Bachelor Degree in
Environmental & Resource Economics

The Environmental & Resource Economics degree program in the Resource Economics Department seeks to understand how to balance social and economic goals with environmental quality and sustainability goals. It prepares you for a career as a policy analyst in government agencies, agricultural and environmental industry, or environmental consulting organizations.

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1. protecting natural resources?
2. quantifying hard-to-measure values?
3. working outdoors & indoors, with people & with computers, in Nevada & around the world, all in the same job?
4. figuring out why people make the choices they do?
5. making a difference on global environmental issues?

…then Environmental & Resource Economics (ERE) may be the right major for you!
  

• The Resource Economics faculty researchers rank in the top four nationally, and the department is one of the ten nationally-ranked academic programs on the UNR campus.
    
• Two of the best research programs in the country concerning non-market valuation and economic impact assessment.
    
• It’s one of the most flexible bachelor’s degree programs on campus, with only 61 required major credits. There is a lot of room to choose electives or double-major.
    
• Great career preparation: by the summer after graduation, over 90% of Resource Economics department graduates are either employed or accepted to Law School or PhD programs.

• Environmental consulting
• Environmental and natural resource management
• Environmental advocacy groups
• Industry advocacy groups
• Policy analysis for government
• Economic or statistical analysis

This minor program is designed for students who are interested in supplementing their major field with a background in agribusiness.
  

This minor is designed for students who are interested in supplementing their major field with a background in the economics of natural resource and environmental issues. The minor offers a program of study that includes a variety of topics such as cost benefit analysis, exhaustible and renewable resources, environmental externalities, property rights, and economic policy.
  

This minor provides a foundation for the use of statistical methods as a scientific tool for estimation and hypothesis testing. By emphasizing applications in the physical, life, and behavioral sciences, this minor should complement degree programs in most disciplines.
  

What kind of salary do ERE grads earn?
In 2005, the median annual income nationwide for environmental analysts was $60,000. (acinet.org).

Are there any student clubs for ERE majors?
      Yes! The Sierra Nevada Resource Economics Organization (SNREO) is a chapter club of the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA). And, every year the student team participates in the AAEA student Quiz Bowl. The SNREO club takes field trips and students conduct research projects, such as a survey to measure the value of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, for example.

Will I get to know my professors?
      Definitely yes. Almost all major classes have fewer than 20 students in them, and the student:faculty ratio in the department is 3:1. The Resource Economics faculty employ many undergraduate students as research assistants. Alumni report that the student-faculty interaction in our department is unusually good to excellent.

What do Environmental Policy Analysts do?
      About three-quarters of our graduates go into careers directly related to the degree, working in environmental and resource economics, policy, law, or regional and community development. Another quarter go to graduate school to become professors, or to law school.

How do I prepare?
      High school students interested in Environmental & Resource Economics should take a regular college prep curriculum, including four years of math including algebra, geometry, and calculus. Biology, chemistry, and physics will be very helpful for placement into university science courses.

What courses will I take at the university?
      For the ERE major, you will study resource economics, environmental economics, ecology, biology, political science, international affairs, natural resource management, statistics, land and water policy, econometrics, and economic impact analysis. You will complete the university core English, humanities, science, and math requirements. There will also be time for many electives of your choice (music, political science, journalism, anthropology…)
  

 Dr. Maureen Kilkenny, Professor, Undergraduate Program Coordinator and Faculty Advisor
Phone: [775] 784-6785
e-mail: kilkenny@unr.edu
Office: 220e Fleischmann Ag Bldg, UNR Campus

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