Fisheries and Wildlife Degrees in Arkansas

Why Fisheries and wildlife at atu?

• Field-based coursework
• Accellerated Bachelor's to Master's degree for qualified students
• Work closely with faculty
• Networking with agencies and professionals
• Research opportunities
• Education certification as an Associate Fisheries Biologist or Associate Wildlife Biologist
• Hands-on experience with fish and wildlife species
• Thriving Fisheries and Wildlife Society Student Organization
• Out-of-state field trips
• Foundational skills to prepare you for a career in Fisheries and Wildlife Science
• Financial aid specific to Fisheries and Wildlife majors

 WHAT COURSES WILL I TAKE?

• Wildlife Techniques, Fisheries Techniques
• Principles of Wildlife Management
• Principles of Fisheries Management
• Ornithology, Ichthyology, Mammalogy, Herpetology
• Aquaculture, GIS, Forest Ecology, Wetland Ecology

For a complete Degree Map, click on the link below:

• B.S in Fisheries & Wildlife Science

The Master of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Science was established in the Fall of 2000 to build on Arkansas Tech University's longstanding tradition of educating fisheries and wildlife professionals. Thesis and non-thesis options are available. 

M.S. FW - Thesis Option 

Thesis students are typically accepted following recruitment by individual faculty members. Prospective thesis students are encouraged to contact an individual Fisheries or Wildlife faculty member whose research interests and background most closely match your career goals (see link below). Assistantships, when available, are advertised on the Texas A&M Job Board. In general, the most competitive applicants will have a B.S. degree in Fisheries and/or Wildlife or other Biological Science, a GPA > 3.0, and GRE scores > 50 percentile in quantitative and verbal scores.

M.S. FW - Non-thesis option

The non-thesis option is available to all qualified students. Application procedures are listed below and guidelines for admission to the program are contained within the graduate catalog description of our program. In general, the most competitive applicants will have a B.S. degree in Fisheries and/or Wildlife or other Biological Science, a GPA > 3.0, and GRE scores > 50 percentile in quantitative and verbal scores.

ATU's Fisheries and Wildlife program preprares students for a career in natural resource management. Our program cultivates a passion for conservation through rigorus education and hands-on experiences.

vr549Five full-time fisheries faculty members work with students in the Fisheries and Wildlife Program at Arkansas Tech University.  For information on the classes they teach, their expertise, e-mail and other contact information click on a name of the faculty members listed below to go to their home page.

 Various faculty in other programs collaborate on research projects, have complementary areas of expertise, and offer classes of interest to our students. Information on many of these other faculty members and their programs can be found on the Biology, Geology, and Chemistry web pages.

Fisheries Faculty

Dr. Kyler
Hecke Professor of Fisheries Science Fisheries and Wildlife View Profile >

Dr. Zach
Moran Professor of Fisheries Science Fisheries and Wildlife

DR. DOUGLAS BARRON

Professor of Wildlife Science

Research interests:

Current research projects: 

Dr. Kyler Hecke, Ph.D. 

Visiting Assistant Professor of Fisheries Science

Research interests:

• Fish community ecology.
• Spatial applications in fish and mussel distributions.
• Fish and mussel conservation.

Current research projects: 

-Multi-species occupancy of mussels in the Louisiana portion of Bayou Bartholomew.

- Temporal assessment of fish movement and fish communities in a natural barrier and a human-made barrier with a high SARP score.

-Assessing microhabitat Use of the Highland Darter in the Illinois Bayou watershed.

​-Distribution of mussels in south-central plains ecoregion tributary watersheds.  

-Spatial and niche-breadth assessment of Slender Madtom diets in the Illinois Bayou watershed.

-Distribution of mussels in the Big Shoal and Little Shoal Creek watershed.

-Thermal ecology of mussels in an intermittent stream of the South Central Plains Ecoregion in Arkansas. 

Current publications (in review or in press):

Parker, Ryley I., K.B. ​Hecke, and C.J.  Gagen. 2024. Adapting to Taxonomic Change in Darters (Etheostomatinae): Reassessment of Preserved Specimens in a Natural History Collection. Southeastern Naturalist (in press).

Kyler B. Hecke, Ben S. Johnson, Ethan H. Dodson, Seth Drake, and Kade  B.Mitchell.  The Use of Gastric Lavage to Extract Diet Data from Darters (Etheostomatinae). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (in review). 

Dr. Chris Kellner, Ph.D.

Professor of Wildlife Science

Research interests: 

• Population ecology of birds and lizards, especially how habitat structure influences use of space and demographics. 
• For birds, I am particularly interested in how silvicultural practices influence community structure and population size. 
• For lizards, I am particularly interested in how habitat complexity influences population size, movements, survival, and individual growth. 

