Best colleges for Wildlife Conservation/Wildlife Reabilitation in MN/ND/SD?

Question

I live in North Dakota and am looking at a career in Wildlife Conservation. The University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Paul both have programs offering this, but what other universities in perhaps north dakota, south dakota, or minnesota have good programs. It's hard for me to decide on colleges, especially when their websites hardly explain what they offer. I beleive the Duluth campus is aimed more towards teaching degrees and I want nothing to do with that, or at least that is what I can assume from reading their website. It is however in a great location for wildlife, I have been to Wolfridge and found it amazing. So any ideas would be greatly appreciated, especailly from people now in the program.

Answer 1

You will be better off going to a big university (like UMD or UM) if you want to go into this field.  They get more funding to run these programs, they have big staffs, there are many students which mean you'll get many viewpoints, and they will be able to teach all aspects of the science.  There may be others out there that teach conservation, but I'd stick with the big universities.

Answer 2

I think they all have programs that are fairly equivalent.  The key factor is what do you want to do when you graduate?  If it's ranger work or the DFS you should pick a campus close to where you want to work.  Then do tons of internship/externship work while working on your degree.  Get known by the professionals and they will help you get the first real job in forestry which is always the toughest.  A lot of people go for the degree and can't break into the job market due to lack of experience.  There are a lot more people that want these jobs, than jobs available.  Go kick some behind!