Program Overview
Ecoinformatics is an emerging field, and this track prepares graduates to become experts in integrating digital and information technologies, such as GPS (geographic position system), satellite and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) imagery, and advanced field sensors with ecological data analysis in complex ecosystems to detect, evaluate, and predict ecological patterns, disturbances, and processes. The Ecoinformatics track provides students with training in theories and applications of ecological data analysis, natural resources and ecological modeling, and spatial information sciences that will prepare them for handling complex and interdisciplinary ecological datasets and understanding contemporary environmental challenges. Students completing this track will have the ability to use advanced technologies to collect data from genomic to landscape levels and beyond. A diverse curriculum provides students with the ability to perform spatial analysis, ecological modeling and other quantitative methods. This track prepares students for careers with natural resource agencies, environmental consulting firms, conservation organizations, and graduate degrees that require knowledge and ability to transform data into ecological information useful for solving environmental problems and informing policy and decision making.
