Master of Science in Wildlife Biology

Program Goals – Thesis Track

• Acquire specific content knowledge.
• Perform specific laboratory skills with appropriate technology while adhering to all safety requirements associated with those endeavors.
• Manipulate data mathematically.
• Plan and implement a mentored research project.
• Evaluate and articulate, orally and/or in writing, the outcome of research and laboratory experiments.

Program Goals – Non-Thesis Track

• Acquire specific content knowledge.
• Perform specific laboratory skills with appropriate technology while adhering to all safety requirements associated with those endeavors.
• Manipulate data mathematically.
• Evaluate and articulate, orally and/or in writing, the outcome of research and laboratory experiments.

Program Format

The Master of Science in Wildlife Biology will be delivered in an in-person format and/or synchronous remote format. 

For those enrolling in the synchronous remote format, an in-person summer residency will be required to fulfill the lab and research components of the program.

Those attending in-person will have the choice to complete their lab and research credits during the fall, spring, or summer semesters.

Fall and spring semester courses will operate on a 15-week session with students completing 9 credits of study per session.

Program Prerequisites

Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree (any major) from a regionally accredited college or university with an overall GPA of 3.00 or higher, including the following undergraduate coursework:

• General Biology 6 to 8 credits
• General Chemistry 6 to 8 credits
• Mathematics 6 to 8 credits, including a statistics and a calculus course
• Additional Botany, Ecology, and Evolution courses preferred.

Application

Keystone College accepts students to the MS in Wildlife Biology program for fall, spring, and summer terms.

In addition to the application materials required for all master’s applicants, applicants to the MS in Wildlife Biology program must also provide:

• Three letters of recommendation, including one from a science faculty member
• Resume
• Research statement (thesis track) or Statement of purpose (non-thesis track)

Course Requirements

Thesis Track
BIOL 5100 Scientific Writing and Communication
BIOL 6810 Biological Thesis Research I
BIOL 6910 Biological Thesis Research II
4 Ecology and Organismal Biology Elective
2 Animal and Natural Resource Management Elective
1 Environmental and Physical Science Elective
1 Analytical Tools, Research, and Statistical Analysis Elective
3 Laboratory courses

Non-Thesis Track
BIOL 5100 Scientific Writing and Communication
4 Ecology and Organismal Biology Elective
3 Animal and Natural Resource Management Elective
2 Environmental and Physical Science Elective
1 Analytical Tools, Research, and Statistical Analysis Elective
3 Laboratory courses

Elective courses:

Ecology and Organismal Biology
BIOL 5150 Stream Ecology
BIOL 5160 Forest Ecology
BIOL 5170 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Zoology
BIOL 5175 Ecology of Wildlife Populations
BIOL 5200 Microbial Ecology
BIOL 5210 Animal Behavior
BIOL 5215 Mammalogy
BIOL 5220 Ornithology
BIOL 5225 Ichthyology
BIOL 5230 Herpetology
BIOL 5235 Wetland and Riparian Ecology
BIOL 5265 Mycology
BIOL 5270 Animal Behavior and Parasitism
BIOL 5275 Entomology

Animal and Natural Resource Management
BIOL 5155 Ecological Restoration
BIOL 5180 Fish Management and Culture
BIOL 5185 Natural Resources Policy and Management
BIOL 5190 Population Dynamics
BIOL 5195 Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation
BIOL 5240 Wildlife Management
BIOL 5245 Conservation Biology

Environmental and Physical Sciences
BIOL 5150 Limnology
BIOL 5255 Soils Science
BIOL 5165 Environmental Toxicology

Analytical Tools, Research, and Statistical Analysis Elective
MATH 5150 Statistics and Research
BIOL 5160 Geospatial Methods in Resource Management

Laboratory Courses:

BIOL 5121 Ecological Restoration Lab
BIOL 5157 Tropical Ecology Lab
BIOL 5171 Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Lab
BIOL 5161 Forest Ecology Lab
BIOL 5151 Stream Ecology Lab
BIOL 5201 Microbial Techniques Lab
BIOL 5216 Mammalogy Lab
BIOL 5216 Ornithology Lab
BIOL 5276 Ichthyology Lab
BIOL 5231 Herpetology Lab
BIOL 5251 Limnology Lab
BIOL 5266 Mycology Lab
BIOL 5276 Entomology Lab