworks, and social surveys to address critical and emerging natural resource management issues on local, national, and international scales.
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
in Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is a city in British Columbia, Canada, located immediately to the east of Vancouver. It is the third-largest city in British Columbia by population, surpassed only by nearby Surrey and Vancouver....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This program is designed for both recent graduates and individuals with experience in the private or public sector in dealing with natural resource
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
s and the environment
Environmental quality
Environmental quality is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms...
. The program seeks students from a range of disciplines including biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, planning and social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
. The program is recognized as an accredited sustainable planning program by the Canadian Institute of Planners
Canadian Institute of Planners
The Canadian Institute of Planners is a professional organization in Canada for those involved in land use planning.Founded in 1919, its primary aim is "the advancement of responsible planning throughout Canada"....
and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Degree Requirements
The M.R.M. degree requires completion of six required courses (social science in natural resource managementNatural resource management
Natural resource management refers to the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ....
, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, ecological economics
Ecological economics
Image:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309 16 286 26...
, earth systems, research methods), six elective courses, a field workshop, and a research project.
The aim is to increase familiarity and competence in understanding the dynamics of natural resources, the strategies and techniques of natural resource and environmental planning
Environmental planning
Environmental Planning is the process of facilitating decision making to carry out development with due consideration given to the natural environmental, social, political, economic and governance factors and provides a holistic frame work to achieve sustainable outcomes.-Elements of environmental...
and management, and the biological, physical, social, economic and institutional implications of resource decisions. Students also become familiar with various quantitative methods of analysis and aids to decision making
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
. In the field of natural resources, in particular, it is important that an academic degree provide a foundation for problem-solving as well as creative and critical thinking rather than focus primarily on subject matter such as fisheries, economics, or forestry.
Graduate student research projects required to complete the degree evaluate the effectiveness of existing natural resource management policies and, where appropriate, present alternatives. Students apply a range of approaches including cost-benefit analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...
, simulation modeling
Simulation modeling
Simulation modeling is the process of creating and analyzing a digital prototype of a physical model to predict its performance in the real world. Simulation modeling is used to help designers and engineers understand whether, under what conditions, and in which ways a part could fail and what...
, legal and institutional assessment frameworks, and social surveys to address critical and emerging natural resource management issues on local, national, and international scales.