Executive Summary
The Master of Professional Science in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy at Unity Environmental University is an innovative online graduate program that prepares students to lead in the global fight to protect biodiversity. While many master’s programs in conservation biology focus primarily on ecological research, this program stands out by combining ecological science with the social sciences, communication strategies, and professional advocacy.
Unity’s program is designed for post-baccalaureate learners who are passionate about wildlife conservation and motivated to make change through campaigns, communication, and policy influence. Students learn to analyze ecosystems and wildlife populations while also mastering skills in behavioral economics, market research, and conservation advocacy campaigns.
Graduates leave with an interdisciplinary toolkit to tackle one of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges: the biodiversity crisis. With flexible pacing in a fully online format, students can complete the program in as little as one year. They emerge prepared for diverse career pathways, including non-profit leadership, government policy, conservation communication, fundraising, and community-based conservation projects.
Unity Environmental University is a leader in sustainability education, offering “Education where you are.” This degree exemplifies that mission, providing globally accessible training to produce professionals who can bridge the gap between science and action in wildlife conservation.
Program Overview
The purpose of the program is to prepare graduates to address the urgent and complex challenges facing wildlife populations and habitats in the twenty-first century. Unlike traditional master’s programs that focus narrowly on biological research, this degree combines the study of wildlife ecology and management with social science approaches such as behavioral economics, human dimensions of conservation, and campaign planning. Students learn not only to understand the ecological systems that support biodiversity but also to design and evaluate advocacy strategies that influence communities, policymakers, and stakeholders. This applied and interdisciplinary focus ensures graduates are prepared to create integrated solutions that benefit both people and wildlife.
The Master of Professional Science in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy at Unity Environmental University is designed for post-baccalaureate learners who are passionate about protecting wildlife and influencing conservation outcomes. The program serves a diverse audience, including professionals already working in conservation science, such as wildlife biologists, ecologists, and environmental scientists, who want to strengthen their expertise in advocacy and campaigns. It also appeals to those employed in non-profit organizations or government agencies responsible for wildlife management and policy development, as well as professionals with backgrounds in communication, public relations, media, sociology, anthropology, or political science who are eager to apply their skills to drive impactful conservation campaigns. In addition, it is an excellent fit for individuals who may not yet be working in conservation professionally but who are motivated by a deep passion for wildlife and a desire to enter the field through advocacy, communication, and applied practice.
Unity Environmental University’s mission is centered on preparing sustainability leaders who can tackle global environmental challenges. This program reflects that mission by preparing students with the scientific knowledge, communication skills, and advocacy strategies needed to shape conservation outcomes at local, national, and global scales. Learners also benefit from Unity’s commitment to accessible, flexible, and career-connected education. The program is delivered fully online, allowing students from any location to pursue graduate study while maintaining personal and professional responsibilities.
| Feature | Detail |
| Degree Type | Master of Professional Science in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy |
| Delivery Format | 100% Online (Distance Education) |
| Credits Required | 30 credits; minimum 3.0 GPA |
| Program Length | Accelerated option of one year or flexible pacing |
| Distinctives | Interdisciplinary blend of ecological science and social science; applied learning focus; professional skill development in advocacy, campaign design, communication, and policy |
| Program Start Dates | Multiple entry points each year |
| Transferrable Credits | Available for qualified students |
Pedagogical Approach
Courses are interactive and applied. Students engage in weekly discussions, complete authentic projects, and practice real-world problem-solving. The curriculum blends theory with practice, giving learners the opportunity to design campaigns, conduct market research, and evaluate policy solutions.
The Larger Discipline: Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy
The Necessity of Including People in Conservation
Conservation success ultimately hinges on human behavior and social engagement. Modern research emphasizes that protecting biodiversity is fundamentally “an exercise in human persuasion,” since human actions drive all major threats to wildlife (Verissimo et al., 2024). Sustainable conservation outcomes are contingent on the human context in which they occur – in other words, the values, attitudes, and cooperation of people determine whether conservation measures succeed (Manfredo et al., 2021). Humans are “the most powerful proximate force” affecting the presence and persistence of wildlife, through both intentional efforts (like poaching or protection) and unintentional impacts (like habitat alteration) (Manfredo et al., 2021). With this in mind, the Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy graduate program trains students to inspire, communicate with, and motivate people to take conservation action, reflecting the reality that influencing human behavior is the only path to mitigate the current biodiversity crisis (Verissimo et al., 2024). By learning skills in community outreach, environmental education, and advocacy, students can mobilize public support and cultivate the pro-conservation behaviors on which wildlife protection depends.
Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation
Effective wildlife conservation today demands a people-centered approach. Top-down, exclusionary conservation models (i.e., creating protected areas without local input) have increasingly been questioned on ethical and practical grounds (Swiderska, 2008). Decades of experience show that imposing conservation from above can marginalize local communities and often fails to achieve lasting results. In contrast, community-based and participatory approaches actively involve stakeholders in decision-making and stewardship. These bottom-up approaches “focus on the people who bear the costs of conservation,” empowering local communities to co-create solutions and share in the benefits (Koricha and Jemal Adem, 2024). Research indicates that entrusting power to Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) yields more equitable and durable outcomes, as those groups bring invaluable knowledge and vested interest in protecting their lands (Sibanda et al., 2025). Inclusive conservation models, like participatory planning, co-management of protected areas, and citizen science, help avoid the pitfalls of past fortress-conservation by respecting local rights and avoiding one-size-fits-all interventions. By engaging communities as partners, conservation professionals can resolve conflicts, improve compliance, and merge wildlife goals with human well-being (Koricha and Jemal Adem, 2024). This program highlights these human dimensions of conservation, teaching students how to facilitate community engagement, stakeholder collaboration, and bottom-up governance as core strategies for wildlife conservation and advocacy.
Conservation Impact and Evidence-Based Solutions
In an era of limited resources and urgent threats, conservation actions must be guided by solid evidence and demonstrate real impact. Decisions and campaign strategies should be grounded in data, rigorous evaluation, and adaptive learning (Mahajan et al., 2023). Evidence-based conservation involves using the best available science, from biological research to social surveys, to choose, design, and adjust interventions for maximum effectiveness. Notably, researchers have identified a lack of robust impact evaluation in many conservation initiatives, meaning we often don’t know which actions truly work (Verissimo et al., 2024). To address this, students will learn to implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks that measure outcomes (such as changes in wildlife populations or human behavior) and inform continual improvement. Emphasis is placed on evidence-informed decision-making, which “can help catalyze the development and implementation of effective conservation actions,” provided organizations build the capacity and culture to use evidence in practice (Mahajan et al., 2023). By training in quantitative analysis, program evaluation, and adaptive management, graduates will be prepared to design conservation solutions that are accountable and outcome-driven. They will learn to ground advocacy campaigns in empirical findings, increasing the likelihood of meaningful conservation impact.
Conservation Marketing and Campaigns
Conservation marketing applies insights from psychology and marketing science to promote pro-environmental behavior change. This emerging field recognizes that raising awareness, while important, is not enough on its own: campaigns must be designed to actually change behavior. In fact, studies show that shifts in knowledge or attitudes do not automatically translate into action, so interventions must explicitly target behavior as the end goal (Teixeira et al., 2023). Students in this program will explore how techniques like message framing, social influence, and behavioral economics can be used to drive conservation outcomes. For example, conservation marketing is defined as “the ethical use of marketing concepts and principles to influence a target audience towards adopting more sustainable behaviors” (diogoverissimo.com). This involves understanding one’s audience and tailoring messages that resonate with their values and incentives – an approach informed by the marketing “4 Ps” (product, price, place, promotion) to remove barriers and increase the benefits of the desired behavior (diogoverissimo.com). Through case studies, students will examine successful campaigns that have, for instance, used nudges and social norm messaging to encourage wildlife-friendly practices, or reframed conservation goals in terms that motivate specific groups. They will also learn about designing outreach initiatives for particular communities or demographics (i.e. targeted marketing) to maximize engagement. By leveraging behavioral science, conservation campaigns can be more persuasive, particularly by using positive framing, credible messengers, emotional appeal, and incentives to encourage actions like reducing resource use, supporting policy changes, or coexisting with wildlife. Graduates will be prepared to craft strategic, data-driven campaigns that inspire real behavior change for conservation.
