Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (B.S.)

Location(s): Brookings Main Campus

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Three students in a wildlife and fisheries classroom.

Program Coordinator/Contact

Bill Severud, Assistant Professor
Department of Natural Resource Management
Edgar S. McFadden Biostress Laboratory, Room 143
605-688-5121

Program Information

Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences major requirements prepare undergraduate students for careers in wildlife and fisheries conservation and management. Coursework is directed at organisms, natural populations and communities, their habitats and human users. Embedded in these courses are additional skills that further enable students to be competitive in the natural resources disciplines. These skills include communications, teamwork, leadership, ethics, statistics, technology, global competence, critical thinking, and problem solving. Most employment is with state and federal natural resource agencies. Each state has natural resource agencies that hire 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.

Certification and Licensure

Academic requirements for Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences are based on certification programs of the American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society.

Requirements for Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Major: 120 Credits

Bachelor of Science

System General Education Requirements

Goal #1 Written Communication: SGR #1 Elective Credits: 6
Goal #2 Oral Communication: SGR #2 Elective Credits: 3
Goal #3 Social Sciences:
SGR #3 Electives Credits: 6
Goal #4 Arts and Humanities:
SGR #4 Electives Credits: 6
Goal #5 Mathematics: MATH 114 - College Algebra (COM) [SGR #5, HSDC] Credits: 3
Goal #6 Natural Sciences:
- BIOL 151 - General Biology I (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3
  and BIOL 151L - General Biology I Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
- PHYS 101 - Survey of Physics (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3 and PHYS 101L - Survey of Physics Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
  or PHYS 111 - Introduction to Physics I (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3 and PHYS 111L - Introduction to Physics I Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1

Major Requirements

AS 332 - Livestock Breeding and Genetics Credits: 4
or BIOL 371 - Genetics (COM) Credits: 3
BOT 201 - General Botany (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 2
BOT 201L - General Botany Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
BOT Elective 300- to 400-Level Credits: 3
CHEM 106 - Chemistry Survey (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3
and CHEM 106L - Chemistry Survey Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
and CHEM 108 - Organic and Biochemistry (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 4
and CHEM 108L - Organic and Biochemistry Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
or CHEM 112 - General Chemistry I (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3
and CHEM 112L - General Chemistry I Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
and CHEM 114 - General Chemistry II (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3
and CHEM 114L - General Chemistry II Lab (COM) [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
and CHEM 326 - Organic Chemistry I (COM) Credits: 3
and CHEM 326L - Organic Chemistry I Lab (COM) Credits: 1
CHEM 328 - Organic Chemistry II (COM) Credits: 3
and CHEM 328L - Organic Chemistry II Lab (COM) Credits: 1
or PS 213 - Soils [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 2  (recommended)
and PS 213L - Soils Lab [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 1
or PS 243 - Principles of Geology [SGR #6, HSDC] Credits: 3
ENGL 379 - Technical Communication (COM) Credits: 3
or CMST 215 - Public Speaking (COM) [SGR #2, HSDC] Credits: 3
GEOG 372 - Introduction to GIS (COM) Credits: 2
GEOG 372L - Introduction to GIS Lab (COM) Credits: 1
NRM 119 - Orientation to Natural Resource Management Credits: 2
NRM 230 - Natural Resource Management Techniques Credits: 2
NRM 276 - Scientific Communications Credits: 1
NRM 282 - Natural Resource Statistics Credits: 2
and NRM 282L - Natural Resource Statistics Lab Credits: 1
or STAT 281 - Introduction to Statistics (COM) [SGR #5, HSDC] Credits: 3
NRM 300 - Laws and Policies in Natural Resource Management Credits: 3
or WL 420 - Wildlife Law Enforcement Credits: 3
NRM 311 - Principles of Ecology (COM) Credits: 3
NRM 430 - Human Dimensions in Natural Resource Management Credits: 3
WL 220 - Introduction to Wildlife and Fisheries Management Credits: 3
WL 411 - Principles of Wildlife Management Credits: 2
WL 411L - Principles of Wildlife Management Lab Credits: 1
WL 412 - Principles of Fisheries Management Credits: 2
WL 412L - Principles of Fisheries Management Lab Credits: 1
Advanced Group Electives - Select six credits at the 300- to 400-level from EES, NRM, WL, RANG, BIOL, BOT, and GEOG Prefixes. Credits: 6

Organismal Group Electives

Select 3 of the following courses. Credits: 9-10

WL 355 - Mammalogy (COM) Credits: 3
WL 355L - Mammalogy Lab (COM) Credits: 1
WL 363 - Ornithology (COM) Credits: 3
WL 363L - Ornithology Lab (COM) Credits: 1
WL 367 - Ichthyology Credits: 2
WL 367L - Ichthyology Lab Credits: 1
WL 434 - Herpetology (COM) Credits: 2
WL 434L - Herpetology Lab (COM) Credits: 1

Electives

Taken as needed to complete any additional degree requirements.

Total Required Credits: 120

Summary of Program Requirements

Bachelor of Science

System General Education Requirements*: 32 Credit Hours
Major Requirements: 68-74 Credit Hours
Electives**: 14-20 Credit Hours

*System General Education Requirements for students pursuing a baccalaureate degree shall include a minimum of 30 credit hours. Some general education coursework may be counted for Major Requirements and Supporting Coursework.
**Taken as needed to complete any additional degree requirements.

Academic Advising Guide Sheet

The goal of the academic advising guide sheets and sample plans of study is to promote undergraduate student success by guiding all students to timely completion of an undergraduate degree. Students are not limited to the course sequence provided for their academic program. Instead, the sample plan of study is one possible path to completing your degree and is meant to be used as a guide for planning purposes in consultation with an academic advisor. The plans also help students prepare for meetings with their academic advisor and track their progress in their selected academic program.