Undergraduate Program
Introduction

If you are, or plan to be, an undergraduate student in one of the seven degree programs (majors) offered by the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, this handbook will help you develop an academic experience that best prepares you for the next step in your career.  For most students, this step will be employment or graduate school and the preparation for these two paths can be quite different.

Following a list of the EFB faculty, with contact numbers, there is a section on general information relating to academic policies.  After that is some advice on choosing a major, followed by an explanation of the requirements of each degree program.  Remember that the official requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree are those listed in the ESF catalog that pertains to the year in which you first enrolled.  Throughout your program you will have a Curriculum Plan Sheet, available at any time from the Registrar’s website, to guide you, but this handbook gives you an overview of all EFB programs.  The closing pages relate to preparing for life after your BS degree, and include examples of job titles held by recent graduates.

Keep this handbook in a safe place and refer to it when you are planning your academic program, especially prior to each registration.  Don’t wait to read the closing section on careers and graduate school; it might help you decide on an academic pathway to follow.  Remember, while your advisor and other faculty members are anxious to help, the design of a good program is your responsibility.  If you have specific career goals, become familiar with any “professional requirements” that go beyond the requirements for graduation.  For example, various types of certification by professional societies or registries  (e.g., state and federal Civil Service registries, the National Registry of Microbiologists, the Ecological Society of America, The Wildlife Society, the American Fisheries Society) require completion of certain sets of courses that may be quite general or very specific.  If graduate school is (or may be) in your future, you should closely follow recommendations that pertain to your field, or risk having to catch up after you graduate; such problems are particularly common with regard to mathematics and basic sciences such as physics and organic chemistry.

Finally, potential employers and graduate schools often favor students who have experienced more than the classroom.  An internship (EFB 420) is an excellent way to explore, and prepare for, employment.  With guidance of the advisor, a student arranges with an outside professional, an agency, or other institution  to work while receiving college credit, either during the academic year or over the summer.  Faculty and graduate students also frequently employ undergraduate students on hourly wage to help with research projects.  If you are inclined toward graduate school yourself, talk to professors in your area of interest about opportunities for undergraduate research (EFB 498); the experience is invaluable - plus,  you’ll get academic credit.