Wildlife Biology

Types of Degrees Wildlife Biology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many wildlife biology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	564
Master’s Degree	25
Associate Degree	25
Doctor’s Degree	3

What Wildlife Biology Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, wildlife biology majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Wildlife Biology Majors

Wildlife Biology majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

Skills for Wildlife Biology Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to wildlife biology:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Wildlife Biology Majors

As a wildlife biology major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Wildlife Biology Major?

People with a wildlife biology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	7.7%	$63,420

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Biology?

The major attracts more women than men. About 61% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of wildlife biology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	7
Hispanic or Latino	64
White	439
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	45

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Wildlife Biology, too. About 0.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Wildlife Biology

Some careers associated with wildlife biology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for wildlife biology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.2%
Master’s Degree	34.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.2%
Doctoral Degree	12.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.7%

Online Wildlife Biology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	6	1
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	5	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Wildlife Biology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to wildlife biology.

Major	Number of Grads
Zoology/Animal Biology	1,744
Entomology	454
Animal Behavior & Ethology	245
Animal Physiology	160
Other Zoology/Animal Biology	26

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.