The courses listed below are an overview of what is offered for graduate students in environment and ecology-focused Master's and Ph.D. programs. The semester each course is available is noted via F (Fall), S (Spring), and Su (Summer). A full list of courses offered for each area, including course descriptions and requirements, can be found on the 2019-2020 MSU Course Bulletin website.

Courses indicated in bold are offered as summer field courses. These summer courses are an excellent opportunity for students to get out of the classroom and gain hands-on experience, valuable knowledge, and lasting connections in the field.  They offer a combination of classroom or online instruction with field trips designed to take advantage of southwest Montana's natural learning environment. For more information about these kinds of courses please visit the Summer Field Courses webpage. 

* = Course available online only

Animal and Range Natural Resources - ARNR

  • ARNR 508 - Rangeland Ecological Theory and Application - F
  • ARNR 513 - Advanced Forage Production - F
  • ARNR 541 - Range Ecophysiology - S
  • ARNR 543 - Riparian Process and Function - S
  • ARNR 544 - Advanced Grazing Management and Ecology - S
  • ARNR 555 - Rangeland Wildlife Ecology and Management - F

Biology - Ecological - BIOE

  • BIOE 513 - Terrestrial Ecology of Plains and Prairies* - Su
  • BIOE 514 - Ecological Modeling - F
  • BIOE 515 - Landscape Ecology and Management - F
  • BIOE 517 - Advances in Ecological Modeling - S
  • BIOE 519 - Riparian Zones and Wetlands* - Su
  • BIOE 520 - Animal Biodiversity in the GYE - Su
  • BIOE 521 - Conservation Biology - F
  • BIOE 522 - Birds of Prey - Su
  • BIOE 523 - Wildlife Ecology - Su
  • BIOE 524 - Frontiers in Landscape Ecology - F
  • BIOE 526 - Symbiosis for Teachers* - S
  • BIOE 527 - Teaching Evolution* - F
  • BIOE 532 - Physiological Plant Ecology - F
  • BIOE 534 - Vegetation Ecology - S
  • BIOE 535 - Topics in Biodiversity and Nature's Services
  • BIOE 536 - A Study of Local Ecosystems for Teachers* - F
  • BIOE 540 - Analysis of Ecological Communities - S
  • BIOE 542 - Community Ecology - S
  • BIOE 548 - Conservation Genetics - F
  • BIOE 554 - Foundations of Ecology and Management - F
  • BIOE 555 - Communication in Ecological Sciences - F, S
  • BIOE 593 - Alpine Ecology for Teachers - Su
  • BIOE 595 - Ecology and Conservation of the World's Marine Ecosystems for Teachers* - F
  • BIOE 596 - Land Use Issues for GYE Teachers - Su
  • BIOE 597 - Ecology of Trout Streams for Teachers - Su
  • BIOE 599 - Advanced Ecology for Teachers - S

Chemistry - CHMY

  • CHMY 595 - Chemistry of the Environment for Teachers* - Su

Civil Engineering - ECIV

  • ECIV 521 - Applied Geotechnical Engineering - F
  • ECIV 524 - Advanced Soil Mechanics - F
  • ECIV 529 - Groundwater Contamination - S
  • ECIV 530 - Advanced Hydraulic Investigations - S
  • ECIV 562 - Snow and Avalanche Physics for Teachers* - S

Environmental Engineering - EENV

  • EENV 534 - Environmental Engineering Investigation - F
  • EENV 540 - Water Chemistry for Environmental Engineers - F
  • EENV 561 - Environmental Engineering Reactor Theory - F
  • EENV 562 - Water Treatment Process and Design - S
  • EENV 563 - Wastewater Treatment Process and Design - S

Entomology - ENTO

  • ENTO 510 - Insect Ecology - S
  • ENTO 516 - Biosystematics - F

Earth Systems - ERTH

  • ERTH 505 - Geomicrobiology - S
  • ERTH 512 - Mountains and Plains Riparians Processes - Su
  • ERTH 516 - North Rocky Mountain Geology - Su
  • ERTH 519 - Watershed Hydrology for Teachers* - S
  • ERTH 520 - Fundamentals of Oceanography for Teachers* - S, Su
  • ERTH 521 - Geology of the Moon for Teachers* - F
  • ERTH 522 - Teaching Middle School Earth System Science* - S
  • ERTH 525 - Landforms for Elementary Teachers - F, Su
  • ERTH 527 - Weather and Climate for Teachers* - S
  • ERTH 528 - Climate Change for Teachers - Su
  • ERTH 524 - K-14 Earth System Science* - F
  • ERTH 551 - Snow Science Seminar - F
  • ERTH 562 - Advanced Geomorphology - S
  • ERTH 583 - Topics in Paleoecology - F, S
  • ERTH 584 - Quaternary Environment of the Western U.S. - F
  • ERTH 585 - Advances in Geobiology - F
  • ERTH 591 - Special Topics: Weather for Elementary Teachers* - F
  • ERTH 594 - Geology Seminar: Geology of Earthquakes - Su
  • ERTH 595 - Historical Geology for Teachers - S
  • ERTH 596 - Geology of Glacier NP for Teachers - Su
  • ERTH 605 - History of Geological Concepts - F

Film and Photography - FILM

  • FILM 505 - Critical Approach to Natural History Filmmaking - S
  • FILM 506 - Critical Approach to Science Filmmaking - S
  • FILM 515 - Science and Natural History Film Production - S

