Students
The Ecology core requirements are few and flexible. Students must meet the requirements listed below, as well as any additional requirements within their home department.
Curriculum & Requirements
- The degree is research-based and requires a thesis or dissertation.
- The Ecology Center (EC) hosts an annual seminar series with ecological scientists from other participating institutions. Ecology majors are required to attend (or view) a minimum of 10 such lectures per 1-credit Ecology Seminar course: (BIOL/ENVS/PSC/WATS/WILD 6870). This course is offered in both the Spring and Fall semesters, and students will be required to submit evidence of their seminar attendance on Canvas during their enrolled semester.
- MS students must pass the 1-credit Ecology Seminar at least two times during their program of study.
- PhD students must pass the 1-credit Ecology Seminar at least three times during their program of study.
- The degree requires some demonstrated breadth of knowledge in Ecology, most often satisfied with courses from the topical Blocks.
- MS students must take three credits each from two of the Blocks.
- PhD students must take three credits each from three of the Blocks.
- Students may substitute other courses from the same topical area by request to the Ecology Center Director (Peter Adler).
Specializations:
Climate Adaptation Science (CAS):
Graduate students from any of the CAS program's 10 affiliated departments can apply for this 9-credit specialization. The Climate Adaptation Science program closely integrates research, instruction, work-place experience, and collaborations among scientists, federal, state, and local land and resource managers, policy-makers, trainees, and citizen stakeholders. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary research and includes training in informatics, modeling, communication, leadership, project management, risk assessment, decision-making under uncertainty, and interdisciplinary teamwork. Trainees acquire primary disciplinary expertise in their departmental major degree fields. All trainees acquire skills in working on problems that span (and in working on teams that include) the full range of climate-adaptation-related disciplines. For additional information about the program, including eligibility requirements and application instructions, please visit the CAS website.
Forest Ecology
Within the Ecology MS and PhD degrees in the Wildland Resources Department, a student also can choose to pursue a Specialization in Forest Ecology (to appear on their transcript upon completion). To opt for the Specialization in Forest Ecology, you must make this selection when you fill out your committee form or note your intent under your plan description in your program of study. Required elements for this specialization include:
- Any three (3) of the courses in Table 1 for MS students.
- Any four (4) of the courses in Table 1, plus one (1) more course from any Ecology Center block for PhD students.
The remaining credit hours for the degree are determined by the student and their committee.
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Table 1. Currently Offered Classes |
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|
Course |
Name |
Offered |
Ecology Block |
Instructor |
|
WILD 3100 |
Introduction to Wildland Fire |
Every fall |
Block #1 |
Yocom |
|
WILD 5700 |
Forest Assessment & Management |
Every spring |
Block #3 |
DeRose |
|
WILD 5710 |
Forest Vegetation Disturbance Ecology & Management |
Every other fall (even) |
Block #3 |
Yocom |
|
WILD 6350 |
Wildland Soils |
Every fall |
Block #1 |
Kulmatiski |
|
WILD 6570 |
Forest Ecology of the Sierra and White Mountains |
Summer only (first half) |
Block #3 |
Lutz |
|
WILD 6730 |
Forest Community Ecology |
Every other fall (odd) |
Block #3 |
Lutz |
|
WILD 6900 |
Fire Ecology |
Fall every other year (odd) |
Block #1 |
Yocom |
|
WILD 7400 |
Plant Population Ecology |
Every fall |
Block #2 |
Schupp |
|
PSC 6130 |
Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification |
Every fall |
Block #1 |
Boettinger |
|
WILD 6710 |
Landscape Ecology |
Every spring |
Block #1 |
Stuber |
Funding
Financial Support Opportunities For Ecology Graduate Students
Graduate students working on Ecology degrees are eligible to apply for the various forms of monetary support described below. Receipt of funds is determined by availability of total funds and worthiness of the application.
