Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Concentration

Wildlife Ecology & Conservation provides students with the essential conservation science education to study, conserve and protect wildlife populations, and the land and water environments on which they and we depend.  This involves learning about the biology and ecology of wildlife; how to manage, conserve and restore wildlife populations and their habitats; how to resolve human-wildlife conflict and wildlife disease problems; and how to conserve and enhance biological diversity.  Becoming a wildlife professional requires talent, personal commitment, enthusiasm, sound technical training, and special skills.  An essential component of the concentration involves obtaining hands-on field skills as part of your coursework, and field experiences from summer jobs, internships, and cooperative education positions with state, federal and international conservation organizations.  Our curriculum will provide you the knowledge and skills necessary for entry-level employment in wildlife conservation professions, or to continue graduate training in wildlife ecology and conservation biology. 

This concentration also provides the foundational training and coursework required to qualify for the Associate Wildlife Biologist professional certification by The Wildlife Society. Please see The Wildlife Society website for what you need to apply! Careful consideration of your upper level courses will allow you to qualify, so we suggest checking this out early in your academic career to make sure you will qualify.

Note: All students need at least 120 credits to graduate – please check your ARR in SPIRE

Students interested in Wildlife Society certifications should visit their website for more information. The UMass Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society is also a resource for this certification. Students need a total of 120 total credits and to complete all general education requirements to graduate. Please review your ARR in SPIRE regularly and contact your advisor with any questions.  

NRC elective course options (additional information is on the NRC website or SPIRE):

^a Intro. Environment elective options - NRC 100 (SI, fall) preferred, NRC 185 (I, spring) and ENVIRSCI 101 (BS, fall) accepted

^b Intro. Bio. elective – BIOL 151 & 152 (153 lab optional) – strongly encouraged for all wildlife students, required for those interested in the Wildlife Society certificate; or STOCKSCH 108 (f) & BIOL 110 (s)

^c Earth Science elective– GEOLOGY 101 (f,s), 103 (f,s), 105 (f,s), 201 (s), GEOGRAPH 100 (f), GEOGRAPH 110, STOCKSCH 105 (f,s), or ENVIRSCI 390A (f)

^d Statistics elective – NRC 240 preferred (f), if not possible: RES-ECON 212, STATISC 111, 240, or 501 (f,s)

^e Built Environment elective –NRC 275, BCT 150 (f), GEOGRAPH 372, SUSTCOMM 125 or 574

^f Physical Science elective – CHEM 112, 250 (s), PHYSICS 100 (f,s), 118 (f), 131, ASTRON 100, 101, and 105 (s)

^g Ecology elective – ENVIRSCI 214 preferred (s), NRC 270, 547, BIOLOGY 287 (f,s), or upper-level ecology elective as approved (see your advisor)

^h Resources Economics elective –RES-ECON 263 Natural Resources Economics (f) or RES-ECON 262 Environmental Economics (s)

ⁱ Communication electives – (One is required, but to qualify as a Associate Wildlife Biologist with the Wildlife Society - you will need 2 total) – NRC 492A recommended (f), or COMM 118 (f),121 (f,s),122 (f,s),125 (f,s), 140 (f,s), 250 (f,s), 260, ENG 379, JOURNAL 201, 292N

*Note: many COMM courses are limited to first years and sophomores, or have other restrictions

^j Evolution elective – NRC 360 (spring) or BIOL 280 (f,s)

^k Quantitative elective – Upper level statistics [STATISC 501 (f,s), EDUC 555 (f)], NRC 577 (Ecological Modelling, f), NRC 534 (Forest Measurements, f), MATH 127 (Calculus), additional upper-level spatial data elective (see your advisor)

^l Integrated Experience elective – NRC 382, 394EI, 494EI, 494GI or 494JI, or ENVIRSCI 445 (s) or 494JI – offerings vary each semester

^m NRC/Biology animal elective –

   Take two of the following:

•            NRC 590VE - Vertebrate Ecology – strongly recommended
•           NRC 584 - Ecophysiology
•           NRC 566 - Restoration Ecology
•           NRC 563 - Wetlands, Wildlife Ecology and Management
•           NRC 566 - Restoration Ecology
•           NRC 570 - Ecology of Fish
•           NRC 573 - Behavioral Ecology and Conservation
•           NRC 580 - Conservation Genetics (if offered) – Note NRC 360 is a pre-requisite
•           NRC 582 - Landscape Ecology & Conservation: Patterns and Processes in New England
•           NRC 590IE - Invasion Ecology

Note: Other 500-level wildlife-relevant courses may be approved by your advisor

Concentration Contact