Renewable Natural Resources (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.   

Program Overview

LSU has a long tradition in natural resource education and research, beginning with its first forestry class in 1911 and continuing to the present School of Renewable Natural Resources (RNR). The importance of renewable resources to Louisiana is evident in the $4 billion annual economic impact to the state from natural resource commodities (e.g., timber harvesting, wood products, recreational hunting, hunting leases, recreational and commercial fishing). However, the benefits of sustaining viable natural resources go far beyond their economic value and include a diversity of ecosystem services, including storm amelioration, water quality improvement, wildlife habitat, hydrologic processing, and maintenance of terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. Today, programs in RNR are focused on both basic and applied research and teaching in the fields of aquaculture, fisheries, forestry, forest products, watershed function, wetlands, and wildlife. Faculty members in RNR have established close working relationships with private landowners, private industry, commodity groups, nonprofit conservation groups, and federal and state agencies, both in the U.S. and abroad. Combined with the research expertise of RNR faculty, the abundance and diversity of renewable natural resources in Louisiana provide a rich environment for graduate study.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials supplied by third-party sources must be mailed to: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. All documents will be stored electronically, and RNR faculty will have access to all material submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying for graduate study. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL (minimum 213 on computer-based, 550 on paper-based, or 79 on Internet-based exams), IELTS (minimum 6.5) score, or PTE (minimum 59) score. The following documents should accompany all applications submitted to the Graduate School: transcript(s) of undergraduate study, transcript(s) of all graduate work, GRE scores (verbal and quantitative), three letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. The statement of purpose should include:

1. Educational and work experience in the chosen area of concentration.
2. Educational goals and career plans.
3. Reasons for pursuing graduate studies in the school.
4. A brief outline of research interests and potential thesis topics.
5. Any other information that would assist faculty members with their admission recommendation.

If Graduate School admissions criteria are met, all documents will be forwarded to the graduate advisor in the school and evaluated by the appropriate faculty group for an admission recommendation.

Financial Assistance

Graduate research assistantships are awarded to incoming graduate students on a competitive basis and typically range from $20,000 to $25,000 per year. Outstanding applicants in forestry-related areas of research are eligible to compete for Gilbert Foundation Assistantships, which range from $27,500 to $31,000 per year and include a full tuition exemption. Rockefeller Scholarships, with awards of $1,000 per year, are available to Louisiana students and to out-of-state students after one year of residence in the state. Wildlife students conducting waterfowl research are eligible to compete for the Bosch Memorial Assistantship. All graduate students can apply for small travel grants from the Graduate School to attend scientific meetings, and wildlife and fisheries students are also eligible for Glasgow Travel Grants administered by RNR. To be considered for fellowships and state-funded assistantships, applications must be received by August 15 for the following spring semester and February 1 for the following fall semester. Students seeking research assistantships may apply at any time of the year, but are encouraged to send all application materials to the LSU Graduate School at least 3 months before the start of the semester of planned enrollment.  As most assistantships in the school are funded by grants and contracts obtained by faculty members, prospective students are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members regarding funding availability before applying.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here)

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Julie A. Anderson Lively (6A) • Marine fisheries research and extension
James W. Avault (EM) • Aquaculture
C. Fred Bryan (EM) • Atchafalaya and Mississippi River ecology, estuarine nursery function
Christopher C. Green (M) • Physiology and nutrition of aquatic organisms
Reagan M. Errera (3F) • Oceanography, phytoplankton ecology
Michael D. Kaller (M) • Stream fisheries, macroinvertebrate ecology, statistical analyses
William E. Kelso (M) • Fisheries management, fish-habitat interactions, fish ecology
Megan LaPeyre (3F) • Wetland fisheries, plant ecology, wetland ecology, coastal marsh management
Charles G. Lutz (M) • Aquaculture and fisheries extension
Robert C. Reigh (M) • Fish and crustacean nutrition, feed development, feeding methods
Robert P. Romaire (EM) • Water quality management, crustacean aquaculture, crawfish production
D. Allen Rutherford (M) • Lotic fish assemblages, ecology of larval and juvenile fish
John E. Supan (3F) • Molluscan shellfish culture, management, depuration, and sanitation
Terrance Tiersch (M) • Molecular genetics, hybridization, polyploidy, cryopreservation
Wei Xu (6A) • Molecular genetics and physiology

Forestry

Michael A. Blazier (3F) • Forest management, timber production, fertilization
Quang V. Cao (M) • Mensuration, forest biometrics
Jim L. Chambers (EM) • Forest ecology and tree physiology
S. Joseph Chang (M) • Forest economics, wood products utilization and marketing
Terry Clason (EM) • Intensive pine silviculture
Cornelis de Hoop (M) • Environmental safety and business in forest products
Thomas J. Dean (M) • Quantitative silviculture, production ecology, stand dynamics
Hallie Dozier (M) • Population demography of invasive plant species, ecology of plant invasions
Richard F. Keim (7M) • Ecology, management, and restoration of bottomland hardwood ecosystems
Zhijun Liu (M) • Tree physiology, cultivation of medicinal plants, micropropagation
Christopher S. Reid (3F) • Plant taxonomy, grassland ecology and restoration
Richard P. Vlosky (M) • Wood products marketing, technology applications to improve wood products
Qinglin Wu (M) • Wood drying moisture relationships, and hygroscopic shrinkage and swelling
Brett Wolfe (6A) • Forest ecology, plant ecophysiology, tropical forests
Yi-Jun Xu (M) • Hydrologic and biogeochemical processes and modeling

Wildlife

Bret A. Collier (6A) • Ecology and management of upland wildlife
Robert B. Hamilton (EM) • Avian ecology
Sammy L. King (3F) • Wetland ecology, wildlife and habitat management
Ashley M. Long (6A) • Wildlife extension, wildlife ecology and management
John Andrew Nyman (M) • Wetland wildlife management and ecology, coastal marsh management
Kevin Michael Ringelman (6A) • Waterfowl Ecology and Management
Philip C. Stouffer (M) • Conservation biology, avian ecology, neotropical migratory birds
Sabrina S. Taylor (M) • Conservation genetics, management of rare species

Programs

• Renewable Natural Resources, M.S.

• Renewable Natural Resources, Ph.D.