Year One: Foundation Year Courses

Course code

Course title

Credits

Priority

ENL 500

Writing for Graduate Studies

3

Required

NATS 510

Global Environmental Awareness

3

Required

RESR 525

Research Methodology

3

Required

Subtotal

9

Basic Major Courses

Course code

Course title

Credits

Priority

NATS 514

Database Management

3

Required

NATS 515

Environment Health and Toxicology

3

Required

NATS 516

Pollution control and Management

3

Required

NATS 517

Ecological Restoration

3

Required

NATS513

Advance Climate Change

3

Required

N/A

Elective courses

6

Required

Subtotal

21

Year Two: Core Major Courses

Course code

Course title

Credits

Priority

NATS 521

Negotiation skill in Environmental Dispute Resolution

3

Required

NATS 526

GIS and Remote Sensing for Natural Resource management

3+1

Required

NATS 527

Integrated Watershed management

3

Required

NATS 528

Conservation Biology

3

Required

NATS 529

Biogeography

3

Required

Subtotal

16

Graduation Path (3 credit)

Course code

Course title

Credits

Priority

NATS 599

Master’s Thesis

6

Required

Subtotal

6

Total

52

Course code

Course title

Credits

Priority

NATS 530

Selected Topics in Environmental Studies

3

Elective

NATS 532

Payment for Ecosystem Service

3

Elective

NATS 533

Marine Ecology

3

Elective

NATS 534

Environmental Microbiology

3

Elective

NATS 535

Advance Forest Ecology

3

Elective

NATS 536

Advance Wetland Ecology

3

Elective

NATS 537

Limnology and Aquatic Biology

3

Elective

NATS 538

Biological Oceanography

3

Elective

NATS 539

Appropriate Environmental Technology

3

Elective

NATS310

Environment and Sustainability

3

Elective

NATS311

Geographic Information System-II

3

Elective

NATS312

Environmental Ethics, Policy & Planning

3

Elective

NATS410

Environmental Governance

3

Elective

NATS411

Environmental spatial analysis

3

Elective

NATS321

Wetland Ecology

3

Elective

NATS322

Taxonomy of Flora & Fauna +Lab

3+1

Elective

NATS323

Forest Ecology+ Site visit

3

Elective

BIO321

Invertebrate Zoology+ Lab

3+1

Elective

BIO322

Vertebrate Zoology Lab

3+1

Elective

BIO323

Marine Biology

3

Elective

NATS421

Environmental conservation

3

Elective

NATS422

Integrated Water Resource Management

3

Elective

NATS423

Introduction to Integrated Natural Resource Management

3

Elective

NATS424

Integrated Coastal Management

3

Elective

NATS425

Freshwater Ecology & Management + Lab

3+1

Elective

NATS426

Forest Inventory

3

Elective

NATS402

Environmental Impact Assessment & Sustainable Development +Site Visit

3+1

Elective

NATS405

Climate Change

3

Elective

ENL 500

Writing for Graduate Studies

This course covers various aspects of Basic English grammar and writing such as tenses, conditional sentences, reported speech, articles, subject-verb agreements, punctuations, connectives, etc. The course also discusses in detail the elements of a thesis and dissertation and the different styles of a research paper.

NATS 510

Global Environmental Awareness

Attention will be focused on patterns of resource availability, human impacts on the natural resources base, and the individual perception of the world about him/her (inscape), which results in a highly discriminating way of modeling landscape to match inner vision. It aims at providing students how to critically examine their role as a participant in the societal process of impacting the environment.

RESR 525

Research Methodology

This course is meant to strengthen students’ capabilities to conduct research and to write scientific papers. Focus is given to research purpose, conceptual context, research questions, research methods, reliability/validity, and report writing. Each student will select a research topic, develop a research proposal, pilot test the research design, and present and analyze the results in a final paper not to exceed 15 pages. A mock review of student proposal will take place at the end of the course.

NATS 514

Database Management

This course provides students an understanding of data modeling concepts and the relational data model for the storage and retrieval of information. The retrieval of information stresses the formal query languages and industrial-standard query language.

Pre-requisite: Basic understanding of computer and mathematics

NATS 515

Environment Health and Toxicology

This course examines the environment as a factor of human’s diseases. The primary fundamental is on identifying the biological mechanism and the effects of biological, chemical, and physical agents on human health. It emphasizes understanding the principle of toxicology as they apply to understand toxicant-human interactions.

