Student Profile

There are approximately 35 students (66% female) in the program, and about 16 are enrolled each year. Last year 82 completed applications were received (70 domestic, 12 international), and 32 students were offered admission (18 matriculated; 5 are international). The mean GPA of the students admitted from the United States was 3.64, and mean GRE scores were: 653 verbal (range 510 - 760), 675 quantitative (range 520 - 790) and 726 analytical (range 560 - 800). For international students the mean GPA was 3.23, and GRE scores 474 verbal (range 310 - 660), 570 quantitative (range 420 - 750), and 5.0 analytical (range 4.0 - 6.0).

We don't have a printed brochure about the CONS program, but here is a recently updated PDF file with information about it.

The Graduate School has a web page with general information for applicants.

You may find this publication of interest if you are planning a career in conservation biology: "Planning to fledge the ivory tower? - a flight plan for conservation practitioners", by Jamie Reaser and Gabriela Chavarria. Note that there are many opportunities for internships and for networking (both of which the article suggests) for students in the CONS program.

Another useful publication is Getting a Job in the Conservation Movement, by Andy Kerr.

Graduates

CONS graduates have usually taken one of three different career paths. One group,
consisting mostly of international students, has returned to their home countries where they have resumed teaching careers, begun work for NGOs, or done consulting work. This group includes faculty from Mexico and Venezuela, NGO workers in Panama, India, and Ecuador; it also included the first woman (Bernadetta Sugardjito) appointed Director of a national park in Indonesia (who met an untimely death in an accident en route to the park). One American graduate went on to a job as Park Development Officer in Botswana, working in a national park to develop environmental education programs with local village schools and conservation/community groups.

A second group of graduates has gone on to advanced graduate work (Ph.D. programs), in fields ranging from molecular genetics to resource economics to policy. Schools where our graduates have gone for this work include the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, Michigan State University, Washington University (St. Louis), North Carolina State University, and the University of Maryland. All of these students were offered financial support, and several received prestigious fellowships.

The largest group of CONS graduates has gone into the work force. Many are working for NGOs such as The Nature Conservancy, Biodiversity Support Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Friends of the National Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo, International Crane Foundation, etc. Others are working in consulting firms, and a few are working in government agencies (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service).

For more information on CONS graduates, please take a look at the Alumni Directory.