The Urgency of Addressing Biodiversity Loss
Human-driven biodiversity loss has reached crisis levels, underscoring why these human-centered approaches are so critical. Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, with an estimated one million species at risk of extinction due to human activities ranging from habitat destruction to climate change (unfoundation.org). Scientists warn that we are likely amidst the sixth mass extinction event unless transformative action is taken. Current extinction rates are 10 to 100 times higher than before human influence, largely because of unsustainable human practices. The good news is that because people are the root cause, people can also be the solution: by changing human behavior, we can slow and ultimately reverse wildlife declines. Indeed, experts stress that influencing human behavior is the only path to mitigating the extinction crisis (Verissimo et al., 2024). This section of the program instills a sense of urgency in students regarding the biodiversity emergency, while also empowering them with approaches to create change. By focusing on community engagement, social justice in conservation, evidence-based policy, and effective communication, the program prepares future conservationists to tackle the biodiversity crisis head-on. These human-centered strategies – from inspiring public support to collaborating with local communities on sustainable practices – are essential for restoring ecosystems and protecting species in a lasting way. The course links the stark reality of wildlife risk with actionable solutions, reinforcing why cultivating societal change and stewardship is imperative for biodiversity’s future.
Unity’s Program as a Catalyst in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy
Unity Environmental University’s Master of Professional Science in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy is deliberately designed to advance the field by bridging ecological science with human engagement. Modern conservation science recognizes that biodiversity protection is “above all else an exercise in human persuasion,” and that human behavior drives all major threats to wildlife, so influencing that behavior is paramount (Verissimo et al., 2024). Reflecting this reality, Unity’s program combines a foundation in wildlife ecology with training in social science and advocacy, equipping students to communicate effectively and motivate pro-conservation action unity.edu. In other words, graduates learn not only the biology of species and habitats but also how to inspire the public to protect them, aligning with experts’ emphasis that changing the way humans interact with nature is essential to address the extinction crisis diogoverissimo.com. By empowering students with skills in science communication, community outreach, and behavior change, the program directly serves the discipline’s most urgent need – cultivating conservation leaders who can steer human society toward sustainable solutions.
People-Centered Conservation and Community Engagement: Because humans are “the most powerful proximate force” dictating the presence and persistence of wildlife (Manfredo et al., 2021), Unity’s curriculum puts people at the heart of conservation practice. The program emphasizes the human dimensions of wildlife management, teaching students to actively involve communities and stakeholders as partners in conservation. This approach mirrors the field’s shift toward participatory, bottom-up models and away from top-down policies that historically excluded local voices (Koricha & Jemal Ade, 2024). Courses such as Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management and Communication for Environmental Professionals cultivate the skills needed to collaborate with stakeholders, respect Indigenous and local knowledge, and navigate social conflicts over wildlife unity.edu. For example, students practice structured decision-making exercises that bring multiple parties to the table to co-create solutions for wildlife issues unity.edu. This focus on inclusive engagement aligns with emerging best practices in the discipline: research shows that empowering the people who bear the costs of conservation leads to more equitable and lasting outcomes (Koricha & Jemal Ade, 2024). By integrating social science, ethics, and cultural competency into the training, Unity’s program prepares graduates to implement conservation initiatives that honor local needs and knowledge while achieving wildlife protection goals – a crucial leadership trait in the evolving conservation landscape.
Evidence-Based Problem Solving: In an era of urgent threats and finite resources, the program instills an evidence-based, outcome-oriented mindset in its students. Effective conservation today demands not just passion, but data-driven action and accountability. Unity’s curriculum addresses this by teaching research methods, monitoring and evaluation techniques, and quantitative analysis so that graduates can design interventions grounded in solid evidence unity.edu. This approach answers recent calls in the field to improve the use of science and data in decision-making; studies note that embracing evidence-informed conservation can “catalyze the development and implementation of effective conservation actions,” yet many organizations still struggle to integrate robust evaluation and learning (Mahajan et al., 2023). Students in the program learn to track conservation outcomes – from wildlife population changes to shifts in human behavior – and to use those metrics to adapt and improve their strategies. Through a two-part graduate capstone and courses like Marketing Research and Behavioral Economics, they gain hands-on experience gathering and analyzing data, then applying it to real-world challenges unity.edu. For instance, coursework includes scenario-based projects such as playing the role of a state biologist evaluating an endangered species listing, which requires investigating scientific data and habitat conditions to form recommendations unity.edu. By training students in rigorous problem-solving and adaptive management, Unity’s program contributes to the discipline’s advancement – producing practitioners who will hold conservation initiatives to high standards of evidence and impact.