Pre-requisite: Introduction to environmental toxicology

NATS 516

Pollution control and Management

This course instills students the skills to recognize pollution sources and methods of control for reducing adverse effects in the ambient environment. It focuses on fundamentals and practice of pollution prevention through decisions about resources, product life cycles, residual and emission management and sustainable engineering progress in the development of pollution prevention programs.

Pre-requisite: Environmental pollution and management

NATS 517

Ecological Restoration

The course equips the students with introduction to ecological restoration of damaged ecosystems. The application of ecological principle to restore biological communities, ecological processes, and species on degraded or altered landscapes will be discussed. Furthermore, the examination of philosophical base of restoration as well as the social, biological and political forces that impact the success of any restoration project will also be covered in this course.

Pre-requisite: General ecology

NATS513

Advance Climate Change

This advance climate change course introduces students to climate change as a global, intergenerational, moral and political problem. It explores the way that climate change strains major Western moral theories, understandings of individual responsibility, the place of science in society, and the ability of current democracies to deal with long-term problems and issues of global justice. During this course, students will analyze major debates over the environment, climate change, and related technologies; assessing how they are portrayed by experts, advocates, and the media; and the implications for effective scientific communication, and policymaker engagement.

Pre-requisite: Knowledge of basic climate change science or NATS405

NATS 521

Negotiation skill in Environmental Dispute Resolution

This course develops skills in bargaining and negotiation as they can be applied to the resolution of environmental and other disputes. It will help the students prepare for and carry out a negotiation, become a more effective communicator and listener, and understand the psychological dimensions inherent in negotiation processes. Additionally, the course will examine mechanisms for assessing negotiations, facilitation and mediation.

NATS 526

GIS and Remote Sensing for Natural Resource management

The overall aim of this course is to provide students with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to understand the uses and limitations of geospatial information technologies including remote sensing, global positioning systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for natural resource management applications. Topics covered encompasses spatial data acquisition, image processing, classification, accuracy assessment, spatial database development, cartographic designing and map production. Students enrolled in this course will learn the fundamental knowledge of GIS science and technology in natural resource management; available tools used for mapping natural resources; and get hand on experience in mapping land cover conditions using maps, aerial photographs, satellite images, and navigation-grade GPS technology.

Pre-requisite: Basic knowledge of GIS and resource management or NATS304 and NATS403

NATS 527

Integrated Watershed management

The main purpose of this course is to discuss various aspects of water resources development and management on watershed basis. The various sections in the course will address on the technical aspects of watershed management; perspectives on water management; skills of analyzing the complex issues in water management and on specifics knowledge on issues of watershed management. Each topic will be developed in logical progression with possible case studies and advancement in various areas. Several important topics include basics of watershed approach, water quality management, storm water and flood management, drought management, use of modern techniques in watershed management such as remote sensing.

Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of GIS and resource management or NATS304 and NATS403

NATS 528

Conservation Biology

Conservation biology arms the students an introduction to the role of science in the conservation of plants and animals. Course lectures, text readings, and case studies from the primary literature will provide a rigorous introduction to methods of and major challenges facing contemporary conservation biology. The course will address on scientific study and analysis of biodiversity, a survey of the major threats to biodiversity, an overview of contemporary conservation strategies and an analysis of recent and historical success and failures in conservation efforts.

Pre-requisite: Knowledge of general ecology or BIO201

NATS 529

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the spatial patterns of biological diversity, and its causes, both in the present and in the past. Biogeographers synthesize information from a very broad range of fields including ecology, evolution, paleontology, and climatology. The course includes the study of geographic variation in nature at all levels from genes to communities to ecosystems, with both ecological and evolutionary perspectives. It will also explore the relevance of biogeography during a time of increasing human impact and climate change.

Pre-requisite: Pre-requisite: Knowledge of general ecology or BIO201

NATS 530

Selected Topics in Environmental Studies

This course will accommodate guest lectures/adjunct or regular faculty to direct a reading course and proficient analysis on selected topics focusing on emerging environmental issues.

