OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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photo by Jonny Armstrong
Graduate students of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife value scholarship in all its forms - discovery, integration, application, and teaching. We value understanding for its own sake, for the betterment of people, and for the conservation of the natural world.
Students will produce a professionally written dissertation that meets peer-review publication standards. Students will be able to prepare and deliver a professional quality oral presentation. Students will be able to effectively communicate in discussions with peers and the general public. Students will demonstrate the ability to solve problems, evaluate evidence and recognize bias; ability to adjust conclusions/approaches in face of new data or interpretation tools. Students will demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the area of expertise and general breadth in the field. Students will demonstrate an understanding of ethical issues in fisheries and wildlife sciences.
The Fisheries Science graduate program focuses on quantitative analyses of marine and freshwater fish populations, water quality, fish systematics, fish and invertebrate physiology, stream ecology, modeling of aquatic ecosystems, land use interactions, endangered species, and aquaculture.
Areas of Concentration in Fisheries
Aquaculture, conservation biology, fish genetics, ichthyology, limnology, parasites and diseases, physiology and ecology of marine and freshwater fishes, stream ecology, toxicology, water pollution biology.
Marine Research
Students can choose to spend one term at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, an extended campus facility located in Newport, where we have courses emphasizing the marine environment.
The Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit has active research programs funded in part by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Agricultural Experiment Station, the Sea Grant program, Forest Science Laboratory and other organizations fund major research projects.
The department maintains extensive collections of vertebrate species, which are curated by Brian Sidlauskas (fish), Clinton Epps (mammals), and Bruce Dugger (birds). The Oregon State Ichthyology Collection is also available to view online.
The Wildlife Science graduate program in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife emphasizes wildlife research concerning the interaction of wildlife with land uses, migratory bird biology, forestry-wildlife relationships, endangered species management, and population dynamics. Read more about faculty research in Fisheries and Wildlife.
Areas of Concentration in Wildlife
Animal-habitat relationships; behavior; conservation biology; community studies; ecology of birds, small and large mammals including cetaceans and pinnipeds, and herptiles; ecology of avian and mammalian predators; ecology of waterfowl and upland game birds; effects of parasites, diseases, and environmental contaminants; nutrition; population; population dynamics; reproductive biology; toxicology of pesticides; wildlife ecology; wildlife-forestry interactions.
The department maintains extensive collections of vertebrate species, which are curated by Brian Sidlauskas (fish), Clinton Epps (mammals), and Bruce Dugger (birds).
Our Department's decision for admission is not the date of application but your acceptance by a faculty advisor. Please review more information on How to Apply prior to submitting an application.
Annual Graduate Student Assessment
All graduate students admitted prior to the 2016-17 academic year (i.e. prior to summer term 2016) must complete an annual evaluation of progress. (The only exceptions are for students whose defense is scheduled by the end of spring term 2017.)
Please complete the Graduate Student Assessment Form and email all materials together in a single file (.pdf) to fw.gradadvising@oregonstate.edu by February 28th, 2017.
Submission of your annual evaluation is required to qualify for consideration for the many scholarships and awards that our department offers. The departmental scholarship review committee is scheduled to meet in early March, and only those students who have filed their annual evaluation can enter the lists.
This is also an opportunity to review your progress with your committee and plan out your timeline for degree completion.
If you have questions about any of the graduate programs please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator.
