Master of Park and Protected Area Management - (M.P.P.M China)

Start building the knowledge and applied skills you need to successfully manage protected areas as you prepare to take on a leadership role within the field of parks and protected area management.

What you will learn

Through an integration of social and ecological sciences, you will gain a holistic understanding of protected area values, services, and governance, along with the expertise to operationalize those values through effective planning and management of public use, concessions, finance strategies, community collaboration, and human capacity development.

As our fragile natural environments face increasing pressure, effective conservation will require continually facing new challenges through adaptive management. Protected area planning will become a larger part of regional land use planning, design, and management of biological corridors – all elements which will become more essential for the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

Study in a curriculum developed by expert faculty

CSU’s faculty and associates have been actively engaged in protected area planning for decades at every level – from operational, public use and master planning for small public and private and municipal reserves, to work on national protected area systems and both national and regional corridor planning and gap analyses for some of the most biologically diverse nations in the world.

Department faculty have also participated in management effectiveness studies, both at the individual park and reserve level, and overall evaluations of the work of conservation agencies. Staff and associates of the Center for Protected Area Management strive to be on the cutting edge of protected area good practice research. One such example includes a recent collaborative project with the US National Park Service to examine global good practice in mitigation of sound and light pollution in parks.

To learn about the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources department and Central China Normal University's partnership, check out this article and read about the MTM collaboration and students program experiences.

Gain the skills to further your career and make a meaningful impact on the world while doing something you love. Now is an excellent time to start pursuing a new career or advancement opportunity in the field of park and protected area management.

This master’s program has been developed to help you build in-depth knowledge and applied skills to succeed in a variety of careers, including but not limited to:

• Director or Assistant-Director of Parks and Recreation
• Program Manager (Parks and Recreation Department)
• National, State, or Regional Parks Planner
• Protected Areas Planning Manager
• Nature Reserve/Preserve Manager or Director
• Parks and Protected Areas Researcher
• Conservation and Land Management Consultant
• Manager of Operations (parks and protected areas field)
• Manager of Communications (parks and protected areas field)

This program requires completion of a minimum of 35 credits.

Required courses:

• NRRT 630 – Protected Areas and Global Conservation (3 cr.)
• NRRT 631 – Protected Area Planning and Management (3 cr.)
• NRRT 634 – Protected Area Policy and Finance (3 cr.)
• NRRT 635 – Infrastructure Management in Protected Areas (3 cr.)
• NRRT 637 – Leadership, Management, and Protected Areas (3 cr.)
• NRRT 639 – Threats and Frontiers in Protected Areas (3 cr.)
• NRRT 640 – Protected Area Communication (3 cr.)
• NTEC 601 – Natural protected area tourism development and use (3 cr.)
• NTEC 602 – Natural eco-system service function monitoring and assessment (3 cr.)
• NTEC 603 – Natural-based tourism ecology and social impact and regulation (3 cr.)
• NTEC 604 – Big-data analysis based natural protected area management (3 cr.)
• NTEC 605 – Smart technology and use in natural-based tourism (2 cr.)

Please review the admission requirements for this program before applying.

Admission Requirements

• Regionally-accredited bachelor's degree
• 3.0 GPA on all undergraduate coursework*

Note: GRE scores are not required.

*Exceptions to GPA requirement are made on a case-by-case basis.

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