Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources

RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT

JOIN From the peak of Mt. Mansfield

to the depth of Lake Champlain, Vermont provides endless living

laboratories. Here, students are working alongside world-class researchers to understand

the natural world and humanity’s complex relationship to it.

In this vibrant academic ecosystem,

US.

we’re empowering students to

develop the disciplinary depth and the interdisciplinary practice to

address the most pressing problems of our era. In turn, they launch

ready to engage in transformative and inclusive environmental leadership.

Worlds to explore.

GAIN ME ANINGFUL EXPERIENCE WITH OPPORTUNITIE S ON C AMPUS AND OFF

SERVICE LEARNING

LOOK CLOSER: In the service-learning course, “Birding to Change the World,” UVM students are paired with local elementary kids as “co-explorers.” “Birding is a great way to connect with nature,” says wildlife biology major Nathaniel Sharp, “because birds are so connected with everything else.” And the connections formed within the course, across generations, help every student see the natural world in a new way.

Immerse yourself in the unparalleled biodiversity of Costa Rica in a 17-credit semester abroad alongside UVM students and faculty

GET INVOLVED

with deep connections to the region and its communities.

Work in the Rubenstein School’s Spatial Analysis Lab. $1+ million has been paid to students to help serve clients across the country on projects like urban tree canopy analysis in New York City.

Engage with faculty at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory, a state-of-the-art facility for the study of aquatic ecology and watershed sciences, currently employing 37 graduate and undergraduate students.

Earn a paid summer internship with partners like the Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the World Wildlife Fund.

STUDY ABROAD

IMMERSE YOURSELF: Study abroad in the unparalleled biodiversity of Costa Rica in a 17-credit semester abroad alongside UVM students and faculty with deep connections to the region and its communities.

Or, choose facultyexplore ecosystems in the Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Repu blic, Florida, Ireland, Israel,

U N D E RG R A D UAT E R E S E A RC H

Tanzania and Texas.

EXPLORE ALONGSIDE FACULTY MENTORS ASKING QUESTIONS LIKE: What are the effects of global change on ecosystems and the services they provide?

DIG IN: That’s what environmental sciences major Kunal Palawat ’18 did. Through intensive laboratory, field, and data analysis research both within the Rubenstein School and with faculty across campus, Palawat developed the skills and precision of a research scientist, working to understand soil chemistry and resilience in the face of extreme weather events.

What are the psychological impacts of environmental degradation?

What are the habitat needs of threatened species like lynx?

How can we help forests to be resilient to the impacts of climate change and invasive species?

RU B E N ST E I N S C H O O L O F E N V I RO N M E N T A N D N AT U R A L R E S O U RC E S

led travel courses to

FA C U LT Y

Experts in their field.

(And forest. And lake.)

On the broad expanse of Lake Champlain, Burlington miles off in the distance, ELLEN MARSDEN and her students are in search of lake trout. As they haul in a net full of a squirming, liquid-silver mass of life, the professor says, “This is very exciting, 100 percent wild trout.” Marsden explores why lake trout—a native species that disappeared from Lake Champlain by 1900—has “stunningly, unexpectedly returned.” Her favorite hypothesis: rebounding populations of Mysis shrimp at the base of the food web have given the trout a new start.

“But we don’t know. That’s why we call it research,” she says. “Why is the return of these fish important? Because it’s a sign of recovery. If lake trout can recover after 45 years of trying, it’s possible to recover other species too.”

M E LO S I R A R E S E A RC H V E SS E L

WORK ALONGSIDE FACULTY EXPERTS INCLUDING: CAROL ADAIR, global climate change, ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry AIMÉE CLASSEN, global change, ecosystem ecology, plant-soil interactions TONY D’AMATO, forest ecology and management Almost half of Vermont’s bumblebee species, which are vital pollinators, have either vanished or are in serious decline.

The fate of this critical species is among the many ecosystem issues that TAYLOR RICKETTS studies in his own research and as director of the Gund Institute for Environment at UVM. Based on citations of his scientific papers, he’s listed as one of the world’s most influential researchers.

