Undergraduate Degrees, Minors, and Certificates
Minors
|Certificates
If you are interested in becoming a professional forester or natural resource manager,
a
Forestry Degree will enable you to work as a:
- Timber manager, forest planner, fire specialist, forest ranger or as a range or
soil conservationist.
You will learn how to use:
-
Satellite imagery, Geographic Information Systems and state-of-the-art
computer systems and models.
You will spend a large part of your career working outdoors, with other natural resource professionals, with both the public and private land-owners.
For students interested in:
- managing wilderness and wildlands,
- protecting our natural and cultural heritage in these places,
- helping people connect with nature through tourism and recreation,
The
Recreation Management Degree provides the foundation for a promising future working in some of the world’s most beautiful places; graduates find employment opportunities in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Resource Conservation integrates social and natural sciences to address real world environmental challenges. This undergraduate major prepares students for the diverse opportunities that now exist in environmental conservation, natural resource management, and sustainable livelihoods and communities. Students can select from the following areas of study - ecology, international conservation, range management and grassland ecology, community conservation, watershed hydrology, environmental policy and planning, soil science, natural resource economics, or wilderness studies - or work with a faculty advisor to design their own program.
Ecological restoration is one of the most rapidly growing areas of employment in natural resource management. The Wildland Restoration degree provides students with an in-depth understanding of the principles of restoration ecology, as well as hands-on experience planning and implementing restoration projects. In addition to gaining the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the complex challenges of restoring degraded ecosystems, the Wildland Restoration degree fulfills civil service requirements (for employment with the federal government) as well as prerequisites for graduate school in the biological sciences.
With a degree in Wildlife Biology, you can work for an agency or company as a wildlife biologist, studying human influences on wildlife. With a Masters degree, you may manage a National Wildlife Refuge, serve as a district biologist for the Forest Service, or manage fish populations for the state. With a bachelor's degree you may become a conservation officer working in wildlife law enforcement or technician working on a research project.
Undergraduate Minors
WILDERNESS STUDIES
The Wilderness and Civilization program is designed to provide students, at or beyond the sophomore level, with a broad interdisciplinary introduction to the subject of wilderness, focusing on the multi-faceted values that wild lands hold for civilized society. The intent is to help students become thoughtful, effective participants in public decisions concerning wilderness issues. The program is not intended as a professional land management qualification, although many students supplement their professional education through this program. A special feature is that students develop a sense of community by participating as a group in an intensive package of courses and field experiences. Students who complete the Wilderness and Civilization program become eligible for the wilderness studies minor.
WILDLAND RESTORATION
The Wildland Restoration minor is designed for students majoring in fields other than restoration ecology, especially those focusing on natural resources, journalism, the social sciences, and law. It is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of ecology and ecological restoration.
WILDLIFE BIOLOGY
See description for the major above.
Certificates
CERTIFICATE IN GIS SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGIES
The Certificate in GIS Sciences and Technologies is designed to provide students with broad exposure to the principles, technologies, and applications of geographic information systems (GIS). Many government and business sector careers require the employee to have a good working knowledge of GIS and related technologies. A student who has earned the Certificate will have a good understanding in general GIS theory and will possess the knowledge and skills to acquire, process, analyze, and properly display geographic data. This program is a complement to an existing major at The University of Montana-Missoula or as a complement to a bachelor’s degree obtained at another university.