Environment Major - Renewable Resource Management (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.) (63 credits)
Offered by: Bieler School of Environment
Degree: Bachelor of Science (Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Program credit weight: 63
Program Description
This domain (63 credits including core) is open only to students in the B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.) Major in Environment or B.Sc. Major in Environment program.
Renewable resource management is an emerging field that focuses on the ecosystem structures and processes required to sustain the delivery, to humanity, of ecosystem goods and services such as food, clean water and air, essential nutrients, and the provision of beauty and inspiration. Renewable resource management recognizes humans as integral components of ecosystems and is used to develop goals that are consistent with sustainability and ecosystem maintenance.
The Renewable Resource Management domain provides students with an understanding of:
- the interactions between physical and biological factors that determine the nature and dynamics of populations and entities in the natural environment;
- the ways in which ecosystems can be managed to meet specific goals for the provision of goods and services;
- the economic and social factors that determine how ecosystems are managed;
- the ways in which management of natural resources can affect the capability of natural ecosystems to continue to supply human needs in perpetuity; and
- the approaches and technologies required to monitor and analyze the dynamics of natural and managed ecosystems.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites or Corequisites
All students in this program MUST take the following pre- or corequisite courses:
One of the following biology courses or CEGEP equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objective 00XU):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 112 | Cell and Molecular Biology. | 3 |
Cell and Molecular Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology. | ||
| LSCI 211 | Biochemistry 1. | 3 |
Biochemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism. | ||
One of the following chemistry courses or CEGEP equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objective 00XV):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 212 | Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. | 4 |
Introductory Organic Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry. | ||
| FDSC 230 | Organic Chemistry. | 4 |
Organic Chemistry. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Atomic and molecular structure, modern concepts of bonding, overview of functional groups, conformational analysis, stereochemistry, mechanisms and reactions of aliphatic compounds. | ||
Suggested First Year (U1) Courses
For suggestions on courses to take in your first year (U1), you can consult the "Bieler School of Environment Student Handbook" available on the website (http://www.mcgill.ca/environment), or contact Ms. Kathy Roulet, the Program Adviser (kathy.roulet@mcgill.ca).
Program Requirements
Note: Students are required to take a maximum of 30 credits at the 200 level and a minimum of 12 credits at the 400 level or higher in this program. This includes core and required courses, but does not include the domain prerequisites or corequisites listed above.
Location Note: When planning their schedule and registering for courses, students should verify where each course is offered because courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Core: Required Courses (18 credits)
Location Note: Core required courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. You should register in Section 001 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Downtown campus, and in Section 051 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Macdonald campus.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVR 200 | The Global Environment. | 3 |
The Global Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change. | ||
| ENVR 201 | Society, Environment and Sustainability. | 3 |
Society, Environment and Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used. | ||
| ENVR 202 | The Evolving Earth. | 3 |
The Evolving Earth. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems. | ||
| ENVR 203 | Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. | 3 |
Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies. | ||
| ENVR 301 | Environmental Research Design. | 3 |
Environmental Research Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise. | ||
| ENVR 400 | Environmental Thought. | 3 |
Environmental Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars. | ||
Core: Complementary Course - Senior Research Project (3 credits)
Only 3 credits will be applied to the program; extra credits will count as electives.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVR 401 | Environmental Research. | 3 |
Environmental Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer. | ||
| ENVR 451 | Research in Panama. | 6 |
Research in Panama. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc. | ||
| FSCI 444 | Barbados Research Project. | 6 |
Barbados Research Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically. | ||
Domain: Complementary Courses (42 credits)
42 credits of complementary courses are selected as follows:
9 credits - Basic Principles of Ecosystem Processes and Diversity
6 credits - 3 credits from each category of Statistics and GIS
6 credits - Advanced Ecosystem Components
6 credits - Advanced Ecological Processes
6 credits - Social Processes
9 credits - Ecosystem Components or Management of Ecosystems
Basic Principles of Ecosystem Processes
9 credits of basic principles of ecosystem processes and diversity are selected as follows:
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 210 | Organisms 1. | 3 |
Organisms 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory. | ||
| AEBI 211 | Organisms 2. | 3 |
Organisms 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to the biology of heterotrophs, focusing on animal diversity from the perspectives of phylogenetics, physiology, and ecology. Introduction to major animal taxa, comparing and contrasting these taxa, and exploration of the relationships among them. | ||
| BIOL 305 | Animal Diversity. | 3 |
Animal Diversity. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity. | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 308 | Ecological Dynamics. | 3 |
Ecological Dynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics. | ||
| ENVB 305 | Population and Community Ecology. | 3 |
Population and Community Ecology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice. | ||
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVB 210 | The Biophysical Environment. | 3 |
The Biophysical Environment. Terms offered: Fall 2025 With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system. | ||
| GEOG 305 | Soils and Environment. | 3 |
Soils and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance). | ||
Statistics
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEMA 310 | Statistical Methods 1. | 3 |
Statistical Methods 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs. | ||
| BIOL 373 | Biometry. | 3 |
