Wildlife And Fisheries

College of Forest Resources

Dr. George M. Hopper, Dean/Director

     Dr. Bruce D. Leopold, Department Head

Dr. Donald C. Jackson, Graduate Coordinator

Thompson Hall 109

662-325-3830

The Wildlife and Fisheries Department offers graduate education leading to the Master of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science with emphasis in either wildlife ecology, fisheries ecology, or aquaculture.  The Master of Science degree requires 24 hours of course work, including one graduate course in statistics, a thesis, a thesis defense, and a comprehensive oral examination.  .  A Ph.D. degree is offered in Forest Resources with emphasis in wildlife ecology, fisheries ecology, or aquaculture.  The Ph.D. requires a comprehensive written diagnostic examination, one graduate level statistics course, variable hours of course work (determined by graduate committee), oral and written comprehensive preliminary examinations, a dissertation and oral defense of dissertation.  A limited number of graduate research assistantships are available.  For additional information write to Department Head, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Box 9690, Mississippi State, MS  39762-9690.

Admission Criteria—The applicant for a master’s degree must hold a bachelor’s degree and must be sponsored by an extramurally funded research project.  The applicant for the Ph.D. degree must hold a master’s degree and must be sponsored by an extramurally funded research project.  An applicant cannot be admitted to the department until a faculty member agrees to serve as an advisor.  The applicant for the master’s program must have a minimum GPA of 3.00 out of 4.00 for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate academic work and must take the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  An applicant for the Ph.D. program must have a M.S. degree, a GPA of 3.20 out of 4.00 on all prior graduate studies (excluding research or thesis credits), and must have taken the general GRE.  The Ph.D. candidate must be approved by a vote of all faculty in his or her area (wildlife, fisheries, or aquaculture) with not more than one dissenting vote.  Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate work, GRE scores and TOEFL score (if appropriate) should be sent to the MSU Office of Graduate Studies.

Program of Study/Completion Requirements— Prior to submitting the formal program of study to the Department Head, the student’s graduate committee and major professor will be selected and officially appointed in consultation with the student.  A Committee Request Form must be completed by the student with committee members’ signatures and submitted to the department head secretary in the first semester of enrollment.  Master of Science graduate committees must include at least three members of the graduate faculty, four if the student has a minor area of study.  With permission of the dean of the college, a special appointment may be made for a faculty member not holding a graduate faculty appointment to serve on a student’s committee until the student graduates.  Adjunct appointments should be sought in the rare case where continuous student committee involvement is expected due to the nature of the relationship of the candidate and/or his/her agency with the department.  The major professor and the graduate coordinator will serve as two members of all committees.

If the student has a minor field outside the department, at least one member of the graduate committee must be from the minor area of study, and that member will be the student’s minor professor.  A Ph.D. student’s committee will include the major professor as chairperson, who must be a full member (Level 1) of the graduate faculty and from the major field, the minor professor (if a minor is being pursued by the student), and at least three other members, two of whom are to be drawn from the student’s major field of interest.  If, during the course of a student’s tenure, his/her research direction changes, it may be necessary to change the members of the graduate committee or the student’s advisor.  Such changes should be submitted on a committee request change form.

The graduate committee and the master’s student will meet during the student’s first semester of work to prepare the program of study.  The graduate committee and the Ph.D. student will meet during the student’s second semester of work after he/she has taken any needed statistics courses and the Ph.D. Diagnostic Exam to prepare the program of study.  The student must complete this form with the help of his/her major professor and concurrence of his/her graduate committee.  The program of study will be kept in the department head secretary’s office and will be forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies during the student’s last semester of course work.

Twenty-four hours of course work is required for master’s students, at least half of which is at the 8000 level or above, along with six hours of research/thesis. 

For doctoral students, the program of study must be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies at the time of announcement of the comprehensive/preliminary examination.  Ph.D. students are required to have 20 hours of research/dissertation research and must meet the residency requirement of three years with one full semester (nine hours) or two semesters half-time (six hours each) to the graduate program.