NATS 532

Payment for Ecosystem Service

Ecosystems provide many valuable services to human beings. According to Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services are classified into four substantial categories: provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, and supporting services. This course is an in-dept, interdisciplinary exploration of ecosystem services that focuses on these key components: the method used to value ecosystem services; the policy instruments and social institutions used to protect them; the drivers that change the provision of ecosystem services, etc.

NATS 533

Marine Ecology

This is designed to arm students with important biotic and physical processes that influence the structure and function of marine biotic communities. Its focus will be largely on the ecology of coastal marine communities, especially benthic communities, rather than pelagic communities and processes which are covered in the biological oceanography courses.

Pre-requisite: Knowledge of general ecology or BIO201

NATS 534

Environmental Microbiology

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the role of microorganism in environmentally relevant processes including bioremediation of pollutants, biogeochemical cycling and waste water treatment. Students will gain expertise in microbial processes with an emphasis on their application to environmental quality issues.

Pre-requisite: Knowledge of environmental process and general biology or NATS301 and BIO101

NATS 535

Advance Forest Ecology

This advance forest ecology course scrutinizes numerous ways in which trees interact with their environment and influence ecological dynamics. It examines how trees sense and response to environmental stimuli, shape patterns of biodiversity, influence ecosystem structure and function, and are impacted by global environmental change.

Pre-requisite: NATS323

NATS 536

Advance Wetland Ecology

This course equips students with the major conceptual and factual basis for understanding, studying, managing, and utilizing wetlands. It covers topic common to all wetlands such as hydrology, biogeochemistry, and soils. Human impacts and wetland value are reviewed. It also examines management, utilization, restoration, and conservation of wetlands.

Pre-requisite: NATS321

NATS 537

Limnology and Aquatic Biology

This course is designed as a graduate course that explores principle concepts in aquatic ecosystems. It incorporates with major concepts on integration of physical, chemical, and biological sciences, using lake and stream ecosystems as a focus. The course is designed to build a fundamental foundation for long-term professional exploration and investigation of aquatic ecosystems.

Pre-requisite: NATS425

NATS 538

Biological Oceanography

Biological Oceanography is the studies of marine organisms, their quantitative distributions in time and space and their interaction with each other and their ocean environment. The interdisciplinary nature of biological oceanography offers graduate students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in their coursework to an ecosystem based approach to the ocean such as the distribution and productivity of plankton which is close with geochemical cycling of nutrients in the ocean.

Pre-requisite: NATS533

NATS 539

Appropriate Environmental Technology

This course provides the students with a unique and focused combination of environmental technology and green chemistry knowledge and skills. It combines a laboratory orientation with a broad theoretical background to equip students with the skills needed to work in the laboratory or in the field as an environmental technologist.

NATS310

Environment and Sustainability

This course introduces students the conceptual and practical knowledge of sustainable development issues. Students are equipped with the concept of sustainable development and how it relates to the changing of the environment and to the development. Students become acquainted with international conventions on environment and sustainable development, and the vital policy instruments in natural resource conservation and management, particularly national resources management and conservation importance.

NATS311

Geographic Information System-II  

This course is a more advance level of NATS304 course focusing on GIS application. It will explain how GIS can assist natural resource management work throughout its powerful tools and applications. This course also introduces the relevant subjects the GIS could be used as a tool to collect, manipulate, store, and analyze geographical and spatial data for its particular purposes such as land use planning, land evaluation, forest classification, watershed management, geology, geographical economics, etc. In term of Environmental Science point of view, students will learn how to manage and analyze the spatial data for environmental management project before displaying the results through maps and reports.

Pre-requisite: NATS304

NATS312

Environmental Ethics, Policy & Planning

This course is designed to furnish students with explanation of how cultures and religions influence human’s perception and attitudes towards the environment. It follows by an introduction of fundamental concepts of environment ethics. This enables students to gain understanding of contradicting views on the value of the environment, and how the entities should be preserved. It then provides key example of environmental problems along with some economic tools for dealing with those issues. The course also discusses the environmental problems in more detail. It will look into different scales (local, national, regional, and global) of the issues, and the complexity of the multi stakeholders’ participation (for example, governments, corporates, environmentalists, conservationists, and the public) in environmental management. It will conclude by providing key successful examples of policies currently being used for coping with environmental problems. Practical knowledge will also be gained through student presentation in the class and practical exercises.

