Joint B.S./M.S. degree program in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
MS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Students who have completed the course requirements
for the BS degree must be granted admission to the
Required or Core Courses:
1. EEB 310 Conservation Biology (3 credits)
2. EEB 488 Current topics in Biodiversity (1 credit)
3. EEB 489 Current topics in Conservation Biology (1 credit)
4. One of the following:
EEB 301 Population and Community Ecology (3 credits)
EEB 302 Organisms and Ecosystems (3 credits)
5. One of the following:
EEB 348 Population Genetics (3 credits)
EEB 449 Evolution (3 credits)
6. EEB 458 Principles and Methods of Systematic Biology (4 credits), OR one of the following taxonomic diversity courses**:
EEB 200 Biology of Fishes (4 credits)
EEB 243 Insect Classification and Identification (4 credits)
EEB 252 Field Entomology (4 credits)
EEB 271 Plant Systematics (4 credits)
EEB 272 The Summer Flora (3 credits)
EEB 275 Invertebrate Zoology (4 credits)
EEB 281& 287 or 281W & 287 Ornithology & Ornithology lab (4-5 credits)
EEB 283 Introduction to Animal Parasitology (4 credits)
EEB 286 General Entomology (4 credits)
EEB 304 Aquatic Plant Biology (4 credits)
EEB 340 Biology of Bryophytes and Lichens (4 credits)
EEB 380 Evolution of Green Plants (3 credits)
EEB 390 Biology of the Algae (4 credits)
EEB 454 Mammalogy (4 credits)
EEB 459 Aquatic Insects (3 credits)
EEB 465 Herpetology (4 credits)
EEB 477W Insect Phylogeny (3 credits)
* If any course cannot be taken, through no fault
of the student’s, then a substitute course may be taken with prior permission
of the student’s advisory committee.
Permissions for substitution will be granted only in response to
unforeseeable events (e.g., a course is cancelled at short notice), and not in
cases of failure to plan ahead.
** In selecting a course from this list, students are reminded that a maximum of only six credits of undergraduate coursework may be used to fulfill their graduate requirements.
Related Area:
Students are required to take at least 6 credits of course work in the related fields of Environmental Policy or Ethics, Environmental Economics, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). At least one course from each of two of the three sets of courses listed below must be taken to fulfill this requirement. If students have already taken a course from one area as part of their B.S., they are encouraged (but not required) to take their M.S. courses from the other two areas. Students should be aware that some of these courses may require prerequisites.
7. One of the following courses in Environmental Policy or Ethics:
ARE 234 Environmental and Resource Policy (3 credits)
NRME 240 Environmental Law (3 credits)
PHIL 297 Special Topics: Environmental Ethics (3
credits)
Any other graduate level course (3+ credits) that relates to Environmental Policy and Ethics and that is approved by the student’s committee
8. One of the following courses in Environmental Economics*:
ARE 235 Environmental and Resource Economics (3 credits)
ARE 307 Benefit-Cost Analysis and Resource Management (3 credits)
ARE 238 Valuing the Environment (3 credits)
Any other graduate level course (3+ credits) that relates to Environmental Economics and that is approved by the student’s committee
9. One of the following courses in Geographic Information Systems (GIS):
GEOG 246C Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
GEOG 248C Applications of Geographic Information Systems (4 credits)
GEOG 249 Selected Topics in Geographic Information Systems (2 credits)
GEOG 301 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (variable credits)
GEOG 303 Applications Issues in Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
NRME 237 Introductory Remote Sensing (3 credits)
NRME 238V Advanced Remote Sensing (3 credits)
NRME 377 Natural Resource Applications of Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
NRME 387 Geospatial Data
Processing Techniques (3 credits)
Any other graduate level GIS course (3+ credits) that is approved by the student’s committee
II. Research
The degree requires at least 4 credits of Master’s
research experience (EEB 397). The goal of this requirement is to give
students experience working in a research setting. Students are
encouraged to obtain this research experience off-campus, perhaps in
association with the internship component of their degree program.
Since the B.S./M.S. program is not a “research
M.S.”, students are not required to develop their own research project and no
formal thesis is required. Students should, however, be able to talk
about their research experience in an informed way appropriate to a
Master’s-level student. To demonstrate
their proficiency, each student is expected to write a short paper (2-4 pages)
summarizing the research project that they worked on and its broader
significance. The paper should cover (a)
why the work was conducted, (b) how it was conducted and what the student’s
role was, (c) what the research revealed, and (d) the significance of the
results. The paper should be written as
though for a general, but informed, audience (e.g., a likely future employer).
The background information and significance section should reference relevant
literature. This paper must be approved
by the student’s committee before the final examination date is set. Students should be prepared to answer
questions about their research experience during their final examination (see
below).
If a student has gained substantial research experience
as an undergraduate then they may petition their committee to take other
graduate level courses, or an additional internship, instead of taking an
additional 4 research credits.
“Substantial” research experience means work appropriate to that of a graduate
student (e.g., research leading to a substantial undergraduate thesis, a
first-authored publication, or equivalent).
Students who wish to make this petition are still required to write a
short paper summarizing their prior research (following the guidelines
described above) and must also provide justification for taking the alternative
course(s). The decision to accept the
petition lies with the student’s committee, but copies of the paper and
justification must be sent to the Program Coordinator.
Research credits used for the B.S. degree cannot
also be used for the M.S. degree.
Undergraduate students who are conducting research that would meet the
standards of the M.S. research requirement, and who do not need the credits for
their B.S., are advised to enroll for graduate credits (EEB 397).
III. Internship
Students are required to participate in at least
one internship, of no less than two months total duration, with an appropriate
agency over the course of their degree program. Students can obtain
credit for this internship by registering for EEB 306; each credit of
internship will entail a minimum of 42 hours of work per semester or
term. No more than 15 credits of internship work will be counted towards
the B.S. portion of the proposed B.S./M.S. degree. This internship component is
designed to provide students with experience in the practical applications of
biodiversity and/or conservation. Examples of appropriate host agencies
in the
Audubon Society, both National and
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Conservation International
Ecological Society of
Environmental Protection Agency
National Park Service
The Nature Conservancy
Wildlife International
World Wildlife Fund
IV. Advisory Committee
Upon entry into the program each student must
select a Major Advisor, who will guide them through their degree. Each
student’s Advisory Committee is formed after consultation between the student
and the Major Advisor. It includes two Associate Advisors. The
Major Advisor and at least one Associate Advisor must be members of the
Graduate Faculty. One Associate Advisor may be chosen from outside the
University in accordance with
V. Plan of Study
The student must prepare a Plan of Study containing
the courses he or she will take to gain mastery of the body of knowledge in the
field, including the required or core courses, the elective courses, and the
related courses. The student’s Advisory Committee must approve the Plan
of Study and three copies with original signatures should be given to the
VI. Candidacy
The student becomes a candidate for the degree of Master of Science once the Plan of Study, approved by the Advisory Committee, has been filed with the Graduate Records Office.
VII. Final Examination
The final examination is taken near the close of the candidate’s period of study, no later than one year after the completion of coursework as contained in the Plan of Study. The internship and research requirement must be satisfied before the final examination can be taken. No fewer than three faculty members, including all members of the candidate’s advisory committee, participate in the oral examination. At minimum, the final exam will consist of questions based on the student’s coursework, research and internship experience, and the application of the acquired knowledge to the student’s proposed career. Students should consult their committee members for additional details.