I want to study environmental science, but at this college I really want to go to they only have the option to get a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation which is sort of the same thing. I was wondering if it’s possible to do that and then once I get my degree, go to another university to get a master’s in environmental science. Or do my bachelor’s and master’s have to be the same?
It will cost you a lot more to do it that way. A college is not a good fit for you if they don’t offer your major.
No, your bachelor’s and master’s do not have to be the same. For instance, the University of Colorado Denver (http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CLAS/Departments/ges/Programs/MasterofScience/Pages/Admissions.aspx) requires for admission into their environmental science master’s program only "a baccalaureate degree in one of the natural/physical sciences or engineering (or equivalent background) and the courses listed below (although if a student is short only one of these, they say it can be done in the first year of the master’s program).
two semesters general chemistry or biology with lab
one semester physics (may be algebra-based)
one semester of upper division statistics
If what you really want is a bachelor’s in environmental science, look at the coursework entailed in getting an environmental science degree at colleges that offer it and see if anything significant in that coursework is missing from the natural resources major at the college you want to go to. If significant courses are missing from your college’s natural resources degree requirements, see if they are available for you to add to your program. For instance, the natural resources degree requirements I found at one college didn’t include physics; one could add it to emulate an environmental science degree.
It is possible in this case because environmental sciences is an interdisciplinary area that includes natural resource conservation. I agree that you should make sure you take some basic sciences, as they are often prereqs for environmental sciences programs, but that major should be fine.