<p>What are the best undergraduate programs for Wildlife Conservation?</p>
<p>How does the University of Delaware's program rate?</p>
<p>U Wisconsin
Wildlife ecology</p>
<p>The best programs are typically found at large, land-grant public universities like Michigan State, Colorado State, Clemson, Oregon State, UNH, etc. </p>
<p>Because financial aid is often limited or nonexistent for out-of-state students, you’re best off looking at the university in your state. If you’re a Delaware resident, UD has a perfectly good program in wildlife conservation and is particularly good for marine science/policy. </p>
<p>Two bits of advice:
[ul][<em>]Be aware that one typically needs a master’s degree to find suitable work in the field (unless you’re pre-vet, in which case you’ll need a DVM).
[</em>]Given the extreme degree of competition, I highly recommend considering a slightly different approach that allows you to work in the same field but that provides you with more career options – a major in geography with a concentration in biogeography and several GIS courses, for example.[/ul]</p>
<p>Applied programs in wildlife conservation/wildlife management/wildlife biology or ecology most commonly are found in public land-grant universities, usually in their colleges of agriculture and/or natural resources. Most will offer a basic level of competence in this field. The least expensive program for you probably will be at your own state’s land-grant university. Some Canadian universities also might be an option to consider as tuition might be less expensive than public universities in some US states.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in the practical hands-on aspects of wildlife management, look for programs that match the certification requirements of the Wildlife Society: <a href=“http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/certbook.pdf[/url]”>http://joomla.wildlife.org/documents/certbook.pdf</a></p>
<p>You also might read this Wildlife Society committee report and compare its curricular recommendations with the programs at schools that might interest you:
<a href=“http://wildlife.org/documents/misc/ad.hoc.collegiate.wildlife.pdf[/url]”>http://wildlife.org/documents/misc/ad.hoc.collegiate.wildlife.pdf</a></p>
<p>If you want to focus on research or policy aspects, in addition to programs specifically in wildlife conservation/management, you also can look at departments of/programs in ecology & evolution, zoology, and, possibly, environmental science/studies. For ecology or zoology programs, looking at the NRC ranking for graduate programs might give you an idea of what are considered some of the stronger departments. If you are interested in zoos or in international wildlife conservation, these other programs also might be an option.</p>