Earning Your Online Graduate Certificate

New for Summer 2023: 15-credit graduate certificate

UF offers a 15-credit graduate certificate program designed to prepare students to be wildlife forensic experts in their profession. Students will learn practical skills involving the handling and interpretation of evidence found in illegal wildlife activity, along with the proper protocol and record-keeping necessary when processing evidence.

Students will explore topics on domestic and international contemporary issues in wildlife protection and conservation, including current laws and legislations and the organizations tasked with developing and enforcing these regulations.

The online wildlife forensic sciences and conservation graduate certificate can be completed entirely online and in as little as one year. Upon completion of the 15-credit certificate program, students will receive a University of Florida Graduate Certificate in Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation. This certificate program is open to appropriately qualified local, national, and international students.

Note: Students are expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA in the program

Admission Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a natural science subject OR A DVM degree
  • An upper-division GPA of a 2.0 of better

Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation Graduate Certificate Curriculum

Five courses, each worth 3 credits, compose the graduate certificate in Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation. Once completed, the courses and the certificate will be listed on the student’s official UF transcript.

Courses Required for the Certificate

Course #Course TitleInstructorCreditsSpringSummerFall
WIS 6561Wildlife Crime Scene ProcessingSusan Underkoffler3X
WIS 5562Conservation MedicineHaley Adams3X
WIS 6559Forensic Science in Conservation BiologySusan Underkoffler3X
WIS 6557 International Wildlife Conservation Law, Policy & Ethics – OR – Joseph Rivera3X
WIS 6558U.S. Wildlife Law, Policy & EthicsJoseph Rivera3X
WIS 6563Wildlife Forensic PathologyJohn & Margaret Cooper 3X (Fall 2024)