Great Plains Master Beekeeping (GPMB) — University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Category: Learning Also called: GPMB; Great Plains Master Beekeeper Training Program; UNL Bee Lab Great Plains Master Beekeeping Last checked: 2026-10-06

What it is

Great Plains Master Beekeeping (GPMB) is a first-party regional beekeeper certification program run by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) Bee Lab in Lincoln, Nebraska. The official GPMB About page says the program launched in April 2019 and now serves over 4,000 beekeepers across the Great Plains and Midwest. It has helped create more than 29 teaching apiaries across eight states. The UNL Bee Lab page says it is funded through the USDA-NIFA Beginning Farmer Rancher Development Program (Project # NEBN-28-501). Participants combine online modules and exams (on the GPMB online training site), approved in-person courses, field-experience hours at open teaching apiaries or with a mentor, and volunteer service hours to move through four levels: Exploratory → Apprentice → Journeyman → Master Candidate / Certified Master. It is not a county club meeting and not a hive-equipment shop.

Who it’s for

New and experienced beekeepers, mainly in the Midwest and Great Plains, who want a free-to-join, tiered certification with online coursework plus hands-on field training. The Courses page filter lists approved course / open-apiary states as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Level experience guidance: Apprentice <2 years; Journeyman 2–4 years overwintering hives in the Midwest; Master Candidate 5+ years. It does not replace a local club or buying woodenware.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Learning program. Its official pages print the level structure, the specific education, field, and volunteer hour requirements for each level, dollar processing and testing fees, a UNL program address and phone, and a public weekly Zoom office hour. It is curriculum-first, not a blog and not an affiliate landing page.

• Levels & requirements (GPMB About — checked 2026-10-06): Apprentice requires learning objectives 1.1–1.20 plus 1 in-person course, 10 volunteer hours per year (20 cumulative), 20 field hours, and a multiple-choice exam. Journeyman requires all Biology / Land Stewardship / Professional Development objectives plus at least 3 Business & Economics and Management objectives, 20 volunteer hours per year (60 cumulative), 40 cumulative field hours, and a field exam. Master Candidate requires 15 additional education courses or learning series, 20 volunteer hours per year (40 every 2 years), 80 cumulative field hours, and a field exam. Certified Master also requires a Final Master Project, approved by the Master Subcommittee and presented to the Governing Council for pass/fail.
• Fees (GPMB About + Become a Member — checked 2026-10-06): Apprentice is free to join (Become a Member: “Enrollment is free”). Journeyman has an $80 processing and testing fee. Master Candidate has a $100 processing and testing fee, renewed every other year. Individual in-person courses and open apiaries listed on the Courses page are run by partner associations or instructors and may charge their own fees (the Courses page says to bring cash or check unless stated otherwise). Report courses within 60 days to get credit.
• Field training (Courses page — checked 2026-10-06): the page lists approved open teaching apiaries and partner events. One example is the UNL Bee Lab’s 2026 open apiaries: East Campus pollinator garden on 2nd Thursdays, 6–7 PM (March 12 – September 10) and Kimmel Orchard, Nebraska City on 3rd Thursdays (April 16 – September 17). The Oct 15 Kimmel date was marked Canceled, so the 2026 UNL open-apiary season has ended as of the check date.
• Contact / support (GPMB home — checked 2026-10-06): phone (402) 472-8378; [email protected]; free GPMB Open Office hours every Monday 11 AM–12 PM CST via Zoom (except holidays). Mailing address: University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Great Plains Master Beekeeping Program, PO Box 830816, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816. Office address: 105A Entomology Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816.

Fees, hour requirements, and dates above are what the official pages showed on the check date. Program rules change. Use the live GPMB pages before treating any figure as fixed.

Official URL

Program home: https://gpmb.unl.edu/

About (levels, requirements, fees): https://gpmb.unl.edu/about/

Become a member (free enrollment): https://gpmb.unl.edu/become-member/

Requirements (education / field / volunteer credit): https://gpmb.unl.edu/gpmb-course-login/requirements/

Courses (approved courses & open apiaries): https://gpmb.unl.edu/courses/

UNL Bee Lab program page: https://beelab.unl.edu/great-plains-master-beekeeper-training/

Location

Online modules and exams, plus in-person courses and field training at approved teaching apiaries across partner states. Program office printed on the official GPMB home page (checked 2026-10-06): 105A Entomology Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816. Mailing address: PO Box 830816, Lincoln, NE 68583-0816. Phone (402) 472-8378.

This is a Learning / university certification pathway address, not a Local club hall and not an Equipment retail counter.

Notes

• Category is Learning. GPMB is a curriculum-first UNL Bee Lab certification with printed level requirements and processing/testing fees. It is not Equipment and not Local clubs. It is separate from the already-listed Master pathways (Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, California, UF-IFAS, Montana, Cornell, WASBA) and from Penn State 101/102, UMN, Rutgers, UW–Madison, Purdue, and CSU Extension. Kansas club NEKBA (already listed) appears on the GPMB Courses page as an open-apiary partner, but GPMB itself is a UNL program.
• The four-level structure, hour requirements, free / $80 / $100 fees, the 60-day reporting rule, the 2026 UNL open-apiary dates (Oct 15 canceled), the Monday Zoom office hour, and the Lincoln addresses are copied from official gpmb.unl.edu and beelab.unl.edu pages checked on 2026-10-06 and may change. The About page’s “over 4,000” enrollment line and the Bee Lab page’s “As of Oct 2024 … 4219 enrolled” figure are from different dates. Cite them separately.
• Partner-course entries on the Courses page include some personal contact emails from third-party instructors. They are deliberately not copied here.
• First-party image saved beside this listing as great-plains-master-beekeeping.jpg (the official UNL Bee Lab GPMB page hero photo, alt text “Great Plains Master Beekeeping training,” unedited 960×540 rendition).
• Not affiliated with Beekeeping Plaza.
• No Beekeeping Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: How much does Great Plains Master Beekeeping cost?
A: The official About and Become a Member pages (checked 2026-10-06) say joining is free (Apprentice level). Journeyman has an $80 processing and testing fee, and Master Candidate has a $100 fee renewed every other year. Partner-run in-person courses may charge separately. Confirm the live figures at https://gpmb.unl.edu/about/.

Q: Is it online or in person?
A: Both. Online modules and exams count toward education credit. Each level also requires in-person course credit, field-experience hours at approved teaching apiaries or with a mentor, and volunteer hours. Field exams apply at the Journeyman and Master levels. Weekly Zoom office hours run Mondays 11 AM–12 PM CST.

Q: Is this an equipment shop or a local club meeting?
A: No. GPMB is listed here as Learning, an official University of Nebraska–Lincoln Bee Lab certification pathway. For hive gear, see the Equipment listings (e.g. Harvest Lane Honey). For monthly club meetings, see Local clubs (e.g. Cook-DuPage Beekeepers Association).