The Master of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (MNRES) is designed to integrate the complementary aspects of resource and environmental issues. It focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to melding traditional science with social science perspectives, and resource planning and management. This degree is designed to attract students from a diverse range of backgrounds and aspirations, who share an interest in looking beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.

The MNRES degree is one Master's degree route within the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Graduate Program (the others are a MA and a MSc). The MNRES is the only one of the three that fully embraces the interdisciplinary philosophy of the NRES Graduate Program. There are three factors that determine whether a student pursues the MNRES degree: 1) student's background; 2) elective courses undertaken at UNBC and 3) thesis topic. Depending on individualized learning objectives, the MNRES degree allows flexibility in choosing a research emphasis in the social, planned, or natural environments from an interdisciplinary perspective.