Innovations in Conservation Marketing and Advocacy: A unique hallmark of the Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy MPS is its focus on strategic campaigns and behavior-change marketing – an emerging frontier in the field. Simply raising public awareness is not enough; conservation professionals must know how to convert awareness into action. Unity’s program is innovative in teaching the “science of persuasion” as it applies to wildlife protection. Students take specialized courses (e.g. Wildlife Conservation Campaigns and Action, Behavioral Economics: Understanding What Shapes Decision-Making, and Communication for Environmental Professionals) that show how to craft effective messages, build support, and change behaviors for conservation unity.edu. In these courses, they learn to apply marketing principles ethically to encourage sustainable behaviors – for example, using insights from psychology and economics to frame messages that resonate with a target audience’s values and to remove barriers to action. This aligns with the nascent field of conservation marketing, defined as “the ethical use of marketing concepts and principles to influence a target audience towards adopting more sustainable behaviors.” By understanding social influence, incentive design, and audience research, graduates can design outreach campaigns that do more than inform – they mobilize. Notably, the curriculum addresses known shortcomings in traditional advocacy efforts: many conservation interventions have lacked scale or rigorous evaluation, and experts emphasize the need to better target behaviors and ensure campaigns are inclusive and replicable diogoverissimo.com. Unity’s students are taught to overcome these gaps by using tools like market research and stakeholder analysis to plan data-driven campaigns for wildlife. This skill set in strategic communication and behavior change is increasingly sought by conservation organizations, which now recognize that effective advocacy requires marketing savvy alongside biological knowledge. In positioning graduates at this intersection of ecology and communications, the program is pushing the discipline forward into more impactful public engagement strategies.
Workforce Alignment and Future-Ready Skills: Unity Environmental University has deliberately structured the Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy degree to meet real-world workforce needs and to anticipate the future directions of the field. As a professional science master’s program, it emphasizes practical, job-ready competencies that go beyond theory. For example, the MPS curriculum builds skills in project management, policy analysis, and public communication – areas conservation employers increasingly demand – in addition to scientific expertise unity.edu. This breadth reflects the reality that today’s wildlife conservationists must wear many hats. Professionals are expected to have strong analytical and research abilities, but also leadership, collaboration, and outreach skills to implement programs effectively. Industry guidance echoes this: wildlife conservationists need “good critical thinking along with analytical, decision-making, research, and public speaking skills,” and passion paired with the ability to engage people and policymakers ifaw.org. The learning outcomes of Unity’s program map closely to these needs. Students are trained to evaluate ecological, social, and economic factors affecting conservation, to lead communication initiatives, and to solve problems with evidence-based methods – all of which foster the well-rounded professional skill set that conservation organizations look for unity.edu. Graduates of the program are prepared for a wide range of roles across government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and academia unity.edu. Whether becoming a wildlife biologist who works with communities, an advocacy campaign manager, or a conservation policy analyst, they enter the workforce ready to connect scientific knowledge with on-the-ground action. The program’s interdisciplinary training is particularly forward-looking: by fusing ecological science with social advocacy, Unity is producing conservation leaders equipped to tackle complex, socio-ecological challenges. The university itself highlights that this degree provides a “unique and interdisciplinary education” that enables students to develop sustainable solutions benefiting both people and wildlife unity.edu. This dual focus is exactly where the field is headed. Conservation in the 21st century must simultaneously address human well-being and biodiversity – and Unity’s program is preparing graduates to do just that.
Finally, the urgency of the biodiversity crisis underscores why the program’s contributions to the discipline are so vital. Scientists warn that nature is in peril with up to one million species at risk of extinction in the coming decades due to human activities nationalgeographic.com. Confronting this emergency requires conservation professionals who are not only knowledgeable about ecology but also adept in rallying society and implementing swift, effective interventions. Unity’s master’s degree in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy serves the discipline by producing exactly those kinds of professionals. Graduates leave with the vision and skills to translate urgent conservation goals into concrete outcomes: they know how to engage communities, influence policy, apply science, and lead collaborative efforts on behalf of wildlife. In short, the program is helping to shape the next generation of conservation leaders – practitioners who can drive innovation in the field and champion the changes in human behavior and policy needed to safeguard biodiversity. This alignment with both the current needs and future evolution of wildlife conservation ensures that Unity Environmental University’s program is not just keeping pace with the discipline, but actively propelling it forward. Through its interdisciplinary, people-focused, and impact-driven approach, the program is advancing the practice of wildlife conservation and advocacy and empowering graduates to make a lasting difference in protecting our planet’s natural heritage.
