New Directions in Conservation Biology: Graduate Programs

Abstract

Only a decade has passed since conservation biology became an identifiable and proliferating element at universities in the United States. While a number of programs addressing conservation themes were available in the past, comprehensive approaches are just emerging. Recent theoretical and applied developments in science are offering insights and new directions, particularly in the areas of landscape ecology, ecosystem management and restoration, and sustainable development (Lubchenco et al. 1991). Concomitantly, public interest has increased in a natural resource management philosophy that includes values associated with complex, diverse, and healthy ecosystems. Conservation biology, when broadly defined to include new and integrated natural and social science approaches, offers the hope for appropriate environmental management in the future. Jacobson (1990) traced the birth of conservation biology and the development of programs at U.S. academic institutions. The following summaries of conservation biology curricula in graduate programs across the U.S. reflect the maturation as well as the diversity of this growing field. Descriptions of graduate programs in conservation biology were requested from universities (1) represented at the 1993 annual meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology; (2) listed in the 1992 Conservation Directory published by the National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.; and (3) participating in the national initiative, Integrated Approaches to Training in Conservation and Sustainable Development (Jacobson et al. 1992). The graduate program descriptions we feature represent the universities that responded to our request for information. Descriptions are limited to one paragraph with a list of up to eight representative faculty. The program summaries reveal that the institutionalization of curricula in conservation biology varies among graduate schools. Programs run the gamut from full-fledged master's and doctoral degrees to majors, concentrations, emphases, minors, and coursework. Many of the programs are ensconced in existing biology or natural resources departments; others are components of interdisciplinary programs. The 51 programs described here serve as a menu of current training and research in the field of conservation biology and foretell what will be on our plate in the future.