The Program

Graduate education in bioregional planning recognizes the importance of how the biophysical attributes of a region influence the human dimensions of settlement and culture. The reciprocal relationship is also addressed. The program will prepare future planners and land managers to work within an interdisciplinary environment providing better alternatives for land-use decisions and policy. This degree program is offered jointly by the Department of Environment and Society in the College of Natural Resources and the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning in the Collage of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

Utah has experienced a significant net population increase over the past 10 years. Communities with populations less than 2,000 do not have the personnel or fiscal resources to engage professional planning assistance. In addition, they do not have the appropriate data for their communities environmental, cultural, and economic resources in a form to make appropriate physical planning decisions. A primary objective of the program is to provide community decision makers with that material, including the production and evaluation of alternative futures, from which they can make informed decisions concerning the quality of growth for their community. By taking advantage of the university’s resources, these activities provide real-world learning experiences for students and allow their academic activities to make a tangible and beneficial contribution to the public domain. Students will interact directly with members of various federal and state agencies, Envision Utah, Association of Governments (counties), and local planning commissions.

A full range of traditional and new learning environments will be used in order to offer the student the opportunity to be directly involved in assisting communities with their growth and development. Formal class work, seminars, special courses, and Extension workshops are just a few of the instruments which currently exist and will be used to address these concerns. New laboratories for learning will be articulated in order to provide real-life experiences as part of the students’ education. These outreach laboratories, in conjunction with USU Extension, will allow students the opportunity to work with and assist community leaders and citizens in addressing major concerns of growth dealing with quality-of-life issues, regional open space, and environmental sustainability. The projects also provide continuing opportunities for the student in both basic and applied research allowing for new and innovative contributions to environmental planning, management, and policy.

Course of Study
This two-year Master of Science degree program presents an interdisciplinary core of courses and faculty for the purpose of addressing complex issues in the areas of bioregional planning and management. Emphasis is placed on three problematic content areas associated with environmental planning: biophysical, social/demographic, and economic. The spatial focus is on the planning of large landscapes with dispersed populations and a primary economic base in agriculture, energy development, tourism/recreation, retirement communities, and natural resources.

The program requires a minimum of 39 graduate-level credits, including 3-6 credits of work on a thesis or paper/project. Nine of the required credits are to be in the candidate’s area of specialization. These 9 credits are to be negotiated with the candidate’s major professor and supervisory committee.

The following 3 courses are required:
ESRI Certification Course or
ENVS 6900, Special Topics – GIS (First Year-Fall) 3 cr Shipley Seminar/NEPA/EIS (S) Minimum 1 credit series 1 cr
LAEP 6740, Planning Theory and Methods (F) 3 cr

A. Research Methods (One of the following courses is required)
FRWS 6500, Biometry (F) 4 cr
Soc 6100, Advanced Methods of Social Research (F) 3 cr
Soc 6150, Social Statistics II (S) 3 cr

B. Biophysical (One of the following courses is required)*
FRWS 5400, Ecosystem Concepts (S) 3 cr FRWS 6710, Landscape Ecology (S) 4 cr FRWS 5610, Wildland Ecosystems (S) 3 cr

C. Social/Economic (One of the following courses is required)
ENVS 6000, Human Dimensions of Nat Res Management (F) 3 cr
PolSi 5180, Natural Resource Policy (S) 3 cr
Soc 6630, Natural Resources & Social Development (S) 3 cr
ENVS 6420, Economic Applications in NR Management 4 cr

D. Studio sequence

ENVS 6200, Bioregional Analysis/Planning (F) 5 cr
ENVS 6210, Bioregional Management/Policy (S) 5 cr

E. Area for Student Specialization
Student in consultation with his/her committee selects courses 9 cr

F. Thesis or Project
A thesis or B paper/project option is required and is to be
negotiated with the candidate, major professor, and supervisory
committee 3 or 6 cr

G. ENVS 6800, Seminar (F), ENVS 6800, Seminar (S) 1 cr.
(Register for only one; required to attend both)

Total Credits 39 – 45


*FRWS 4600, Conservation Biology (S) 3 cr.
(Required as a prerequisite for those individuals without a
background in Ecology - credit does not apply to graduate
program)

A suggested course of study is as follows:

First Year: (12)
fall semester: ENVS 6200, FRWS 6500 or Soc 6100, ENVS 6800, ENVS 6900 (GIS) or ESRI certification.

spring semester: ENVS 6210, FRWS 4600 (required for students without ecology background), FRWS 6710 or ENVS 6420, Shipley Seminar (NEPA), ENVS 6800.

Second Year:
fall semester:) LAEP 6740, Thesis credit ENVS 6970, and 3-6 elective credits.

spring semester:, Soc 6630 or Polsi 5180, Thesis credit ENVS 6970, and 3 elective credits.