Provisional Admission—A student entering on a provisional basis (available only for master’s students) will be required to take three graduate courses (minimum of nine hours) in the first regular fall or spring semester and make a grade of B or higher in each of these courses.  These courses will be selected by the Departmental Probation Committee and will not include special problem courses or thesis research.  Failure to meet the grade requirement may result in dismissal and loss of eligibility for readmission to this department’s graduate program.  Students on probation are not eligible for an assistantship but may be paid wages.

Students must maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA on all courses after admission to the program.  If a master’s student falls below a 3.00 cumulative average, he/she will be placed on probation for the next fall or spring semester.  A master’s student admitted under normal circumstances (not provisional) will be allowed only one probationary semester.  If a student is admitted on a provisional basis, he/she will be allowed one probationary semester beyond that point.  If grades do not meet the required B or better in each course taken, the student’s program will result in immediate termination.  A doctoral student falling below a 3.00 cumulative average after admission to the program will be immediately dropped from the program unless the student’s committee justifies an exception which is approved by the majority of the faculty.

Unsatisfactory Performance—The graduate student is expected to be familiar with and comply with University, departmental, and subject area requirements.  Failure to comply satisfactorily with all requirements may seriously inconvenience the student and, in some cases, may lead to termination of assistantships or dismissal from the graduate program in this department.

Graduate Courses—Course prerequisites are noted in parentheses.

WF 6133        Fisheries Science (ST 3113). 3 hours

WF 6153        Principles of Wildlife Conservation and Management. 3 hours

WF 6173        Fish Physiology. 3 hours

WF 6183        Finfish Aquaculture (ZO 1504 and ZO 2524). 3 hours

WF 6193        Crustacean and Molluscan Aquaculture. 3 hours

WF 6213        Wildlife Damage Management (WF 3133 or WF 3131 or consent of  instructor). 3 hours

WF 6221        Limnology Laboratory (WF 3133 or consent of instructor). 1 hour

WF 6222        Limnology. 2 hours

WF 6243        Wildlife Techniques. 3 hours

WF 6253        Application of Spatial Technologies to Wildlife and Fisheries Management. 3 hours

WF 6263        Wildlife Diseases. 3 hours

WF 6313        Fisheries Management (WF 3133 or WF 3131). 3 hours

WF 6323        Wildlife Nutrition and Physiology. 3 hours

WF 6353        Fish and Wildlife Policy and Law  Enforcement. 3 hours

WF 6363        Wildlife and Fisheries Administration and Communication. 3 hours

WF 6373        Pond and Stream Management (WF 4223/6223). 3 hours

WF 6383        Wetlands Ecology and Management. 3 hours

WF 6394        Waterfowl Ecology and Management. 4 hours

WF 6463        Human Dimensions of Fish and Wildlife Management. 3 hours  

WF 6473        Wildlife and Fisheries Practices. 3 hours

WF 6484        Upland Avian Ecology and Management (WF 3133/3131 and WF 4153 and senior standing or consent of instructor). 4 hours

WF 6494        Large Mammal Ecology and Management ( WF 3133/3131 and WF 4153 and senior standing). 4 hours

WF 6990        Special Topics in Wildlife and Fisheries. 1-9 hours

WF 7000        Directed Individual Study. 1-6 hours

WF 8000        Research/Thesis. 6 hours

WF 8012        Advanced Applied Ecology.  2 hours

WF 8134        Research Methods in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. 4 hours

WF 8144        Theory of Wildlife Population Ecology (ST 3113 or consent of  instructor).  4 hours

WF 8154        Quantitative Applications in Wildlife Population Ecology (WF 8144, ST 8114 or consent of instructor).  4 hours

WF 8223        Management of Impounded River Elosystems. 3 hours

WF 8243        Conservation Biology. 3 hours

WF 8273        Advance Fisheries Management (WF 4133/6133 or equivalent). 3 hours

WF 8343        Conceptual Ecology and Natural Resource Management (WF 8012 or consent of instructor). 3 hours

WF 8344        Wildlife Habitat Analysis and Management (BOT 4203). 4 hours

WF 8413        Advanced Fishery Science (WF 4133/6133 and ST 3113 or equivalent). 3 hours

WF 8593        Fish and Shellfish Nutrition (NTR  4115 or General Biochemistry). 3 hours

WF 8990        Special Topics in Wildlife and Fisheries. 1-9 hours

WF 9000        Research/Dissertation. 20 hours