Department Chair's Welcome Statement

The department provides hands-on programs to students that focus on learning by doing. Our programs incorporate a mixture of laboratory and field learning experiences coupled with in class lectures and assignments. We offer three bachelor of science (B.S.) degree programs: Entomology, Wildlife Conservation, and Ecology. We also offer minors in Entomology and Wildlife Conservation. Our department provides support to students seeking internships and field experiences during their undergraduate program. Our department has several study abroad programs with trips to Costa Rica and Tanzania offered on a regular basis, and programs to Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Cambodia, and Vietnam recently offered. We have an active student chapter of The Wildlife Society (professional organization for wildlife biologists) and a new Entomology Club. Generous financial aid and scholarships are available to qualified students.

We offer two master of science (M.S.) degree programs in Entomology and Wildlife Ecology and a Ph.D. degree in Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. Most of our students are supported on graduate research assistantships. Our faculty members are hands-on and work closely with the students to ensure their success. We produce students that are proficient in not only the science aspects of our field, but also competent in statistics, oral communication and written communication. We provide support for students to attend professional conferences to present the results from their research. Most of our students publish their research in leading journals in our fields and are very successful at finding employment within a short time of graduation.

Our faculty is national and internationally recognized for their research and teaching programs. Research and teaching in the department encompasses the study of invertebrate and vertebrate animals at the organismic level with topics including, but not limited to: insect and wildlife ecology, patterns in animal diversity and abundance, population processes and demographics, interactions with plants, the environment and humans, and long-term management and conservation. The department also addresses ways to mitigate negative impacts of insects and wildlife and on humans, while maintaining or restoring biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, particularly in ecosystems heavily managed for the human enterprise. The department’s extension mission is to educate the public about the importance of coexisting with insects and wildlife, and to help the public apply research results through extension programs in integrated pest management including the safe and effective use of pesticides and other pest management techniques. We currenlty have 14 faculty, three extension professionals, and 147 undergraduate and 31 graduate students.