Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology
Turn your passion for hiking, hunting, fishing and the outdoors into a career with a degree program that capitalizes on a love of the natural environment.
What is NRWT?
Garrett College's Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology program, or NRWT, is a program that expands a love of the outdoors and nature into advanced knowledge to grow into a unique and fulfilling career.
NRWT strives to graduate technicians who are well prepared for employment in the field of natural resources management, who understand and appreciate the interrelationships among all components of an ecosystem, and who recognize the socioeconomic and political forces affecting resource management decisions. While taking a holistic approach to resource management, the program emphasizes wildlife, fisheries, and forest management, and soil and water conservation.
NRWT Degrees
The Garrett College NRWT program awards and Associate in Applied Sciences (A.A.S) degree to graduates.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, particularly in settings involving issues related to natural resources management.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to critically analyze multifaceted natural resources and environmental problems/issues and develop and evaluate potential options and proposed solutions.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to employ the scientific method as well as quantitative reasoning and computational skills in a variety of applications, including those associated with the management of natural resources and the environment.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to use GPS technology to accurately collect geospatial data.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to input and analyze geospatial data using geographic information system software.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to correctly identify important wildlife species of the Central Appalachian/Mid-Atlantic region.
- Students will demonstrate the ability to correctly identify important woody and herbaceous plants of the Central Appalachian/Mid-Atlantic region.
Program Benefits
If you have a desire to be directly involved with the natural environment as much as possible, the NRWT program includes hands-on classes with advanced technology and field-based instruction.
- Practical, field-based instruction
- Hands-on classes, most with outdoor components
- Small classes and personlized attention
- Advanced technology, including the latest Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
- Employment and volunteer opportunities
- Class trips to the Chesapeake Bay and other regional environments
- Spring break trips to southeast Arizona
Career Goals
Garrett's NRWT program prepares you for a career in any of the following areas of interest:
- Parks and Recreation
- Water quality monitoring
- Wildlife habitat management
- Fisheries management
- Wetlands management
- Forestry
- Enviornmental and ecological restoration
- Environmental consulting
- Soil and water conservation
- Nature education and interpretation
Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology A.A.S. Degree
Total Credit Hours Required 66
GER Required Credits (21 Credits)
English Composition
- ENG101 Comp I—Expos Writing 3*
Arts and Humanities
- COM101 Intro to Communication 3*
- HUM210 Society & Environment 3*
Social and Behavioral Sciences
-
PSY101
General Psychology
or SOC101 Principles of Sociology 3*
Science
-
BIO104
Principles of Biology
or BIO101 General Biology I/Lab
or BIO102 General Biology II/Lab 4*
Mathematics
-
MAT105
College Algebra
or MAT110 Pre-Calculus
or MAT190 Calculus 3(or 4)*
Interdisciplinary/Emerging Issues
- CIS180 Intro to GIS 2*
Core Courses (45 credits)
- NRW103 Nat Res Practical Skills I 0.5*
- NRW104 Nat Res Practical Skills II 0.5*
- ESC210 Soils 3*
- ESC265 Soil & Water Conservation 4*
- BIO120 Dendrology 3*
- BIO150 General Ecology 3*
- ENT170 Geospatial Data Coll/Analysis 4*
- ^ENT201 Chem/Quant Mthds for Ag/NR 2*
- ENT225 Water Quality Assessment 3*
- NRW101 NRWT Seminar I 0.50*
-
NRW105
Env Sc/Contemp NatRes Issues
or NRW106 Env Sc/Cont NatRes Issues 2 (or 3)* -
NRW180
Herbaceous Plant Identification
or BIO214 Plant Taxonomy 2 (or 3)* - NRW181 Wildlife Biology 3*
- NRW270 Forest Measurements 2*
- NRW275 Forest Management 3*
- NRW283 Fish Biology & Mgmt 3*
- NRW286 Wildlife Tech/Habitat Mgmt I 3*
- NRW287 Wildlife Tech/Habitat Mgmt II 3*
- NRW289 NRWT Seminar II 0.50*
Additional Graduation Requirement
Must pass NRWT Departmental Exit Exam
* Minimum C grade required for this major.
^ Student may request waiver of ENT201 when CHE101, CHE102, & MAT210 are taken.