Pre-requisite: NATS 302

NATS410

Environmental Governance

The course is designed to introduce students the environmental issues and global environmental concerns as complex, transboundary level, and various issues, which require sorting out at all administrative rooms. The practice for policy-making and implementation of environmental policies will also be addressed by using theories of governance. It further fundamentally highlights a set of analytical perspectives which will be the key theoretical concepts necessary for the understanding of national, regional, and global environmental changes and environmental politics.

NATS411

Environmental spatial analysis

This course provides knowledge about spatial analysis theoretical concepts and its application for environmental mapping, spatial modelling and analysis. Main topics include the relationship of GIS models to real world perception and map representation, vector and raster systems; spatial modelling; translation of problems into GIS procedures; attribute manipulation and recoding, operations including arithmetic and Boolean overlay, reclassification, proximity and neighborhood analyses; GIS data input and digitalization; as well as interpolation of surfaces from point and vector data. In addition to theoretical concepts, students will also attend practical classes, which emphasize problem-solving approach through environmental and agricultural GIS case studies.

Pre-requisite: NATS 304

NATS 321

Wetland Ecology 

This course is examined the complex types, structures and ecosystem of wetland in both freshwater and coastal zones. This distribution and richness of wildlife and benefits of the wetlands for environmental and economics are revealed to students in order to make them environmentally aware about importance of the wetlands that is globally significant for the biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. On the other hand, global environmental change is also presented to students to raise their knowledge and awareness on major courses of climate change and its influence to the distribution and abundance of ecosystems and impacts on wetlands, agricultural production and human health. For example, a specific region such as Mekong River will be examined and learnt about potential impacts of the climate change and development to the River Basin and local communities. 

Pre-requisite: BIO201

NATS 322

Taxonomy of Flora & Fauna +Lab

This course provides information, background and theories to understand processes of classification of plant and animal. Generally, it aims at providing the overview of plant taxonomy in an effective manner – a simplified but factual account. After finishing this course, students are able to understand the history of taxonomy flora and fauna, field data collection of trees for classification and identification, explain the way to name the scientific name, explain the way to formulate flora formula and flora diagram for classification, understand the selected families of Dicotyledons that exist in mostly tropical forest, and so on.

Pre-requisite: None

NATS323

Forest Ecology+ Site visit

This is the working field-oriented class. The students will be acquiring knowledge about “Forests as functional system”. This course will enable the students to understand forests as functional entities with their energetics, unique physical environment, & biotic diversity with interactions among them. The students will read variety of problems related to forest in Cambodia & find solution available or suggest solutions based upon research. This course will adopt applicatory research-oriented study for the understanding of the course content.

Pre-requisite: BIO201, BIO301

BIO321

Invertebrate Zoology+ Lab 

This course familiarizes students with evolutionary themes and functional approaches to invertebrate animal biology through a broad survey of the invertebrate phyla. Within the coverage of each group, unique aspects of morphology, physiology and behavior will be discussed in light of the selective forces that have favored their evolution. Other topics will include examples from the recent literature that illustrate aspects of ecology, behavior, or research (and/or economic) utility of the group consideration.

Pre-requisite: BIO201, BIO301

BIO322

Vertebrate Zoology Lab 

This course is to acquaint student with the identification, systematics, life history, anatomy, and adaptive strategies of the different vertebrates and to expose them to field techniques used in their study. After successful completing this course students would be able to characterize and understand behavioral adaptations of vertebrates for feeding, homeostasis, reproduction, etc. in aquatic and terrestrial environments and as well as the classes and major orders of the vertebrates, namely the vertebrate species from Cambodia.

Pre-requisite: BIO201, BIO301

BIO323

Marine Biology

This course is designed to provide students the fundamental study of marine biology. Many topics will be reviewed that related to science in other fields and how they apply to marine science. Having successfully completed this course, students should be able to characterize the physical environment of the marine environment and how they generate problems to individuals. Various solutions to problems will be raised during class provided that students can understand the conservation problems and concepts occurred to variety of organisms and of the ecosystems and how human impact them.

