Blaze Your Trail
Land, water and people are deeply interconnected. The Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments (TFE) concentration prepares students to solve boundary-spanning challenges between land and water, science and management, and environment and society.
We help students develop professional skills and interdisciplinary knowledge through a flexible curriculum in natural and integrative sciences. A broad menu of courses — such as hydrology, forest and freshwater ecosystems or spatial ecology, as well as urban ecosystems, restoration ecology, water finance or human-wildlife conflict — allows students to chart their own path. This flexibility works exceptionally well for students pursuing joint degrees within the Master of Environmental Management program.
Concentration Courses
Core courses - Required
Most of the courses below are 3 credits except where noted. Required courses include one natural science course and one integrative science course, plus two additional courses from either natural or integrative sciences:
- ECS 511—The Climate System (3 credits, fall) 
- ECS 818—Snow, Glaciers, and Climate Change (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 503—Forest Ecosystems (3 credits, spring) 
- ENVIRON 517—Tropical Ecology (3 credits, fall)  
- ENVIRON 541—Soil and Regoliths (3 credits, spring) 
- ENVIRON 567—Spatial Ecology (3 credits, fall) ENVIRON 714—Landscape Ecology
- ENVIRON 623—Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 731—Dendrology (3 credits, fall)
- ENVIRON 734—Watershed Hydrology (3 credits, every other fall) 
- ENVIRON 743—Food Web Theory (3 credits, fall)  
- ENVIRON 744—Freshwater Ecosystems (3 credits, spring) 
- ENVIRON 748A—Rangeland Ecology & Management (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 790—Conservation Reptiles and Amphibians—Special Topics (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 812—Wetlands Ecology and Management (3 credits, fall)
- ECS 524—Water Quality Health (3 credits, spring) 
- ECS 525—Ocean and Freshwater Pollution (3 credits, fall) 
- ECS 550—Climate and Society (3 credits, ad hoc) 
- ECS 570—Geohazards and Disaster Risk (3 credits, spring) 
- ENVIRON 501—Environmental Toxicology (3 credits, fall)
- ENVIRON 590—Sustainable Agroecosystems and Food Security—Special Topics (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 617—Restoration Ecology (3 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 646—Urban Ecology (3 credits, fall)
- ENVIRON 703—Conservation Biology: Theory and Practice (3 credits, fall)
- ENVIRON 705L - Ecological Management of Forest Systems Silviculture (4 credits, spring)
- ENVIRON 732—Hydrology in Environmental Management (3 credits, every other fall)
- ENVIRON 774 - One Health: From Philosophy to Practice (3 credits, fall)
Elective Course Suggestions
The Nicholas School offers a wide variety of environmental social sciences that can enhance and shape TFE curricula, such as:
- ENVIRON 520, 521—Resource and Environmental Economics I, II (1.5 credits each, fall); or ENVIRON 520, 680—Resources and Environmental Economics I, Economics of Forest Resources (1.5 credits each, fall)
- ENVIRON 550—Land Use Principles and Policy (3 credits, fall)
- ENVIRON 577—Environmental Politics (3 credits, spring) 
- ENVIRON 835—Environmental Law (3 credits, fall) 
- LAW 320—Water Resources Law (2 credits, spring)
TFE Primary concentration pathway
The course-based pathway will be available in a limited capacity to students matriculating in fall 2025 and will be fully available and the default pathway for students matriculating in fall 2026 and beyond. Proposed courses and requirements are subject to change. Please contact your primary concentration faculty chair with any questions.
ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½s whose primary concentration is TFE will choose one of two pathways. Whether through advanced coursework in the course-based pathway or the Master’s Project (MP) pathway, students will gain tangible deliverables, professional growth and preparation for their next steps after graduation. Most students will follow the course-based pathway.
The TFE course-based pathway offers options from approved courses and requires a minimum of six additional graded credit hours. ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½s whose primary concentration is TFE may fulfill the 6-credit requirement by taking one professional focus course:
- (New) Life Cycles of Environmental Projects (Cada)
- (New) Strategic Analysis in Environmental Management (Doyle)
- (New) Field Ecology (Cagle)
- Forestry Capstone (MEM/MF concurrent degree students)
- Environmental Law & Policy Clinic
- Design Climate
- Bass Connections (with approval)
Plus, one additional core TFE science (foundational or specializing) course
Expectations
Coming in: In addition to the school-wide prerequisites in calculus and statistics, which are required for all concentrations, to be successful in the TFE concentration, It is strongly recommended that students have a solid foundation in environmental natural science (e.g., ecology, geoscience, environmental science) or environmental social science (e.g., geography, environmental studies) prior to enrolling.
Depending on student interests and goals, such preparation might include coursework in ecology, environmental engineering, or geosciences. It is strongly recommended that students have one semester of Principles of Ecology or similar (200- or 300-level) course in environmental science and one advanced undergraduate course in ecology, earth systems science or related environmental science. Our flexible program allows students to broaden and deepen expertise regardless of their prior educational background.
During the program: You will develop skills and tools for the assessment, conservation and restoration of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Examples include measuring forest carbon stocks, tracing water pollutants to their sources, and evaluating the effects of habitat loss and restoration on wildlife populations. Your coursework, research projects and internships will provide a range of opportunities for tailoring these skill sets to meet your career goals.
I chose TFE because of how all-encompassing it is. I came to grad school without a clear path forward but with a passion for enhancing the relationship between communities and their surrounding ecosystems. TFE allows me to connect all of my interests - ecology, biology, social equity, and community-based management - and explore multiple paths for affecting change with respect to humans and their environment."
–Fiona price, MEM'26
Transferable Skills
In this concentration, students will gain skills in:
- Systems thinking
- Project design
- Adaptive management
- Human-environment interactions
Through their curriculum design, students will gain specific skills in focal areas such as:
- Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem assessment
- Landscape analysis and scaling
- Habitat restoration
- Climate impact analysis
- Floodplain and wetland delineation
- Pollutant source attribution
- Ecosystem services assessment
- Wildlife monitoring
- Reserve design
- Hazard assessment
Knowledge Gained
ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½s can craft a course curriculum to deepen and broaden their knowledge in areas as diverse as:
- Climate dynamics
- Watershed hydrology and biogeochemistry
- Environmental finance
- Human-wildlife conflict
- Urban environments
- Soil resources
- Landscape ecology
- Food systems
- Ecosystem services and nature-based solutions
- Biodiversity
Enrich Your Experience
Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments students will find a wide range of opportunities to expand their academic experience and get connected to projects and people that align with their interests. We recommend exploring these programs to get started:
- Stanback Fellowship Program (partnership between the Nicholas School and nonprofit organizations)
- (university initiative based at the Nicholas School)
- (student organization)
- (student organization)
