Western Center for Integrated Resource Management's Master's degree program at Colorado State University

NACTA Journal, Sep 2003 by Miller, K E, Peel, R K, Kossler, J C, Batchelder, J R, Enns, R M

Accomplishing these objectives requires a dynamic approach to educating students, as well as practitioners. The educational modules are designed to provide information to assist landowners and land managers in accomplishing their goals by providing extensive, yet in-depth information regarding the interactions between land, livestock, wildlife, water, financial, and human resources. In addition, the modules will train students to understand the functional processes that drive these interactions, as well as how these processes form systems that require holistic thinking for sustainable systems management.

The future challenges facing these graduates will require much more than technical skill. Sustainable management of systems requires quick, yet comprehensive thinkers and communicators who can react to the often rapidly changing environment of the land resource (Grant et al., 2000). Additionally, a manager must be capable of effectively communicating with other managers, employees, and the public, as well as functioning as a member of the community at local, state, and national levels. This program strives to equip these managers with the ability to solve problems from a resource sustainability perspective. Inskeep (2000) suggests that students need a greater knowledge base, to better understand the function of the animal and its place in the global production system.

Master's of Agriculture Degree Program

The Master's degree program offered through WCIRM offers this expanded knowledge through an integrated curriculum. The integrated educational approach is designed to enhance management skills, as well as, provide a framework for development of problem solving skills through the involvement of faculty from the departments of Agriculture and Resource Economics, Animal Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and Rangeland Ecosystem Sciences. Extension personnel and industry professionals will also contribute to the curriculum in their respective areas of expertise. This approach offers a unique opportunity for students seeking an integrated Master's degree with a focus on land resource management.

The WCIRM Master's degree program is not specie or discipline specific, as the program is focused around the concepts of systems management. Coursework is structured to provide the knowledge and skill required to establish a framework of decision-making tools. The basics of each course are established early in the program to unite students from various backgrounds into the same educational experience. The 11 newly designed courses, each with a central theme, are presented from an integrated perspective. Table 1 gives a brief description of the 11 classes to be presented and the sequence in which they are presented. Faculty members from each of the departments are present in each course to provide different discipline perspectives throughout the curriculum, as well as to monitor the progress of each course and facilitate maintaining a common vision among faculty members.