RACHELLE GOULD, environmental values, human behavior, policy and equity JED MURDOCH, behavior and ecology of mammalian carnivores ERIC ROY, ecological design and nutrient stewardship

IN FACILITIES LIKE: LEED-Platinum Certified AIKEN CENTER THE MELOSIRA, a 45-ft research vessel on Lake Champlain

The sea ice of the Arctic is melting. Professor BINDU PANIKKAR listens to Inuit elders and hunters in northern Canada about how their navigation of the Northwest Passage is changing. It’s one of her projects to understand the links between science, citizens, and the natural world.

RUBENSTEIN ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE LAB FORESTRY SCIENCES LAB

10 UVM Natural Areas

4 UVM Forests

FOR VERMONT

Alma Elaine Ripps ’88, chief of the U.S. National Park Service Office of Policy, was a lead author on the Park Service strategic plan launched in 2011.

AND THE WORLD. Caitlin Drasher ’17 found her academic home—the Rubenstein School wildlife and fisheries biology program— during her first year at UVM. She soon broadened her studies via volunteer work with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. Field research monitoring Vermont’s black bear population, studying the impact of wind power development on habitat, later informed her Honors College senior thesis.

Also critical to Drasher’s growth, the support of a Rubenstein School Perennial Summer Internship that funded and offered academic credit for her work with Vermont Fish and Wildlife. All led directly to her current job as a Bear and Furbearer Technician with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

In our classrooms and in the field, Rubenstein School students find uncommon knowledge, experience, and inspiration that launches life paths and careers in multiple directions.

John O. Niles ’91 is executive director of The Carbon Institute, his latest role in a career focused on developing and influencing climate change policy.

Alejandro Vinueza ’16 is an environmental educator with Christodora, a non-profit that brings outdoor education and experience to New York City public school students.

Jacqueline Cardoza ’16, an environmental studies major at UVM, works in disaster epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control.

As the City of Newark’s first chief sustainability officer, Nathaly Filion ’05 G’10 works to make New Jersey’s largest city healthier and greener.

Gail Kimbell ’74 was the first female chief of the United States Forest Service.

David Seekell ’09, a professor at Umea University in Sweden, studies the impacts of climate change on arctic and boreal lakes.

RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Environmental Sciences Environmental Studies Forestry Natural Resources Parks, Recreation and Tourism Wildlife and Fisheries Biology

Natural Resources (Ph.D.)

Ecological Economics Graduate Certificate

Ecological Design Ecosystem Services Forest & Ecosystem Change Ecology Forest Carbon & Energy Global Change Water Resources, Lake, & Watershed Science

Environmental Studies Forestry Geospatial Technologies Parks, Recreation and Tourism Sports Management Wildlife Biology

Natural Resources (M.S.)with concentrations in:

Leadership for Sustainability (M.P.S. low-residency)

ECOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY Conservation Biology

UNDERGRADUATE MINORS

UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS

THE RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Aquatic Ecology & Watershed Science Environment, Society & Public Affairs Environmental Thought & Culture Forest & Wildlife Sciences

Dual degree (M.E.L.P./M.S. in Natural Resources) with Vermont Law School

ENVIRONMENT & SOCIETY Ecological Economics

LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY & SPATIAL ANALYSIS

Environmental Policy & Planning

Drone Technology

Environmental Thought & Culture

Landscape Ecology

Landscape Analysis & Conservation

Geospatial Sciences Mapping & Modeling Remote Sensing

Natural Resource Sociology, Human Health & Well Being Recreation & Tourism

Wildlife & Landscape Change

READY TO APPLY?

www.uvm.edu/apply

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

www.uvm.edu/rsenr

HAVE QUESTIONS?

(802) 656-2911

rsenr@uvm.edu

A campus, city and state where you will thrive.

THE RUBENSTEIN SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

800 Undergraduate Students 120 Graduate Students

Students investigate the performance of eight watersheds on the green roof of the Aiken Center, our LEED-Platinum Certified building with sustainability features that complement our research and teaching.

47 Full-time Faculty 3,000 Acres of wild laboratory from the peak of Mount Mansfield to the shores of Lake Champlain

#3

TOP GREEN SCHOOL PRINCETON REVIEW

GEORGE D. AIKEN CENTER