Pre-requisite: BIO201, BIO301

NATS421

Environmental conservation

This course addresses environmental conservation form an ecological viewpoint with a central focus on several more importance issues such climate change, biodiversity loss in Cambodia and elsewhere and so on. Students are introduced and reviewed to various environmental problems in relation to biophysical, institutional, and socio-economic dimensions so as to set up more effective conservation. Generally, environmental conservation is a social process because the changes in values and understandings of nature coupled with economy and politics can inevitably impact the conservation practice. The course highlights not only rational debates in environmental conservation but also define different aspects contributing to environmental issues and their solution.

Pre-requisite: None

NATS422

Integrated Water Resource Management

This course introduces students to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) concept. It provides those who is interested in water resources management a broad understanding of IWRM, the procedures, and tools available for its implementation. The lectures will cover the following topics 1) principles concept of IWRM; 2) functions of natural and anthropogenic factors in water resources management; 3) relationship between water conservation and management; 4) transboundary issues in water resources management; 5) water economics; 6) water resource planning; 7) catchment management including policies, strategies and institutional arrangements for IWRM; 8) law and policies for transboundary water governance.

Pre-requisite:  NATS 403

NATS423

Introduction to Integrated Natural Resource Management 

This course intends to provide basic principle of integrate approach for natural resources management including both renewable resources such as soil, forests, water, and wildlife, and nonrenewable resources such as oil, metals and minerals. Rather than focusing on traditional sub-discipline such as soil, water, forest, fisheries and energy in isolation, this course will take a broader, integrated-systems approach to natural resource management, that emphasize the linkages among different components of socio-ecological system. This will help the student to better understand the interaction between natural (i.e., ecology) and social process (socio-economic, politics and planning); hence, the necessity of implementing integrated approach for resource management. In addition to theoretical concepts, various case studies will be introduced and analyzed to illustrate the challenges and appropriate solutions to tackle currents resource management issues. Topic covered include problems associated with the use/misuse of natural resources, current management practices associated with the conservation of natural resources, and typical approach for dealing with multi-dimensional resource management

Pre-requisite: NATS 403

NATS 424

Integrated Coastal Management

This course teaches student about “Structure, Functions, and Interactions Coastal Ecosystems”. Students will develop an appreciation for the wealth of resources of the coastal zone, and understand about the basic physical, biological and chemical processes in coastal ecosystem. Students will also be exposed to human environment issues, in particular economic and social aspects, in the coastal zone. At the end of this course, students should have a substantial knowledge base of basic processes in the coastal zone associated with human impacts on coastal ecosystems through human uses of coastal zones, including forestry, agriculture, urbanization, industrialization, tourism, fisheries, maritime transport and offshore oil development.

Pre-requisite: NATS 403

NATS425

Freshwater Ecology & Management + Lab 

Aquatic systems are necessary parts of the environment in which water plays a key role. Understanding of the properties and ecology of water is useful for the protection and management of aquatic systems. Some of the fundamental properties of water and how that is affected by biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors will be addressed in this course. This course will provide general aspects of the common freshwater aquatic organisms as well as some basic ecological and scientific principals in relation to aquatic systems.

Pre-requisite: BIO201, BIO301

NATS426

Forest Inventory

This is the practical course designed to structure students with knowledge and skills related to the collection of forest inventory data and the preparation of a forest inventory report necessary to manage forest and natural resources. Students will be able to know the basic statistical concept used in forest measurement, the inventory equipment to obtain tree attributes, understand mapping and navigation procedures, etc.

Pre-requisite: NATS 323

NATS402

Environmental Impact Assessment & Sustainable Development +Site Visit

Environmental protection and economic development have controversially been basic tensions in the last decades. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a specific study that furnishes students the domain of environment planning and management. The course is designed to help students to understand about the impacts of development on social, economic and environmental conditions. Upon successful completion the course, student would become aware of certain issues that relatively necessary for the whole community such as moral and ethical responsibility towards good environmental practices, the valuation of the resources in development, and the challenges of environmental impacts from the development activities. In addition, this course will entail students not only to understand the concepts, but also the practical work and research related to the assessment and evaluation of the environmental quality and its standards and override with the possible finding’s solutions.

Pre-requisite: NATS 301, LAW420

NATS405

Climate Change  

This course instills student basic science of climate change, and the manifold fundamental key challenges to climate change in relation to greenhouse effect, interpretation on the projection of future climate change, impact of climate change, policy framework, especially the Cambodia climate change adaptation and strategic plans.

Pre-requisite: None