Cooperative 3-2 Program in Forestry and Environmental Studies between The College of Wooster and Duke University

The College of Wooster maintains a cooperative professional program with the School of the Environment at Duke University. This program is designed to provide qualified students with professional training in a variety of environmentally-related fields. The 3-2 program involves a specially-structured three year course of study at The College of Wooster in the natural or social sciences. In the junior year, the student may apply for early admission to the School of the Environment at Duke University, where she or he may complete a two-year program leading to the Master of Forestry (MF) or a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) degree.

Admission to the Duke program is competitive. The Wooster student must follow a careful schedule to finish the necessary prerequisites for admission to the masters program, as well as the distributional requirements for the B.A. at The College of Wooster, in three years. Students interested in this program are urged to contact the Program Representative in the Biology Department, listed below, in their first fall on campus to plan their course of study. Prerequisites for admission to Duke include courses in introductory calculus, statistics, economics, and the natural or social sciences related to the student's area of interest. For students interested in Resource Management, this should include at least Introductory Biology (Biology 210/211) and Population and Community Ecology (Biology 350). For those interested in Environmental Toxicology, chemistry through organic chemistry is required. Work done at Duke University in the first year of the masters program meets the requirements for the Senior Independent Study project, which is required for graduation from The College of Wooster.

Admission into the professional program at Duke is based on a student's academic record, letters of recommendation, and the Graduate Record Examination scores (taken in the junior year). Currently, the average cumulative grade point average for persons accepted into the Duke program is about 3.2 - 3.3 (on a 4.0 scale). A student must have a cumulative average of at least 3.0 in order to qualify for the Leave of Absence from Wooster which is required to participate in this Combined Professional Program. Further details may be found on pages 140-144 in the Wooster Catalogue for 1994-1995. Upon completion of the requirements for the degree (usually in the first year at Duke), the student is awarded a B. A. from The College.

The Duke School of Environment currently offers seven different programs, addressing different fields of environmental interest. The Forest Resource Management Program, which awards a degree of Master of Forestry, qualifies a person for employment as a professional forester in the economic and ecological management of forest and related resources, including wildlife, recreation, and water resources. The degree of Master of Environmental Management can be earned in one of six different areas of specialization. The MEM degree provides a broader perspective on resource planning and management within an ecological context, and includes the following programs:

• Resource Ecology
• Environmental Toxicology, Chemistry, and Risk Assessment
• Water and Air Resources
• Resource Economics and Policy
• Coastal Environmental Management
• Biohazard Science

Special programs, and combinations of interests from the areas given above, are also possible. Research Centers at Duke, organized around environmental and policy issues, provide additional opportunities for student learning. The current centers include the Wetland Center, the Center for Resource and Environmental Policy Research, the Marine Biomedical Center, and the Center for Tropical Conservation.

Both the MF and MEM degrees require 48 credit hours of graduate coursework (generally completed in 4 semesters), as well as the completion of a master's project. The employment prospectus for graduates of the Duke School of the Environment is very positive, and graduates seem to be readily employable in their chosen field of study. In addition, students who go to Duke from Cooperative Programs such as the one at The College of Wooster have a very high success rate in their masters degree programs. Financial aid for the graduate portion of this program is available from the School of the Environment at Duke University, and financial awards are based on academic ability and performance. The maximum awards, made to the very best students, total about one-half of tuition costs. Opportunities for loans, internships, and work placements are also available.

Qualified students with a personal and professional commitment to resource ecology and environmental management are invited to consider the Cooperative 3-2 program as an option for their study at The College of Wooster. The Program representative is: Dr. Marilyn D. Loveless Department of Biology The College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio 44691 330-263-2022