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Receive a graduate education from an accredited institution.

Applied Natural Resource Economics MS Program

Natural resource economics examines how people and organizations use, manage, and allocate natural resources while balancing economic, environmental, and policy considerations. In Michigan Tech’s MS in Applied Natural Resource Economics, you'll examine these tradeoffs through the economic analysis of energy, minerals, forests, fisheries, and other resources. Draw on perspectives from business, the natural sciences, engineering, and public policy to understand how resource decisions affect people, communities, and the environment. Are you ready?

The accelerated Master's Program is available for current Michigan Tech students.

Who Is This Program For?

This degree may be a good fit for students who want to examine natural-resource choices through an economic lens. Consider this MS program if you want to study the incentives and tradeoffs shaping resource decisions; evaluate markets, policies, and environmental consequences; and apply economic methods to questions involving forests, fisheries, energy, or minerals.

What You'll Study

Michigan Tech’s MS in Applied Natural Resource Economics is a flexible program that combines economic analysis, project evaluation, and statistical methods with flexible electives in fields such as finance and forestry. Through a thesis or independent study project, you'll develop specialized knowledge, strengthen their analytical and communication skills, and investigate topics such as fisheries management, carbon sequestration, resource extraction, and sustainability. Students in the program not only participate in research, they also publish it.

Where You'll Apply Your Knowledge and Skills

MTU's master's degree in natural resource economics provides you with expertise and approaches to evaluate resource projects, compare policy alternatives, and examine how markets or incentives influence the management of forests, fisheries, energy, and minerals.

You could tackle these questions in natural-resource agencies, policy organizations, and resource-sector consulting. For instance, the U.S. Geological Survey and USDA Forest Service are organizations that evaluate resource and environmental conditions; state natural-resource agencies also make decisions where economics and stewardship intersect.

Current graduates are employed around the globe with careers in finance, government, consulting, and more.

Delivery Options
- Accelerate: MS
- On-Campus: MS

Applied Natural Resource Economics Program Details

Choose a specific degree option or delivery type to learn more about the applied natural resource economics program at Michigan Tech.

On-Campus Programs

MS, Applied Natural Resource Economics: Thesis Option

This option requires a research thesis prepared under the supervision of the advisor. The thesis describes a research investigation and its results. The scope of the research topic for the thesis should be defined in such a way that a full-time student could complete the requirements for a master’s degree in 12 months or three semesters following the completion of coursework by regularly scheduling graduate research credits.

The minimum requirements are as follows:

Total Credit Requirements
Option Parts	Credits
Coursework (minimum)	20 Credits
Thesis research	6-10 Credits
Total (minimum)	30 Credits

Distribution of Coursework Credit
Distribution	Credits
5000-6000 series (minimum)	12 Credits
3000-4000 (maximum)	12 Credits

Programs may have stricter requirements and may require more than the minimum number of credits listed here.

Accelerated MS, Applied Natural Resource Economics

Program Specific

2 Letters of Recommendation
Overall GPA of 3.0 or greater
Résumé/ Curriculum vitae
No GRE required

Eligible Undergraduate Majors

All majors

Additional Program Information

Want to learn more about applied natural resource economics at Michigan Tech? Visit the department for more information:

Contact

Graduate Director

Jenny Apriesnig

Graduate Assistant

Sample Areas of Interest

Select areas of interest to help customize your applied natural resource economics MS. Sample areas include:

Energy Economics
Market Failure and the Environment
Mineral Economics
Natural Resource Economics

View the full listing for this program.

Application Process and Admissions Requirements

Using a holistic approach, our graduate admissions team reviews applications on an individual and ongoing basis. Fill out our free graduate application online to apply to any of our programs. Official transcripts and scores are not required for the initial application, but you will need to upload them later.

Graduate Admissions Process

Applying to your graduate program is free (no application fees) and fast (no official transcripts or test scores are needed to start). The application process involves three easy steps. Please note that international applicants are required to pay a non-refundable $10 processing fee per application.

See Admissions Steps.

Graduate Admissions Options

Michigan Tech offers several admissions options in order to meet the educational needs of students from a variety of backgrounds. Students should review the options available to them and apply for the program that will best help them achieve their personal educational goals.

See Admissions Options

Graduate Admissions Requirements

To be considered for admission to your program as either a degree- or certificate-seeking student, you need to:

have a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution, and
be prepared for advanced study in your chosen field, as demonstrated by your previous degree and your scholastic record.

See additional application requirements, including required materials:

Student Statements

Official Transcripts

Program-Specific Requirements

Program Specific

2 Letters of Recommendation
GRE/GMAT not required
Admitted students generally have an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale.

International Students

TOEFL scores as of January 21, 2026: Recommended Score of 4.5
- For tests taken before January 21, 2026: Recommended Score of 79 iBT
IELTS: Required Minimum Overall Band Score of 6.5
English Proficiency is required for all applicants who do not come from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand

Michigan Tech requires a minimum 4.5 overall TOEFL or 6.5 overall IELTS score.

Admissions Decisions

Made on a rolling basis

Recommended Deadline

Apply at least a semester in advance of projected admission to improve your chances of receiving funding.

International Student Requirements

International Students must apply and be accepted into a degree-granting program in order to earn a graduate certificate. A non-refundable $10 processing fee per application is required.

See International Applicants

Accredited by HLC

Michigan Tech has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1928. We offer over 125 graduate certificates, master's degrees, and PhD programs to provide our students and the world with what tomorrow needs.

Who You'll Learn From and Work With

Collaborate with faculty who are natural resource experts who research and apply economic methods to tricky resource and environmental issues, such as environmental damage assessment, metal market economics and policy, community-mining industry conflicts, natural resource management and policy, urban sprawl and natural resources in Michigan, and the Great Lakes environment and fisheries. Mineral economics studies are a traditional strength of the applied natural resource economics program.

Research from our faculty has been published in top-tier journals in the fields of environmental and natural resource economics, including Ecological Economics, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, and the Journal of Sustainable Development.

Where You'll Study and Do Research

Global or local focus—you decide. While you work on your master's in Applied Natural Resource Economics degree at Michigan Tech, you’ll be located in the Upper Peninsula, an area whose history has been shaped by forestry and mining. Forge additional connections to resource-based research by accessing our research centers and institutes, such as the Great Lakes Research Center.

Faculty Spotlight

Jenny L. Apriesnig

Jenny Apriesnig
Assistant Professor of Economics, College of Business

"Economics is everywhere."

Natural resource economics is highly interdisciplinary, so understanding how we manage and value resources will only become more important as policy, technology, and markets evolve. Apriesnig works to create models that couple economic and ecological systems so that ecosystem disturbances and policy changes can be more comprehensively evaluated.

Program Faculty