Geography - GPHY

  • GPHY 502 - Water and Society - F
  • GPHY 504 - GIS Research Fundamentals - F
  • GPHY 520 - Land Use Planning - F

Geology - GEO

  • GEO 508 - Depositional Systems - S
  • GEO 515 - Structural Geology - S
  • GEO 520 - Ancient Ocean Systems - S
  • GEO 533 - Graduate Tectonics - F
  • GEO 535 - Avanced Stratigraphy - S
  • GEO 540 - Volcanology - F
  • GEO 543 - Graduate Sedimentary Petrology - S
  • GEO 549 - Graduate Metamorphic Petrology - F
  • GEO 550 - Graduate Igneous Petrology - S
  • GEO 571 - Geochronology and Thermochronology - S
  • GEO 585 - Mineralogy for Science Teachers - Su
  • GEO 591 - Special Topics: Subsurface and Petroleum Geology - F
  • GEO 591 - Special Topics: Mountain Belts in 4D - F

History - HIST

  • HIST 504 - Topics in Environmental History - S

Land Resources and Environmental Science - LRES

  • LRES 507 - Environmental Risk Assessment* - F
  • LRES 510 - Biodiversity and Monitoring Methods * and Onsite - F
  • LRES 511 - Environmental Data Management - S
  • LRES 515 - Microbial Ecology* - S
  • LRES 521 - Holistic Thought and Management* - S
  • LRES 525 - Applied Remote Sensing - S
  • LRES 528 - Bridging Principles and Practices of Sustainable Cropping Systems - F
  • LRES 529 - Cropping Systems and Sustainable Agriculture - S
  • LRES 530 - Natural Resource Law* - S
  • LRES 531 - Applied Watershed Hydrology* - F
  • LRES 532 - Soil Ecosystems and Processes* - F
  • LRES 533 - Wetland Ecology and Management* - S
  • LRES 534 - Environmental Data Analysis* - F, S
  • LRES 535 - Techniques of Spatial Analysis - S
  • LRES 536 - Ecology of Invasive Plants II* - Su
  • LRES 539 - Ecological Restoration and Management * and Onsite - Su
  • LRES 540 - Ecology of Plants and Community* - F
  • LRES 543 - Agroecology and Applied Plant Ecology - S
  • LRES 544 - Water Quality* - F, S
  • LRES 545 - Watershed Analysis - S
  • LRES 546 - Quantitative Methods Environmental - S
  • LRES 552 - Advanced Soil and Environmental Microbiology - S
  • LRES 554 - Soil Landscape Modeling - S
  • LRES 555 - Aqueous Geochemistry - S
  • LRES 557 - Thermal Biology in YNP - Su
  • LRES 558 - Isotope Biogeochemistry - F, S
  • LRES 561 - Belowground Plant Ecology - S
  • LRES 562 - Land Rehabilitation Field Problem - Su
  • LRES 563 - Restoration Ecology - F
  • LRES 564 - Fundamentals of Environmental Monitoring - F
  • LRES 565 - Environmental Biophysics - S
  • LRES 566 - Chemical Ecology - F
  • LRES 567 - Biogeochemical Analysis and Synthesis - S
  • LRES 568 - Ecosystem Biogeochemistry - S
  • LRES 569 - Ecology of Invasive Plants in GYE - Su
  • LRES 571 - Landscapes and Ecosystem Ecology* - F, S
  • LRES 573 - Remote Sensing and Environmental Science* - F, S
  • LRES 582 - Streamside Science for Teachers* - Su
  • LRES 583 - The Dirt on Soil Science for Elementary Teachers - S
  • LRES 584 - Twelve Principles of Soil Science for Teachers* - F
  • LRES 585 - Water Quality in the Classroom for Teachers - S
  • LRES 586 - Lake Ecology for Teachers - Su

Microbiology - MB

  • MB 505 - Host-Associated Microbomes - F, S
  • MB 515 - Microbial Ecology - S
  • MB 533 - Current Topics in Microbiology for Teachers* - S
  • MB 536 - Exploring Microbiology* - S, Su
  • MB 540 - Environmental Microbiology - F, Su
  • MB 542 - Microbial Ecology* - F, S
  • MB 547 - Thermal Biology of YNP - Su
  • MB 552 - Advanced Soil and Environmental Microbiology - S
  • MB 560 - Infectious Disease Ecology and Spillover - F

Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology - PSPP

  • PSPP 516 - Research Design and Analysis - F
  • PSPP 521 - Plant Science for Teachers* - Su
  • PSPP 522 - Insectology for Teachers* - Su
  • PSPP 524 - Advanced Plant Pathology - F
  • PSPP 530 - Crop Physiology - F
  • PSPP 547 - Biomimicry for Teachers* - S
  • PSPP 548 - Flowering Plants of the Northern Rocky Mountains - Su
  • PSPP 549 - Plants, People, and Health for Teachers - Su
  • PSPP 565 - Plant-Pathogen Interaction - S

Sustainable Food and Bioenergy - SFBS

  • SFBS 552 - State of the Environment: Policy, Management, and Practice - F

Fish and Wildlife Science and Management - WILD

  • WILD 501 - Applied Population Ecology - S
  • WILD 502 - Population and Habitat Data - F
  • WILD 504 - Wildlife-Habitat Relationships - S
  • WILD 510 - Fisheries Science - S
  • WILD 513 - Fisheries Habitat Management - F
  • WILD 525 - Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife Management - S