Biometry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Elementary statistical methods in biology. Introduction to the analysis of biological data with emphasis on the assumptions behind statistical tests and models. Use of statistical techniques typically available on computer packages. | ||
GIS Methods
One of:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVB 529 | GIS for Natural Resource Management. | 3 |
GIS for Natural Resource Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems. | ||
| GEOG 201 | Introductory Geo-Information Science. | 3 |
Introductory Geo-Information Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses. | ||
Advanced Ecosystem Components
6 credits of advanced ecosystem components selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 553 | Neotropical Environments. | 3 |
Neotropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge. | ||
| GEOG 372 | Running Water Environments. | 3 |
Running Water Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the physical habitat conditions found in streams, rivers, estuaries and deltas. Based on the laws governing flow of water and sediment transport, it emphasizes differences among these environments, in terms of channel form, flow patterns, substrate composition and mode of evolution. Flooding, damming, channelisation, forestry impacts. | ||
| PLNT 358 | Flowering Plant Diversity. | 3 |
Flowering Plant Diversity. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow. | ||
| SOIL 326 | Soils in a Changing Environment. | 3 |
Soils in a Changing Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Soil processes responsible for soil formation will be studied and the impact of changes to the physical and chemical environment will be discussed. | ||
| WILD 307 | Natural History of Vertebrates. | 3 |
Natural History of Vertebrates. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The diversity and natural history of Canadian vertebrates illustrated with trophic, phylogenetic, and macroecological approaches. | ||
Advanced Ecological Processes
6 credits of advanced ecological processes selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 343 | Biodiversity in the Caribean. | 3 |
Biodiversity in the Caribean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean. | ||
| BIOL 432 | Limnology. | 3 |
Limnology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems. | ||
| BIOL 465 | Conservation Biology. | 3 |
Conservation Biology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues. | ||
| BREE 217 | Hydrology and Water Resources. 1 | 3 |
Hydrology and Water Resources. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways. | ||
| ENVB 410 | Ecosystem Ecology. | 3 |
Ecosystem Ecology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data. | ||
| ENVB 500 | Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology. | 3 |
Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined. | ||
| GEOG 322 | Environmental Hydrology. 1 | 3 |
Environmental Hydrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems. | ||
| MICR 331 | Microbial Ecology. | 3 |
Microbial Ecology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology. | ||
| NRSC 333 | Pollution and Bioremediation. | 3 |
Pollution and Bioremediation. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management. | ||
| PLNT 460 | Plant Ecology. | 3 |
Plant Ecology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales. | ||
- 1
Note: you can take BREE 217 Hydrology and Water Resources. or GEOG 322 Environmental Hydrology., but not both.
Social Processes
6 credits of social processes selected as follows:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 333 | Resource Economics. 1 | 3 |
Resource Economics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized. | ||
| ANTH 339 | Ecological Anthropology. | 3 |
Ecological Anthropology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth. | ||
| ECON 405 | Natural Resource Economics. 1 | 3 |
Natural Resource Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature. | ||
| ENVR 421 | Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. | 3 |
Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students. | ||
| GEOG 340 | Sustainability in the Caribbean. | 3 |
Sustainability in the Caribbean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region. | ||
| GEOG 382 | Principles Earth Citizenship. | 3 |
Principles Earth Citizenship. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Foundations and applications of earth citizenship. Foundations: sustainability, tragedy of the commons, dominion, privatization and public welfare, resilience, precautionary principle, and land ethic are critically considered. Applications: implications for relationship between human and natural economies; human population size and control; and morality of modern agricultural and forestry practices. | ||
| GEOG 498 | Humans in Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humans in Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities. | ||
| RELG 270 | Religious Ethics and the Environment. | 3 |
Religious Ethics and the Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Environmental potential of various religious traditions and secular perspectives, including animal rights, ecofeminism, and deep ecology. | ||
- 1
Note: You may take AGEC 333 Resource Economics. and ECON 405 Natural Resource Economics., but not both.
Ecosystem Components or Management of Ecosystems
9 credits of ecosystem components or management of ecosystems selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGRI 452 | Water Resources in Barbados. | 3 |
Water Resources in Barbados. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Physical environment challenges, centered on water, being faced by an island nation. Guest speakers, field study tours and laboratory tests. Private, government and NGO institutional context of conservation strategies, and water quantity and quality analyses for water management specific to Barbados. | ||
| AGRI 550 | Sustained Tropical Agriculture. | 3 |
Sustained Tropical Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation. | ||
| ENVB 437 | Assessing Environmental Impact. | 3 |
Assessing Environmental Impact. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations. | ||
| ENVR 422 | Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. | 3 |
Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation. | ||
| GEOG 302 | Environmental Management 1. | 3 |
Environmental Management 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes. | ||
| GEOG 404 | Environmental Management 2. | 3 |
Environmental Management 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama). | ||
| WILD 401 | Fisheries and Wildlife Management. | 3 |
Fisheries and Wildlife Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed. | ||
| WOOD 441 | Integrated Forest Management. | 3 |
Integrated Forest Management. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The study of silviculture and silvics and their application to forest management to sustain the production of wood and other ecological goods and services such as wildlife, water and landscape in natural forests and rural environments (agroforestry). Acquisition of practical skills in forest surveying and computer simulation of forest growth. | ||