The main purpose of graduate programs is to provide opportunities for students to gain knowledge and skills not readily available from baccalaureate studies. The principal difference between a B.S. and advanced degree programs is graduate student participation in research and involvement in decision making processes. The major task of a graduate student is learning how to design, conduct, interpret, and report the results of a research project. Due to the expense of field research, no graduate students are allowed to start a degree program without an assistantship and project funding. Consequently, M.S. students receive regimented guidance from their major professor and graduate advisory committee.
Research is learned through intimate involvement in a structured setting.
However, most M.S. research programs allow latitude for a student to suggest changes in design, data collection, and analysis following approval from the major professor and graduate advisory committee. Students with M.S. degrees are often preferred by private, state, and federal wildlife management and natural resource agencies. The capabilities of the graduate student during the M.S. degree program is an indication of probable aptitude for continuing advanced studies in a Ph.D. program. Regardless of career objectives, the student should be able to understand the scientific process and critically review and use scientific literature in future endeavors. The Ph.D. student is treated more as a colleague in science.