Interdepartmental Program in Ecology
Director: Nancy Huntly
Location: Natural Resources 314
Phone: (435) 797-2555
FAX: (435) 797-3872
E-mail: nancy.huntly@usu.edu
WWW: http://www.usu.edu/ecology/
Degrees offered: Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the following departments: Biology; Environment and Society; Plants, Soils, and Climate; Watershed Sciences; and Wildland Resources
Graduate Program
The ecology program at Utah State University is administered by the interdepartmental Ecology Center. Its goals are to promote research and graduate education in the science of ecology and to provide expert, professional information and advice for decision makers considering actions that affect the environment. The research carried out by the center’s associates covers the full spectrum of ecology on several continents, but most of it is centered in the montane and desert regions of the western United States.
Students earn their degrees in ecology while maintaining residence in one of the participating departments; the center itself does not grant degrees. The candidate selects or is assigned a major professor from the department appropriate to his or her interests.
Degree Requirements
Requirements for graduate degrees in ecology include the university and departmental degree requirements, as well as the Ecology Center requirements outlined below, which are formulated by the Ecology Center Faculty Advisory Committee. This committee comprises faculty representatives designated by the respective department heads from the departments of Biology; Environment and Society; Geology; Plants, Soils, and Climate; Watershed Sciences; and Wildland Resources. The Ecology Center director chairs the committee.
The ecology MS and PhD are research degrees requiring a research thesis or dissertation. The following course requirements for each of these degrees fall into two categories. The first is a general science category. Students receiving graduate degrees in ecology are expected to have some breadth and sophistication in modern science. The second category includes ecology course requirements. These are, for the most part, general requirements, with the specific courses taken by each student selected by his or her graduate committee and tailored to his or her needs and professional goals.
Ecology MS and PhD Degrees General Science Requirements
For further details, see the USU Ecology Center website: http://www.usu.edu/ecology/
Ecology Course Requirements
Master of Science
- Attendance in Ecology Seminar (BIOL 6870 or ENVS 6870 or PSC 6870 or WATS 6870 or WILD 6870 ) is required when in residence, but students need only register once per academic year.
- One course must be taken from two of the functional (core) blocks. The four available blocks are shown below.
Doctor of Philosophy
- Attendance in Ecology Seminar (BIOL 6870 or ENVS 6870 or PSC 6870 or WATS 6870 or WILD 6870 ) is required when in residence, but students should only register once per academic year.
- One course must be taken from three of the functional (core) blocks. Students continuing from the MS to the PhD degree can apply block courses taken for the MS degree to the PhD requirement. The four available blocks are shown below.
2. Organismic, Population, and Evolutionary Ecology
3. Community, Ecosystem, and Landscape Ecology
Economics and Sustainability
Anthropology, History, Psychology and Sociology
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