Environmental Studies & Wildlife Management

Whether solving environmental issues in the outdoors, influencing policy or co-authoring a publication — our environmental studies program provides endless opportunities for you to be at the forefront of the environmental field. 

Highlights

  • Environmental Studies & Wildlife Management is a highly interdisciplinary program that integrates courses in the humanities, life sciences, physical sciences and social sciences.
  • You will engage in learning in the classroom, laboratory and field to prepare you for a wide range of careers including consulting, policy, research, law, advocacy and conservation.
  • Dedicated faculty will guide your studies and share their areas of expertise, giving you an deeper understanding of the environment from many perspectives. 
  • You will discover unrivaled opportunities to travel and study the environment in a variety of locations. Environmental studies trips are led by faculty and have included destinations such as  the Florida Everglades, Florida Keys, Northern Michigan, Canada, Colorado Rocky Mountains, and Costa Rica.
  • The environmental studies & wildlife management program offers extensive opportunities for students to engage with industry professionals through internships and in cutting-edge student-faculty research. Our students have completed internships with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Natural Resources, the St. Louis Zoo, USDA, The Nature Conservancy, the Illinois State Museum, as well as many others.
  • A major or minor in environmental studies is easily combined with any other subject to yield a unique educational opportunity tailored to the interests of the individual student.

Outcomes 

Because they receive an education rich in classroom, laboratory, and field learning experiences, graduates of the environmental studies program are highly successful in obtaining employment and being accepted to graduate programs.   

With the exception of students pursuing graduate work, all of the recent environmental studies and wildlife management graduates have received offers of employment prior to graduation. Environmental studies graduates can be found working in any number of fields, including horticulture, corporate environmental compliance and engineering.