Wildlife Conservation and Management (Bachelor of Science, B.S.)

The Wildlife Conservation and Management degree program is committed to providing students with a collaborative learning environment to develop skills and engage in Applied Learning opportunities. Students gain hands-on experience through both lab and field exercises. The Wildlife Conservation program offers applied learning experiences through coursework and internships where students develop skills in areas such as: mapping GPS, wildlife capture and restraint, Wildland fire behavior and ecology, and plant, mammal, bird and herpetological field identification. Internships and independent research opportunities give students the competitive edge for career opportunities and graduate and professional schools. The Wildlife Conservation and Management major provides students with the background needed to start careers in various state, federal and nongovernmental agencies related to conservation and management. The Wildlife Conservation and Management degree program meets the academic requirements for professional certification as a Certified Wildlife Biologist by The Wildlife Society.

Students who choose this bachelor degree program will have no more than 6 years from admission or subsequent declaration to meet the requirements listed below. If certification, accreditation or statutory requirements change and additional requirements become effective during this time, the new requirements take precedence.

General Studies
Students must complete General Studies courses42
Major Requirements
BIO 105Principles of Organismal Biology4
BIO 106Principles of Cell Biology4
BIO 205Genetics4
BIO 209Introduction to Wildlife Conservation3
BIO 225Ecology4
BIO 307Plant Morphology4
BIO 311Animal Physiology4
or BIO 350 Plant Systematics
or BIO 440 Plant Physiology
BIO 318Ornithology4
BIO 351Local Flora2
BIO 360Development of Federal Wildlife Law3
BIO 409Principles of Terrestrial Wildlife Management3
BIO 415Invertebrate Biology4
or BIO 455 Entomology
BIO 418Mammalogy4
BIO 425Biology Internship2
BIO 461Renewable Resources Policy and Administration3
or PHL 325 Ethics of Environmental and Natural Resource Policy
CHE 111General Chemistry I5
CHE 120General Chemistry II with Qualitative Analysis5
MAT 111Introductory Statistics3-4
or MAT 111E Introductory Statistics
PHY 110College Physics I4
Department approved Communications elective3
Department approved elective4-5

Program Graduation Requirement

  1. Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.

University Graduation Requirements 

  1. Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
  2. Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses.  Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
  3. Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
  4. Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments. 
  5. Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
  6. Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.