Explore your environment

Northern Arizona University has often been called the “Environmental University” because of its focus on environmental sciences and research. Many programs are interdisciplinary, combining the knowledge and skills needed for a big-picture approach. Biologists may be working alongside anthropologists, and geologists may collaborate with hydrologists. As a student, you will see first-hand how your studies apply to real-world situations, and that experience puts you on the fast track for advanced degrees or job placement.

Here are just a few of our environmental programs:

• Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research
  Part of the Center’s mission is to include undergraduates in all aspects of research. With more than seven full-scale projects and millions of dollars of funding, there are ample opportunities for undergraduates. These paid positions give undergraduates hands-on job training in the fields of ecology and environmental sciences. (more info)
• Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI)
  At the ERI, more than 30 undergraduate students serve as research assistants working with faculty and graduate students who are investigating the ecological and sociopolitical dimensions of ecosystem restoration. Working across the Southwest, undergrads participate in forest restoration experiments, ecosystem monitoring, and forest landscape reconstruction. (more info)
• Watershed Research and Education Program
  One of the most important issues currently facing the world is water quality and supply. You can make a difference now! Work directly on this important issue as an undergraduate through one of two $4,000 research grants awarded yearly by the Watershed Research and Education Program. You can work in the public policy arena building consensus around water rights issues, study the effects of a landmark dam decommissioning and restoration project on a travertine ecosystem, or explore a number of other biological or resource management projects. (more info)
• Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB)
  Participate in some of the most important regional work on environmental issues in the country! Funded by the National Science Foundation, our UMEB program provides opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research related to human impacts on ecosystems of the Colorado Plateau. Students take a two-semester course on scientific research methods and practices. During the second semester, they select a faculty mentor and spend the following summer working on research with their mentor. Research topics include the ecological impacts of global climate change, environmental impacts of livestock grazing, the effects of forest management on stream ecology, and other important regional issues. (more info)
• Grand Canyon Semester
  In this one fall semester, you will take academic courses having to do with the natural and cultural history of the Grand Canyon. You’ll also spend lots of time hiking in the Grand Canyon and other nearby national parks and rafting (perhaps the best whitewater rafting in the country) with your instructors—learning by doing. Part of the experience is conducting your own research project in the Grand Canyon, with the support of your faculty advisor (you have their undivided attention on the hikes and river trips!). There’s the possibility of going on a Park Service research river trip as well. Class size is small (10–12), and the experience is big! (more info)

“Working for the Ecological Restoration Institute has been essential in starting my career as a researcher. The ability to work with authorities in the field of ecological restoration and receive money for research is unparalleled!”
—Jake Dyer, Forestry, Cross Plains, WI