Undergraduate Minor

Elisabeth Frasch

Interested in Solving Real-World Problems?

Undergraduate Minor Coordinator

Contact Us

Dr. Erin McKenney
Office phone: (919) 515-5089
Email: eamckenn@ncsu.edu

Don’t wait until after you graduate to start saving the world. Applied Ecology minor undergraduates actively apply ecological concepts to real-world problems while earning their degrees. Our alumni are well-equipped to address local and global challenges associated with a wide variety of important issues, like water quantity and quality, natural resource management, environmental conservation and restoration, climate change, and maintenance of biodiversity. To earn a minor in applied ecology, you will complete challenging courses while participating in an in-depth research experience. Take a look at the experiences our students have on our Instagram page.

Requirements and Electives

For admission, you should first complete BIO 181 and AEC 360 with letter grades of C- or better before contacting the minor coordinator.

For completion: You must complete AEC 360, AEC 400, AEC 492 (At least 3 CR) and at least two additional courses from the ‘optional courses’ list. This will result in a minimum of 16 credit hours. All letter-graded courses must be completed with a C or better.

Required Courses (7 credit hours total)

AEC/PB 360 – Ecology (Prerequisite: C- or better in BIO 181) – 4 credit hours
AEC 400 – Applied Ecology (Prerequisite: AEC/PB 360) – 3 credit hours

Research Experience (3-6 credits)

AEC 492/493 – Learning Experience in Applied Ecology (on or off campus) – at least 3 credit hours

Complete the following steps before enrolling in AEC 493:
  1. Identify a mentor. Your mentor can be faculty at NCSU, faculty at another academic institution, or a research professional that you may connect with (e.g., someone in the NC Wildlife Resources Commission or NC Department of Environmental Quality.  You’ll make that connection by digging into work that individuals do and identifying someone that would be a good fit with your interests.
  2. Work with your mentor to map out an independent research project.  What you do for the experience is entirely up to you and your mentor and could include lab work, field work, or a combination of the two. One thing that we want to ensure with this learning opportunity is that you get the full research experience.  Ideally, you’d work with your mentor to carve out a piece of the project that would give you some experience with how to ask a specific scientific question, how to develop methods to answer that question, how to collect and analyze appropriate data, and how to interpret and contextualize those data.  You’ll then turn all of that into a presentation to be given towards the end of your AEC minor.
  3. Complete the Memorandum of Agreement form, and turn it in to the minor coordinator. The completed form verifies that you and your mentor have agreed on the scope of the research you will complete, and how much time it will take you to complete it.

Electives

Minor Electives (Must choose a minimum of two courses from this list) – at least 6 credit hours:

  • AEC 295 – Special Topics in Applied Ecology (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • AEC 419 – Freshwater Ecology (Prerequisite: C- or better in AEC/PB 360)
  • AEC 420 – Introduction to Fisheries Science (Prerequisite: C- or better in AEC/PB 360)
  • AEC 441/442 – Biology of Fishes (Prerequisite C- or better in AEC/PB 360)
  • AEC 460 – Field Ecology (Prerequisite: C- or better in AEC 360 and ST 311)
  • AEC 495– Advanced Special Topics in Applied Ecology (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • BAE 204 – Intro to Ecological and Environmental Engineering.
  • BIO 220– Marine Biology (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • BIO/FW 353 – Wildlife Management (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • BIO 495 – Ecological and Evolutionary Dimensions of Conservation Biology in the Bahamas
  • BIO 624.004 – Marine Fisheries Ecology
  • CS 213 – Crops: Adaption & Production
  • CS 230 – Introduction to Agroecology (Prerequisite: BIO 105 or BIO 181 or BIO/ZO 160 or BO 200 or BO 205 or HS 201 or CS 213)
  • CS 411 – Crop Ecology (Prerequisite PB 321 or PB 421)
  • CS 430 – Advanced Agroecology
  • ENT 203 – An Introduction to the Honey Bee and Beekeeping
  • ENT 207 – Insects and Human Disease
  • ENT 212 – Basic Entomology
  • ENT 425 – General Entomology (Prerequisite: BIO 181 or BIO 140 or BIO 350)
  • ET 310 – Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
  • FOR 404 – Forest Wildlife Management
  • FW 221 – Conservation of Natural Resources
  • FW 312 – Fisheries Techniques and Management (One week of FWCB summer camp; 1 credit)
  • FW 314 – Coastal Ecology and Management (One week of FWCB summer camp; 1 credit. Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • FW 403 – Urban Wildlife Management
  • FW 405 – Tropical Wildlife Ecology in Nicaragua
  • FW 445 – Human Dimensions of Conservation Biology in the Bahamas
  • FW 453 – Principles of Wildlife Science (Prerequisite: FW 353 and ST 311)
  • FW 465 – African Ecology and Conservation
  • GIS 280 – Intro to GIS
  • HS 201 – The World of Horticulture: Principles and Practices
  • HS 302 – Gardening with Herbaceous Perennials (Prerequisite: BIO 183 or BO 200)
  • HS 303 – Ornamental Plant Identification I (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • HS 304 – Ornamental Plant Identification II (Prerequisite: BIO 181)
  • MEA 150 – Environmental Issues in Water Resources
  • MEA 200 – Introduction to Oceanography
  • MEA 210 – Oceanography Lab
  • MEA 250 – Introduction to Coastal Environments (Prerequisite: MEA 200/210 or MEA 100/110)
  • MEA 251 – Introduction to Coastal Environments Laboratory
  • MEA 469 – Ecology of Coastal Resources (Prerequisite: MEA 250 and MEA 220 or MEA 449)
  • NR 300 – Natural Resource Measurements (Prerequisite: PB 360 or AEC 360 and ST 311)
  • NR 303 – Humans and the Environment
  • NR 350 – International Sustainable Resource Use
  • NR 420 – Watershed and Wetlands Hydrology (Prerequisite: SSC 200 and PB 360 or AEC 360)
  • PB 200 – Plant Life
  • PB 213 – Plants and Civilization (Prerequisite: BIO 125, BIO 105 or PB 200)
  • PB 215 – Medicinal Plants
  • PB 220 – Local Flora (Prerequisite: BIO 125 or PB 200)
  • PB 250 – Plant Biology
  • PB 403 – Systematic Botany (Prerequisite: PB 200, PB 250, BIO 183)
  • PB 464 – Rare Plants of North Carolina (Prerequisite: One of the following-PB 200, PB 220, or PB 403)
  • PB 480 – Introduction to Plant Biotechnology (Prerequisite: BCH 454 or BIT 510 or CS 211 or GN 311 or PB/BIO 414 or PB 421)
  • TOX 415 – Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry
Undergraduate ecology

Undergraduate Courses

Choose from an interesting variety of undergraduate courses such as applied ecology, field ecology and methods, science communication and more.

See the list of undergraduate courses

Apply for the Minor

Apply to the Applied Ecology minor program within MyPack Portal.  Admission will be based upon the student’s academic record, and in most cases no longer requires departmental review.

  1. To apply to Add a Minor, go to: https://go.ncsu.edu/minor_coda
  2. After adding the AEC minor, contact the Undergraduate Minor Coordinator (Dr. Erin McKenney) to be added to the AEC minor listserv.