The Graduate Certificate in Global Biodiversity Conservation and Leadership is intended for students who wish to pursue a career in conservation biology or ecology from either a research or practical standpoint. Cooperating institutions include the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Saint Louis Zoo, the Center for International Studies at UMSL, and the Departments of Economics, History, and Political Science, and the Business School.
Admission
Graduate students enrolled in UMSL who intend to receive a Graduate Certificate in Global Biodiversity Conservation and Leadership must complete the Application for Graduate Certificate (G10) once completing the required coursework. Students not enrolled in a course of graduate studies at UMSL who have a baccalaureate degree or are enrolled in graduate work elsewhere must apply for admission to the UMSL Graduate School as graduate certificate-seeking students. The minimum admission requirements include: (1) completion of a baccalaureate degree and the prerequisites of the certificate program; 2) at least a 3.0 GPA for undergraduate course work or a 3.2 GPA for 12 credit hours of graduate course work. The minimum prerequisites are undergraduate courses in ecology, evolution and genetics.
Requirements
The certificate is awarded after completion of 18 credit hours of core courses and electives with a minimum of 12 credits at the 5000 or 6000 level. Electives must include a minimum of 3 credits outside biology with a maximum of 7 outside biology. A maximum of 3 credits may be taken at institutions other than UMSL. Students may simultaneously earn a graduate degree and count credits earned in their degree program toward the certificate when appropriate.
| Required Core Courses | ||
| BIOL 6250/POL SCI 6452 | Public Policy of Conservation and Sustainable Development | 3 |
| BIOL 6299 | Internship in Conservation Biology | 2-4 |
| BIOL 6222 | Advanced Tropical Ecology and Conservation | 3 |
| or BIOL 6270 | Advanced Global Climate Change | |
| Electives | 10 | |
| Biology | ||
| Population Biology | ||
| Ornithology | ||
| Ornithology Laboratory | ||
| Entomology | ||
| Entomology Laboratory | ||
| Flowering Plant Families: Phylogeny and Diversification | ||
| Community Ecology | ||
| Advanced Population Biology | ||
| Applications of Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Advanced Tropical Ecology and Conservation | ||
| Advanced Global Climate Change | ||
| Graduate Seminar | ||
| Economics | ||
| The Economics of Government Spending and Taxation | ||
| Geospatial Analysis in the Social Sciences | ||
| Fundamentals of Cost-Benefit Analysis | ||
| Natural Resource Economics | ||
| History | ||
| Selected Topics in History | ||
| International Business | ||
| Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment | ||
| Political Science | ||
| Public and NonProfit Budgeting | ||
| Environmental Policy | ||
| Women and Leadership World-Wide: Breaking the Glass Ceiling | ||
| NonProfits, Civil Society and Volunteerism | ||
| International Political Economy | ||
| International Organizations and Global Problem-Solving | ||
| International Law | ||
| Political Economy and Public Policy | ||
| Total Hours | 18-20 | |