Welcome from the Department Chair, Dr. Jennifer Boyd
Welcome to the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University! As chair, I am honored to represent our impactful legacy and to support the amazing work of our faculty, staff, and students.
Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology is an exciting field that unites scientific curiosity with passion for the natural world. From local-to-global, we tackle the complex challenge of managing and conserving our planet’s diverse fish and wildlife resources through research, education, and outreach.
As the only program in Colorado to offer comprehensive undergraduate and graduate degrees in fish and wildlife management and conservation, we support a growing community of more than 600 undergraduates, 100 graduate students, and 2,500 alumni engaged in fish and wildlife stewardship within the state and beyond.
From Classroom to Career
Our graduates apply rigorous training, hands-on experience, and professional networks built in FWCB to pursue impactful careers across conservation science, natural resource management, policy, and education.
Hear directly from alumni about how FWCB shaped their career paths.
"FWCB gave me abundant hands-on experience with fish and macro invertebrates that is essential to my work now. The opportunities I had to work with federal and local partners helped me build connections that I will continue to carry into my career."
Kim Nichter
M.S. FWCB Graduate (2025)
Fisheries Biologist, Poudre Headwaters Project
“The mentors and peers I interacted with at FWCB shaped who I am as a scientist. My quantitative training could not be beat, and having the chance to interact with my future employer throughout my program gave me opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
Casey Setash
M.S. & Ph.D. FWCB Graduate (2023)
Avian Researcher, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
“The obvious answers is all of the coursework in my time in graduate school lead directly to the skills I use every day to be able to design, analyze, and write about research projects. Beyond that, there is a certain level of perseverance, and thick skin you acquire that helps you get to the finish line on all manner of problems and criticisms, large and small, that pop up over the course of a project.”
Jake Ivan
Ph.D. FWCB Graduate (2011)
Wildlife Research Scientist, Colorado Parks and Wildlife