Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Major

Program Contact/Coordinator
Nels Troelstrup, Interim Department Head
Department of Natural Resource Management
Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory 138C
605-688-5503
E-mail: nels.troelstrup@sdstate.edu
www.sdstate.edu/nrm/
For additional information click here. 

Program Information
Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences major requirements are specifically directed at preparing undergraduates in the area of wildlife and fisheries conservation and management. This coursework primarily revolves around educational aspects addressing organisms, their habitat and their human users. Imbedded in these courses are additional skills that students need to be competitive in the natural resources disciplines. These skills include communications, teamwork, leadership, ethics, statistics, computers, global competence, critical thinking, and problem solving. Most employment is with state and federal natural resource agencies. Each state has a fish and wildlife agency that hires students with wildlife and fisheries sciences degrees and multiple federal agencies hire graduates from the program. In addition, employment opportunities exist with local and tribal governments, non-governmental organizations, and private industry. Many undergraduates continue their education by seeking advanced degrees.

Accreditation, Certification, and Licensure
Program requirements for Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences are based on certification programs of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society.