Skip to main content

Department of Biological Sciences

Bachelor of Science in Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences

The fisheries and wildlife science program is a professional program designed to prepare qualified field and research biologists, as well as to provide a sound foundation for those students who intend to pursue graduate studies in wildlife biology, fisheries biology or field ecology. Through selection of elective courses, graduates are required to meet certification requirements of The Wildlife Society or the American Fisheries Society.

Field biologists are employed by various state and federal agencies concerned with natural resources management including the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, National Park Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Employment opportunities in the private sector are also available. Timber, mining, and utility companies hire field biologists for advice and management of industrial lands. Environmental consulting firms, commercial fish and game farms, and nature centers require qualified researchers, technicians, and educators.

Majors in fisheries and wildlife science must complete a minimum of 120 semester hours as specified in the following curriculum outline and no more than 12 hours of “D’s” may be applied toward the degree. Note, this set of courses will also satisfy requirements for a minor in biology, but students should see their advisor to complete the associated degree audit form for the minor. Candidates for graduation are expected to complete a comprehensive series of practical and technical exams to assess mastery of program objectives.

Dr. Tom Nupp, Director

McEver Hall, Room 205
(479) 968-0313
tnupp@atu.edu

Curriculum

The matrix below is a sample plan for all coursework required for this program.

1See appropriate alternatives or substitutions in "General Education Requirements". One of the social sciences must be ECON 2003 Principles of Economics I.
2Statistics must be taken either fall or spring term.
3F and W superscripts designate courses required for certification in fisheries and wildlife, respectively. Students seeking wildlife certification must choose one course from each of the following course sequences: (1) FW 3154 Mammalogy or FW 3144 Ornithology; (2) FW 4014 Forest Ecology and Management or FW 4064 Wetland Ecology and Management; Students seeking fisheries certification must choose FW 3084 Ichthyology and FW 4024 Limnology. Meeting requirements for fisheries or wildlife certification is a requirement for graduation.
4Must include at least two courses from the biology group (BIOL 3174 Physiological Ecology, BIOL 3034 Genetics, BIOL 4064 Evolutionary Biology, BIOL 3064 Parasitology, AGPM 3104 Introduction to Entomology, BIOL 3184 Animal Behavior, BIOL 3004 Plant Taxonomy, BIOL 3033 Bioinformatics, BIOL 4043 Conservation Genetics, BIOL 4044 Dendrology, BIOL 4094 Coastal Ecology) one course from the physical science group elective (any physics course, AGSS 2014 Soils, GEOL 1014 Physical Geology), and three 3000-4000 level fisheries and wildlife elective courses. Sufficient additional electives to produce 120 total credit hours are required for graduation.