Participation in Professional Meetings
The Ecology Center considers requests from faculty and graduate students for partial travel support to professional meetings (regional, national, and international). To be considered, faculty and graduate students MUST be the first or sole author on conference presentations. At the start of each month, two members of the EC advisory board will consider and rank the requests that were received during the previous month. We expect to award up to $1000 each month, though this number may change with our budget. Priority will be given based on financial need and the benefit to the faculty or student attending the meeting. Individual requests will be capped at $500. Requests that are not granted will be rolled over to the following month until the need for the funds has passed. Similarly, unspent funds will be rolled over to the following month. You can view the spreadsheet listing the award amounts, purposes, and recipients here:
To apply for travel support, email the following information to Lexi (alexandra.turano@usu.edu): 1) the name and dates of the meeting, 2) the title and authorship of the presentation, 3) your estimated budget for the meeting, 4) the amount of requested Ecology Center funds (note that the Ecology Center does not provide support for registration fees), and 5) a list of other sources of support for your participation in the meeting, or an explanation of why no other support is available. Please keep in mind that we will make decisions in the first week of each month for those requests that came in during the prior month, and plan ahead based on this timeline. If you need a faster decision, explain why and give us a clear deadline.
Publication Costs
The Ecology Center also considers requests for partial support (up to $500) for publication costs. Requests will be considered using the same process described above for meeting participation support. Priority will be given to student-led papers and projects without publication costs already included in their budget.
To apply for support, email the following information to Lexi (alexandra.turano@usu.edu): 1) a pdf of the manuscript, 2) the name of the journal, 3) the total publication cost, 4) the amount of requested Ecology Center funds, and 5) a list of other sources of support, or an explanation of why no other support is available.
Graduate Research Awards
The Ecology Center grants competitive Graduate Research Awards (currently up to $5,000 per year) to assist in thesis or dissertation research. Awards are granted in the spring of each year, and graduate students may apply in two consecutive years. A proposal is required. Calls for proposals will be announced in early January of each year, and those who are awarded funding will receive access to those funds on July 1st. You can view the most recent proposal specification document here:
Finishing-Up Funds
Graduate students who 1) have no other sources of support, 2) are in residence at USU and working to complete a MS or PhD degree, and 3) are within 6 months of defending their thesis or dissertation may apply for this one-time award of up to $5,000. Funds may be used toward tuition and/or stipend. A one-page proposal is required and should indicate your progress, work yet to be accomplished, and anticipated defense date. The proposal must be endorsed by your major professor and submitted to the Ecology Center director (Peter Adler).
Emergency Medical Fund
Students with outstanding medial debt that imposes a financial burden are eligible to apply for support from the QCNR Emergency Medical Fund. The purpose of this fund is to aid graduate students in QCNR and/or the EC who are facing financial hardship due to medical expenses.
Prospective Students
Ecology is increasingly interdisciplinary, and ecologists have diverse training backgrounds. The Ecology program at Utah State includes affiliated faculty from 11 departments in 5 colleges and fellow students with many different interests. The Ecology curriculum is research-based and includes a common but flexible core of seminars and courses, along with specific departmental degree requirements and a research thesis or dissertation.
Acceptance into the Ecology degree program requires acceptance by a faculty member who will serve as advisor for the degree program. If you are interested in studying Ecology at Utah State, you should contact the Faculty Associate(s) whose areas of research align with your professional interests. Inquiries sent to the Ecology Center will be routed to appropriate department(s), department head(s), or faculty member(s).
Application should be made to:
The School of Graduate Studies
Utah State University
0900 Old Main Hill
Logan, Utah 84322-0900
(Phone: 435-797-1189, Fax: 435-797-1192)
The department of interest should be specified. Departments offering Ecology MS and PhD degrees are:
USU does not offer an Ecology degree through the Geosciences department; however, MS and PhD students in Geosciences who are specializing in Sedimentology and Paleoecology, or Geomorphology and Earth Surface Processes can become Ecology Center affiliates with access to the benefits that the Ecology Center has to offer. Please contact the Ecology Center with questions or for more information.
Utah State offers a variety of competitive graduate scholarship and fellowship opportunities (see also Departmental and College webpages). Also, the National Science Foundation offers Graduate Research Fellowships through a competitive process.
Graduate Student Resources
Help us populate this page with information that you think would be useful to other graduate students.
Email suggestions to ecology.center@usu.edu or stop by and chat with Lexi in NR208.