Current research projects:

•  I am currently comparing population trends of rusty blackbirds among different physiographic regions within Arkansas.  One of my graduate students is also investigating home range and habitat selection in urban landscapes in Central Arkansas. 
• I am also investigating growth patterns of prairie lizards among three structurally different habitats.   

Dr. Tom Nupp, Ph.D.

Interim Department Head of Biological Sciences; Fisheries and Wildlife Program Director; Professor of Wildllife Science

Research interests:

• Mammalian community ecology.
• GIS applications in Wildlife Ecology and Management.
• Management of endangered species

Current research projects:

• Examination of disturbance patterns at endangered Interior Least Tern colonies on the Arkansas River.
• Interactions among small mammals, mesocarnivores and endangered American Burying Beetles.
• Examination of small mammal carcass disturbance and decay.

Graduate assistantships 

Full-time teaching and research assistantships of $13,200 per annum with full tuition waiver are available on a regular basis for the M.S. FW - thesis option students, pending the status of funding cycles and the outcome of grant writing efforts. Recruitment of students for Graduate Assistantships is highly competitive and when available, they are advertised on the Texas A&M Job Board. 

GA's can be teaching assistantships or research assistantships or a hybrid of both depending on funding sources and program needs. GA's with teaching duties typically instruct two freshman-level biological laboratories per semester, assist with an upper-division fisheries and wildlife course, participate in a tutoring lab, and work on a thesis research project. Duties of a full-time research assistantship are related to a specific research project, related to the source of funding for a grant, and may include research obligations beyond those required by the thesis project.

Arkansas Game and Fish Conservation Scholarship

Both FW - thesis and non-thesis graduate students are encouraged to apply for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Conservation Scholarship (currently $2,000 annually renewable).

 AGFC Conservation Scholarship

Other Scholarships and financial aid

Graduate students can be eligible for other forms of financial aid and scholarships. For more information contact the ATU Financial Aid office and/or the ATU Scholarship Foundation. 

Procedure for Starting New Graduate Assistants 

 RESOURCES

• Admission Requirements
• Course Descriptions

For More Info

• Call (479) 968-0343
• Call 1-800-582-6953
• Fax (479) 964-0522
• Email tech.enroll@atu.edu
•  Visit Admissions

Undergraduate Program Application

Applications can be obtained in person at the Doc Bryan Student Services Building located just west of the coliseum on the ATU campus.

Tuition at Tech

TECH is an exceptionally good value for your tuition dollars. Our in-state tuition compares very favorably with other universities in Arkansas, and costs for out-of-state students very often are similar to those they would be paying to attend a university within their home state. This makes TECH a practical choice for out-of-state students interested in beginning a career in fisheries and wildlife. More information on in-state and out-of-state tuition waivers and academic scholarships can be obtained from the Admissions Office at the contacts listed to the left.

Graduate Program Application

Students are eligible to apply for unconditional admission to the Master of Science degree program in Fisheries and Wildlife Science (Thesis or Non-Thesis Options) if they have met admission requirements for the Graduate College, completed courses in fisheries management or wildlife management, ecology, and statistics with a minimum grate of "C", filed scores for the Graduate Record Examination in the Graduate College, prepared a letter of intent, and provided two letters of recommendation. Qualified students without the courses listed above may be accepted conditionally provided the deficiencies are made up without graduate credit.

Thesis and non-thesis MS options are available.

Please be aware that meeting minimum requirements for entry into the program does not guarantee admission to the thesis option. Students are only admitted to this option when a faculty member has the resources to support assistantship, tuition, and research expenses. Consequently, only a few students are accepted per year, and admission into this option is very competitive. Available positions generally are advertised on the Texas A&M job board, and/or with the American Fisheries Society, The Wildlife Society, and other media as appropriate for the position. Their web sites can be accessed via our Jobs/Graduate School web page.

Students submitting formal applications will be considered for openings, but qualified students are encouraged to correspond with faculty members whose interests most closely parallel theirs to determine if opportunities might be available and increase their chances for acceptance. Please be aware that it is not unusual to receive funding for projects at the last minute. Admission to a graduate program is a major commitment of the student, advising professor, and the program. Consequently, qualified students are encouraged to visit campus before accepting a position to help ensure that the program, research project, and relationship with the major professor fall within their expectations.

Forward The Following Information To:

The Graduate College
1507 North Boulder Ave.
Arkansas Tech University
Russellville, AR 72801

1. Official copies of your GRE scores AND official copies of transcripts for ALL colleges you have attended.
2. TWO letters of recommendation, using the form provided by the Graduate College, from professors familiar with your academic ability. You can download the letter of recommendation form using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
3. A letter of intent that addresses your interests, goals, and reasons for applying to the degree program.
4. A completed Graduate College application form.

If you need additional information on the program or potential research projects please feel free to contact any of the fisheries and wildlife faculty. Their e-mails and phone numbers can be found on their web pages under faculty, and on the F&W homepage.

Still Want to know more?

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