Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology Emphasis
The Fisheries and .Aquatic Ecology Emphasis requires a minimum of 69 credits, including the 26-credit Biology Nucleus, 22 additional credits in Biology, and 21 credits of supporting courses:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Biology courses: | ||
| BIOL 302 | Ecology Laboratory and Recitation | 2 |
| BIOL 467 | Biology of Fishes | 3 |
| BIOL 468 | Ichthyology Laboratory | 1 |
| BIOL 470 | Fisheries Management (with laboratory) | 4 |
| BIOL 476 | Aquatic Ecology (with laboratory) | 4 |
| One of the following organismal courses: | 3-4 | |
| Ornithology (with laboratory and recitation) | ||
| Mammalogy (with laboratory and recitation) | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology with Laboratory | ||
| Field Entomology (with laboratory) | ||
| Botany (with laboratory) | ||
| Rocky Mountain Flora | ||
| One of the following: | 3 | |
| Evolution | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| At least two credits of Capstone Experience courses: | 2 | |
| Senior Seminar (may be repeated) | ||
| Senior Thesis | ||
| Minimum supporting courses: | ||
| CHEM 231 | Introduction to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 234 | Introductory Organic and Biochemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| MATH 151 | Calculus I (GT-MA1) | 4 |
| MATH 213 | Probability and Statistics (GT-MA1) | 3 |
| PHYS 140 | Introductory Physics (with laboratory) (GT-SC1) | 4 |
| At least three credits of the following communications and writing courses: | 3 | |
| Public Relations Communication | ||
| Small Group and Conflict Management | ||
| Social Media Skills | ||
| Technical Writing | ||
| Writing the Environment | ||
| Multimedia Communication | ||
| At least three credits of the following human dimensions courses: | 3 | |
| Wildlife Ecology and Management (with laboratory) | ||
| Environmental Economics | ||
| Introduction to Climate Policy | ||
| Introduction to Public Lands Management | ||
| Quantitative Skills for Climate Action Planning | ||
| U.S. and Western Environmental Politics | ||
| Water Policy and Politics | ||
| The Water Planet | ||
| Advanced Climate Policy | ||
| Total Credits | 43-44 | |
Western Watershed General Education Requirements
Students must complete all Western Watershed General Education requirements to graduate.
Graduation Requirements
Undergraduate programs require a minimum of 120 semester credits for graduation. Of those 120 credits, 40 credits must be in upper-division courses (those marked 300 and above). Fifteen of these 40 upper-division credits must be earned in courses that are part of the standard or comprehensive major program being pursued.
Students are expected to review all graduation requirements, which can be found in the Western Undergraduate Catalog: Graduation Requirements.
Sample Plan
Degree Plans are for planning purposes. They reflect a suggested plan to complete the degree in a projected timeframe per program of study.
“Western Watershed Course(s)” refers to a course from the Tributaries area of the Western Watershed program. These courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| BIOL 151 | Diversity and Patterns of Life (with laboratory) | 4 |
| CHEM 111 | General Chemistry I (GT-SC2) (Western Watershed - Fundamental Skills) | 3 |
| CHEM 112 | General Chemistry Laboratory I (GT-SC1) | 1 |
| MATH 140 | College Algebra (GT-MA1) (Western Watershed - Fundamental Skills) | 3 |
| ENG 102 | Writing and Rhetoric I (GT-CO1) (Western Watershed - Fundamental Skills) | 3 |
| WWGE 101/102/103/104 | Headwaters (Select one) | 2 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 150 | Biological Principles (with laboratory) (GT-SC1) | 4 |
| CHEM 113 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CHEM 114 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| MATH 141 | Precalculus (GT-MA1) | 4 |
| ENG 103 | Writing and Rhetoric II (GT-CO2) (Western Watershed - Fundamental Skills) | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 301 | General Ecology | 3 |
| BIOL 302 | Ecology Laboratory and Recitation | 2 |
| CHEM 231 | Introduction to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 234 | Introductory Organic and Biochemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 6 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 310 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| MATH 213 | Probability and Statistics (GT-MA1) | 3 |
| PHYS 140 | Introductory Physics (with laboratory) (GT-SC1) | 4 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 6 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 312 | Genetics (with recitation) | 4 |
| Elective | BIOL Elective | 3 |
| MATH 151 | Calculus I (GT-MA1) | 4 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 6 |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 467 | Biology of Fishes | 3 |
| BIOL 468 | Ichthyology Laboratory | 1 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 6-7 |
| WWGE 301/302/303/304 | Delta (Select one) | 1 |
| Credits | 11-12 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall | ||
| BIOL 495 or BIOL 496 |
Senior Seminar or Senior Thesis |
2 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 3 |
| BIOL 470 | Fisheries Management (with laboratory) | 4 |
| BIOL 476 | Aquatic Ecology (with laboratory) | 4 |
| Credits | 13 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 440 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| Western Watershed | Western Watershed Course(s) | 12-13 |
| Credits | 15-16 | |
| Total Credits | 118-120 | |
Western is committed to doing our part to provide each student a clear path to graduation. This four‐year degree plan is a sample map for fulfilling requirements in the major and General Education. The pathway that you take to your degree may differ somewhat from this illustration, depending on where you start and the detours and side trips you may take along the way. You are responsible for ensuring your overall, upper division, and major‐specific credits as well as GPA requirements are fulfilled for graduation.