Degree Details - Miles Community College

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A.S. Wildlife & Fisheries Biology Emphasis

Why Wildlife & Fisheries Biology?

This two-year (67 credit) emphasis prepares students to further their education in a Biology of Wildlife and Fisheries Biology major. This degree is designed with potential transfer to Montana State University, the University of Montana, the University of Wyoming, the University of Idaho, or North Dakota State University. Graduates from a four-year program or with an advanced degree may find positions in resource management and conservation biology. A student graduating in this field with a four-year degree may become a wildlife disease specialist; law enforcement agent for the fish and game; wildlife refuge manager; waterfowl biologist; fisheries biologist; or naturalist in a national, state or municipal park; hatchery manager; or environmental consultant for the energy industry.

Most fish and wildlife biologists find employment with federal or state agencies. Competition for these jobs is intense and most professional-level positions require an advanced degree. Other career opportunities exist with private resource groups and private industry such as environmental consulting firms, and oil, coal, mineral, or chemical companies. Students should consult the catalog of the institution to which they expect to transfer and select appropriate courses in consultation with their advisor.

Upon completion of this program graduates will be able to:

Transfer into a four-year program in Biology, Zoology, Natural Resources, or Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and complete upper-division work;
Communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
Complete upper-level science courses in Biology, Ecology, Zoology, and Chemistry;
Calculate and complete statistical analysis of migrating patterns and animal census for population.

NOTE: 3 credits of either Humanities & Fine Arts or History & Social Sciences must meet the Cultural Diversity requirement.

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Total Credits for Program Completion: 67

