Program Description

In the Department of Environmental Conservation, you can choose from broad and multi-faceted graduate programs with opportunities for specialized training in wildlife, fish and conservation biology; forest resources and arboriculture; water, wetlands, and watersheds; environmental policy and human dimensions; and sustainable building systems. You’ll work alongside top faculty with expertise in diverse areas from the natural through the built environment. Our Program is especially distinctive in a number of ways:

• First, faculty affiliated with our federal cooperators form an integral and essential part of our graduate program. Specifically, faculty associated with the USGS Cooperative Fisheries and Wildlife Research Unit at UMass-Amherst teach regular courses and support many graduate students; they are a vital component of our program adding both depth and breadth to the program. Faculty affiliated with USGS Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory in Turner’s Falls and the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station (Fish and Wildlife Habitat Research Unit) in Amherst also play a vital role as they support graduate students, serve on student advisory committees, and occasionally participate in teaching.
• Second, our graduate program maintains strong ties to UMass Extension and the Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (NREC) Program. Specifically, the NREC Program works collaboratively with faculty to secure research and outreach grants that provide support to graduate students and research associates affiliated with our graduate program. They also facilitate the outreach aspects of a number of projects, helping to accomplish the outreach mission of the Department and our graduate program.
• Third, due in part to the research interests of individual faculty, our graduate program is recognized as a leader in the field of international wildlife conservation. As a result, the graduate student body is comprised of a substantial number of international students. Their presence and involvement in our graduate program helps to foster student diversity and promote global perspectives on natural resource conservation issues, and the diverse world views and experiences they bring to our program, both inside and outside of the classroom, adds substantial breadth to our graduate program.
• Lastly, our graduate program attracts a significant number of students interested solely in training for a professional career in environmental conservation; that is, they have no interest in pursuing a PhD or a career in science. Many of these students are working professionals seeking graduate-level training in a particular field of study. More often than not, however, these are simply students with a recently acquired undergraduate degree who recognize that an MS degree opens the door to excellent employment opportunities as a professional conservationist. Our graduate program offers several opportunities for students seeking a professional degree.

Admission Requirements

• A GPA of 3.0 required in undergraduate degree
• GRE  Recommendable(The GRE requirement is waived and not required for students applying for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023)

IELTS Requirements

Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Overall
6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5

Remarks:

• Total 30 Credits program(Yearly tuition fee is given)
• I20(Visa Letter) can be obtained only after submitting a bank statement with a balance of USD $50,305