General Graduate Program Requirements

Graduate School policies and standards can be found on the Graduate School Policies page. 

The minimum GPA for any graduate program is 3.0. Individual programs may require more than a 3.0 to remain in good standing. 

The minimum grade for a course to be accepted toward any requirement is C. Individual programs may require higher grades for specific courses.

MASTER OF SCIENCE - RESOURCE CONSERVATION

The specific courses (program of study) that a graduate student enrolls in will be tailored to each individual, based on their academic background, professional interests, and the focus of their thesis work. However, the minimum requirements for the M.S. Degree include:

• 30 graduate semester credits beyond the Bachelor’s degree.
• At least 20 of the total credits must be taken within the major discipline. 
• At least 20 of the total credits must be in coursework and at least half of the coursework credits (minimum 10 credits) must be at the 500-level or above. Courses below the 400-level do not count towards the M.S. course requirements.
• Up to 10 of the 30 credits may be taken as research (699) and/or thesis (697).
• Enroll in one credit of graduate seminar per year. (Requirement may be waived by faculty advisor in favor of a different course/seminar if there is a time conflict.)
• Complete a research methods course related to the field of study
• At least one course in graduate level statistics (or comparable analytical course) at the university. 
• Thesis or Professional Paper Options:
  • The thesis option includes:
    • A formal research proposal presenting the conceptual and empirical framework of the research.
    • A thesis – written thesis, seminar, and defense. 
  • The professional paper option includes:
    • A formal project proposal presenting the conceptual and empirical framework of the professional paper.
    • A professional paper – written paper, seminar, and defense.

Course Requirements

In addition to these specific requirements, a list of required/suggested coursework must be approved by the committee no later than the second semester in residence, but earlier if possible.  Other suitable courses (e.g., emphasizing analytical skills) can be substituted at the discretion of the student’s committee.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Graduate Seminar
Complete at least 2 credits of the following courses. Students typically complete 3-5 credits.		2
FORS 594	Graduate Seminar
NRSM 594	Seminar
PTRM 594	Conservation and Social Science Seminar
WILD 594	Graduate Seminar in Wildlife Biology
Research Methods
Complete one of the following courses:		3
FORS 505	Sampling Methods
NRSM 500	Conservation and Social Science Methods
WILD 540	Research Design
Statistics
Complete one of the following courses:		1-4
Any Statistics (STAT) or Mathematics (M) course.
FORS 505	Sampling Methods
FORS 538	Ecological Statistics
WILD 562	Wildlife Habitat Modeling
WILD 571	Estimation of Demographic Parameters
Electives, Research, and Thesis or Professional Paper
Complete 21-24 credits of graduate-level coursework in consultation with your advisor or committee.		21-24
Total Hours		30