First Year - Fall Semester 18 Credits		Credits
NRSM 101NRSM 101 - Natural Resource Conservation This course is designed to introduce students to the benefits of range management and illustrate how the science of range management can be used on the farm or ranch. Range economics, range management plans, improvement and repair of rangeland and ecosystems will be covered. Co-requisite: NRSM 102.	Natural Resource Conservation	3
NRSM 102NRSM 102 - Montana Range Plants Rangeland inventory and classification methods will be reviewed. Common native and introduced plants will be identified in the field and the classroom. Co-requisite: NRSM 101.	Montana Range Plants	1
WRIT 101WRIT 101 - College Writing I This is an introductory writing course with emphasis on writing to a targeted audience. College Writing I prepares students for success in a wide variety of academic and vocational writing concerns. The writing process, formal voice, audience concerns, close reading strategies, effective styles and techniques, and the use of the computer as a writing tool are covered. Asserting and supporting a central claim and using MLA documentation and format are addressed. Pre-requisite: appropriate placement.	College Writing I	3
BIOB 160/161BIOB 160/161 - Principles of Living Systems & Lab Survey of cellular organization and functions. Topics covered will include biological macromolecules, cell structure and organelles, energy pathways, cell cycle, genetics, and biotechnology.	Principles of Living Systems & Lab	4
AGSC 101AGSC 101 - Intro to Ag & Env Resources his course is an overview of the agriculture industry and includes discussion of careers and training or degree programs required for employment in agriculture.	Intro to Ag & Env Resources	1
	Humanities & Fine Arts Core Requirement	3
CAPP 131CAPP 131 - Basic MS Office This course emphasizes the practical aspects of today's computing environment. Instruction includes the basic computer architecture and operation, hardware, operating systems, network communication, ethical issues associated with computers, and aspects of integrated software with an emphasis on business applications. Students will learn beginning to intermediate elements of word processing, database, spreadsheet, and presentation software.	Basic MS Office	3
First Year - Spring Semester 16 Credits		Credits
COMX 111COMX 111 - Introduction to Public Speaking This course is intended to help students develop skills in speaking, organizing thoughts, and listening. Major emphasis is placed on the preparation and presentation of formal speeches.	Introduction to Public Speaking	3
	OR
AGED 140AGED 140 - Leadership Development for Agriculture Process of developing and managing individuals by providing leadership and guidance at all levels of personal development. Self-concepts developed through situational leadership and management, principles of people management, goal setting, and belief systems. Collaborative learning and field experience utilized.	Leadership Development for Agriculture	(3)
BIOB 170/171BIOB 170/171 - Principles of Biological Diversity & Lab This course is an in-depth examination of the five-kingdoms of organisms, with an emphasis on vascular plants and vertebrate animals. Survival strategies, nutrition, reproduction, and ecological and economic importance of organisms will also be covered. Co-requisite: BIOB 171.	Principles of Biological Diversity & Lab	4
WRIT 121WRIT 121 - Intro to Technical Writing This course is designed to prepare students for job-related writing. Students learn to communicate information in order to do a job or make a decision. Topics covered include adapting messages to audiences, organizing paragraphs, revising for style, summarizing information, using definitions in reports, outlining, explaining a process, and researching. Specific applications are individualized according to students' career plans and are chosen from several categories, including effective letter writing, short report writing, proposal writing, research writing, and formal report writing from analyzed data. Pre-requisite: appropriate placement.	Intro to Technical Writing	3
	OR
WRIT 201WRIT 201 - College Writing II This course provides experience in writing essays based on close readings of more demanding texts. Students will come to understand more fully the intellectual demands of an academic discourse community by preparing essays designed to meet more rigorous expectations. WRIT 201 is designed to prepare transfer students to succeed in their junior- and senior-level courses by exposing them to Modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) documentation, critical thinking strategies, and logical construction of arguments. Students will complete developed essays that emphasize writing as a process of drafting and revising. Pre-requisite: WRIT 101.	College Writing II	(3)
WILD 180WILD 180 - Careers in Wildlife Biology This class will provide an introduction to wildlife management to wildlife majors as well as an understanding of wildlife management to the Ag Production students. Students will learn to appreciate and better understand the role wildlife play on the landscape. The class will discuss the importance of livestock and wildlife interactions and provide a basic understanding in how to manage wildlife. Wildlife management and its understanding is and will continue to be an important part of culture in Montana. Pre-requisite: BIOB 101/102 or BIOB 160/161.	Careers in Wildlife Biology	2
M 121M 121 - College Algebra This course covers the concept of functions; complex numbers; and solving systems of equations, sequences, and series. Functions investigated include linear, quadratic, polynomial, exponential, and logarithmic. Students who enter this class with lower than a grade of “B-” in the Pre-requisite course will be required to enroll in a regularly scheduled two hours per week of supplemental instruction and academic support (NC 021) where attendance and participation will be part of the student’s grade in M 121. Pre-requisite: M 095 or appropriate placement.	College Algebra	4
Second Year - Fall Semester 17 Credits		Credits
CHMY 121/122CHMY 121/122 - Intro to General Chemistry & Lab This is an introductory general chemistry course. Topics covered include measurement systems, atomic structure, chemical periodicity, bonding, chemical reactions, acid-base chemistry, and nuclear chemistry. Prerequisite: M 090 Introductory Algebra or M 100 Introduction to Technical Math, or M 111 Technical Mathematics, ACT score of 18 or higher in Math or Compass Placement score of 44 or higher on the Algebra section. Co-requisite: CHMY 122.	Intro to General Chemistry & Lab	4
ECNS 201ECNS 201 - Principles of Microeconomics This course focuses on model building, production possibilities, frontiers, economic systems, and resource allocation. Market structures will be examined by comparing perfect competition to monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. Market power, labor, and public choice will be covered.	Principles of Microeconomics	3
M 161M 161 - Survey of Calculus This course is designed to give students a non-rigorous introduction to differential and integral calculus. Emphasis will be placed on applications to business and the social sciences in topics including limits, continuity, derivatives, and definite integrals of single variable functions. Pre-requisite: M 121 or appropriate placement.	Survey of Calculus	4
NRSM 240NRSM 240 - Natural Resource Ecology The class will focus on the physical and biotic processes of ecosystem function, including natural and managed ecosystems such as rangelands, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and disturbed environments. This course includes an embedded lab. Pre-requisite: NRSM 101/102 or BIOB 101/102 or BIOB 160/161 or BIOB 170/171.	Natural Resource Ecology	3
ENSC 245ENSC 245 - Soils his course covers soils and their properties as components of landscapes and ecosystems. The application of soils knowledge to problems in environmental sciences and the management of agricultural, wildland, and urban landscapes will be covered. The course consists of two (2) credits lecture and one (1) credit lab.	Soils	3
Second Year - Spring Semester 16 Credits		Credits
CHMY 123/124CHMY 123/124 - Intro to Organic & Biochemistry & Lab This is an introductory organic and biochemistry course covering functional group organic chemistry and important biochemical structures, concepts, and processes. Pre-requisite: CHMY 121 or CHMY 141. Co-requisite: CHMY 124.	Intro to Organic & Biochemistry & Lab	4
GPHY 284GPHY 284 - Introduction to GIS Science and Cartography This is the first in a series of three courses in Geographic Information Science. Students are introduced to fundamental principles, concepts, and quantitative methods in GIS and modern cartography, with emphasis on spatial data and thematic map design. The embedded lab exposes students to spatial data models and techniques of computer mapping in cartography. This is a three-credit hour course that consists of two hours of lecture and two hours of lab per week. Students completing this course will understand fundamental spatial data models, principles, data processing techniques, and how they are used to create graphic output representing geographic phenomena.	Introduction to GIS Science and Cartography	3
STAT 216STAT 216 - Introduction to Statistics Traditional and resistant estimators of location and spread, fundamentals of inference using randomization and classical methods, confidence intervals, and tests of hypotheses. Pre-requisites: M 095 or M 105 or appropriate placement scores.	Introduction to Statistics	3
	Humanities & Fine Arts Core Requirement	3
	History & Social Science Core Requirement	3

Please refer to the the Current Catalog for specific program details.

Program Guide

Total Credits for Program Completion: 67