Become a professional landman with UL Lafayette's AAPL-accredited Professional Land and Resource Management degree — one of only 10 in the nation.
The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) in Professional Land and Resource Management (PLRM) prepares you to negotiate, acquire, and manage land and mineral rights, especially in the oil and gas industry. You'll combine a strong foundation in business with courses in geology, biology, law, and the liberal arts, so you're ready for a career in Louisiana's energy industry and beyond.
You Should Major in Professional Land and Resource Management If...
- You want a career that merges your love of the outdoors with business and leadership.
- You're interested in land surveying and property development.
- You want to learn how to negotiate, acquire, and manage land and mineral rights for oil, gas, and mineral exploration companies worldwide.
See Professional Land and Resource Management at a Glance
What You'll Learn
Your coursework blends business with the science and law behind the energy industry. You'll study the Earth's history and geology, Louisiana mineral law, and environmental law, and in the Fundamentals of Petroleum Land Management Seminar (PLRM 375), you'll hear from industry speakers on topics like leasing federal lands and using land management software. You can also add a legal studies concentration, with courses in business law, contracts, dispute resolution, and consumer protection.
View the Professional Land and Resource Management Curriculum
Graduate as an Experienced Landman
Our program manages its own oil well lease in Iberia Parish, so you'll do real landman work while you're still a student — and graduate with experience you can put on your resume. Every PLRM major also completes a required internship of at least 250 hours through the Moody Business Internship Program.
Meet the Industry at Oil and Gas Expos
Each year, PLRM students set up a booth at national oil and gas expos in Louisiana and Houston. You'll see every stage of resource development up close, from equipment sales and drilling to production, geology, and land management, and you'll meet the professionals who hire landmen. Some students receive job and internship offers right on the expo floor.
What Can I Do With a Professional Land and Resource Management Degree?
Landmen and land professionals work for energy companies, land and resource management firms, developers, and government agencies. Our graduates work as land acquisition specialists, lease buyers, land and mineral rights negotiators, right-of-way managers, land development project managers, and surveyors.
Studying in Lafayette puts you in the middle of the energy corridor that stretches along the Gulf Coast and beyond, with the industry connections to match.
Explore PLRM career opportunities
Get Involved
Build your professional network through the Student Association of Professional Land and Resource Management, and connect with working landmen through the program's close partnership with the Lafayette Association of Professional Landmen.
Nationally Accredited
Our PLRM program is one of only 10 undergraduate programs in the nation accredited by the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). That accreditation also makes our students eligible to compete for national scholarships.
Learn more about our accreditation
Take It Further With an MBA
Ready to move into leadership? Build on your PLRM degree with a Master of Business Administration from the Moody College of Business, offered on campus and 100% online.
See Professional Land and Resource Management in Person
Want to meet our faculty or sit in on a PLRM class? We'd love to show you around.
Plan a Visit to the Department of Management
Ready to Apply?
There's no separate application for professional land and resource management. Apply to UL Lafayette, then declare PLRM as your major.