Sources:
- Unity Environmental University – MPS in Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy (program description and curriculum) unity.edu
- Veríssimo et al. 2024 – Changing Human Behavior to Conserve Biodiversity (Annual Review of Environment and Resources) Verissimo et al., 2024
- Manfredo et al. 2021 – Bringing social values to wildlife conservation decisions (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment) Manfredo et al. 2021
- Koricha & Jemal Ade 2024 – Community-based approaches for biodiversity conservation (Scientific Reports) Koricha & Jemal Ade, 2024
- Mahajan et al. 2023 – Accelerating evidence-informed decision-making in conservation (Biological Conservation) Mahajan et al. 2023
- IFAW (2024) – “How to get a job in wildlife conservation” (skills and career advice) ifaw.org
- IPBES Global Assessment Report (2019) via National Geographic – “One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns” nationalgeographic.com
Curriculum Highlights and Applied Learning
Core Curriculum
Students complete a carefully designed 30-credit curriculum that blends ecological knowledge with advocacy and communication:
- Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management
Explores how human values, attitudes, and behaviors affect wildlife conservation. - Wildlife Ecology and Management
Covers ecological concepts and management strategies for free-ranging wildlife populations. - PROF 510 Communication for Environmental Professionals
Teaches written, oral, and digital communication for conservation professionals. - Conservation Ecology
Integrates population ecology, genetics, policy, and sociology to solve conservation challenges. - Ethical Practice and Policy
Examines the ethical dimensions of conservation policy and professional decision-making. - Behavioral Economics: Understanding What Shapes Decision-Making
Applies psychology and economics to conservation, exploring how humans make (and can change) decisions. - Market Research
Introduces research methods—surveys, focus groups, interviews—for designing and evaluating campaigns. - Wildlife Conservation Campaigns and Action
Focuses on developing, implementing, and assessing the impact of conservation campaigns. - Capstone I & Capstone II
Students complete an applied project with a conservation partner, creating a portfolio-ready deliverable such as a campaign plan, policy analysis, or community engagement strategy.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates will:
- (WCA1) Apply critical thinking and wildlife management principles to conservation issues.
- (WCA2) Evaluate ecological, social, and economic drivers of conservation outcomes.
- (WCA3) Design communication and outreach strategies to engage stakeholders.
- (WCA4) Analyze qualitative and quantitative data to inform solutions.
Pedagogical Strengths
- Asynchronous, online format allows global access.
- Project-based learning ensures skills are applied to authentic contexts.
- Interdisciplinary focus develops both ecological and social science expertise.
Student Outcomes
Knowledge and Skills
Graduates leave with expertise in:
- Wildlife ecology and conservation management.
- Human dimensions of conservation and behavioral economics.
- Campaign design, evaluation, and communication strategies.
- Ethical policy analysis and advocacy.
- Market research and stakeholder engagement.
- Applied data analysis for conservation decision-making.
Career Pathways
Graduates are prepared for diverse roles across sectors:
Communications & Marketing: Senior Communications Specialist (Government Affairs & Advocacy), Integrated Marketing Coordinator.
Community-Based Conservation: Conservation Fellow, Environmental Education Center Director.
Fundraising & Development: Philanthropy Coordinator for environmental non-profits.
Policy & Advocacy: Conservation Policy Associate, Oceans Advocate, Petrochemical Campaign Coordinator.
Campaign Leadership: Conservation Campaign Manager, “Our Wild America” Campaign Representative.
Project Management: Land Conservation Specialist, Species Survival Program Manager.
Alumni and Workforce Success
Graduates of Unity’s master’s programs have advanced into roles with leading organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Environment America, and regional land trusts. Others transition into government positions or international NGOs.
Comparison with Similar Programs
Traditional Master of Science programs emphasize research and thesis development, preparing students for academic careers. Unity’s Master of Professional Science differs by focusing on applied skills, campaign development, and leadership.
While other master’s programs in wildlife conservation may teach biology, Unity integrates behavioral economics, marketing research, and advocacy campaigns into the curriculum—preparing graduates to influence real-world policy and cultural change.
This makes Unity’s program distinctive in training professionals who can bridge science and society to achieve conservation goals.
References
- Unity Environmental University. Wildlife Conservation and Advocacy Program Overview
- Unity Environmental University. Mission and Vision
- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Global Assessment Report
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conservation Scientists
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Social and Community Service Managers
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers
