COMPLETED COURSES
It is the applicant's responsibility to provide full documentation of education. Each applicant must submit
transcripts documenting completion of the educational requirements. Transfer credits shown on another
university’s transcripts will be accepted for use on the application if the course number, grade, and credit hours
are present. If these three items are not present, the applicant must obtain an additional transcript from the
institution where the transfer credits were taken. High School A.P. classes will be accepted provided the
applicant validates the course either through college transcripts or A.P. test scores of 4 or 5.
All courses must be taken for credit and passed (i.e., D or better, "Pass" in the case of pass/fail, or "Satisfactory
in the case of satisfactory/unsatisfactory). Course descriptions are required for all sections except Physical
Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences. Applicants may provide course descriptions in the
“Professional Experience or Non-traditional Education” box of these sections if an explanation is helpful
or necessary.
Course semester hours may be divided, but not duplicated, among two categories when a course covers
material in more than one category. Applicants may split and distribute the semester hours of one course that
covers multiple disciplines into no more than two categories; for example, 4 semester hours in general biology
may be used to satisfy up to 2 semester hours in zoology courses and up to 2 semester hours in botany. Similarly,
4 semester hours in general genetics may be used to satisfy up to 2 semester hours in zoological courses and up
to 2 semester hours in botany. The smallest unit of credit that may be distributed is one semester/quarter hour. A
full course’s semester hours cannot be listed or counted in more than one category.
Comparable experience may be substituted for educational experience, however, the applicant must have
at least one college or university course in each category. For continuing education or professional experience
to substitute for educational requirements, the applicant must have at least one college or university course (at
least 3 semester hours) in that educational category. These comparable qualifications must be detailed in the
application at the bottom of each educational category. Applicants should include the duration of time and an
estimate of the number of semester hours that should be awarded for non-traditional or professional experience.
Examples may include published papers or a completed thesis to meet course requirements in English
composition or technical writing. When substituting professional experience, a letter of reference from a
professional wildlife biologist that has worked with the applicant is recommended.
The educational requirements are expressed in semester hours. One semester hour usually reflects one
lecture hour or 3 laboratory hours of instruction per week for a 16-week term. One quarter hour normally equals
0.67 semester hours. Applicants for certification who attended educational institutions that grant credits in
different units must convert their credits to semester hours according to definitions above. For example, in many
Canadian universities a one-credit course meets 3 hours per week for 2 terms and thus equals 6 semester hours.
The Certification Review Board recognizes that the minimum number of credit hours may not be met exactly in
some cases because of differing credits awarded to the same subject at different institutions and/or because of
uneven conversions from quarter hours to semester hours.
College credits taken outside the United States often vary from the American system. When the educational
program differs considerably from the American system, applicants must submit as an email attachment a
detailed description of courses taken and the credits obtained.
Associate Wildlife Biologist® Application
