Joint-Degree Program Provides Perspective

About 1,500 wildlife management professionals, including Boone and Crockett Club representatives, attend the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference each year. In 2023, Boone and Crockett University Programs Fellow Erin Kavanagh was among them—presenting the culmination of her master’s research in the hopes of launching her career in natural resources. 

Kavanagh graduated from Texas A&M University in 2023, earning a B.S in wildlife and fisheries sciences and a Master of Public Service Administration (MPSA) through the Bush School of Government and Public Service’s 3+2 program. In this joint-degree program, undergraduate students enter the MPSA program in their fourth year. Certain courses count toward both programs, and students earn two degrees concurrently in five years—three years for undergraduate credits and two for master’s, lending to the program’s name.

“It was really awesome to be able to take the 3+2 program and save myself a year’s worth of academic time and money,” she says. 

Kavanagh says she was inspired by shows she watched on Animal Planet. “I wanted to be just like Steve Irwin when I was younger,” she says. 

It wasn’t until her junior year of college that conversations with a mentor—Dr. Perry Barboza, the Boone and Crockett Chair of Wildlife Conservation and Policy at Texas A&M—led her to the new 3+2 program, where she began to figure out where she might fit into the broad tapestry of conservation. Kavanagh became one of two students in the program’s first cohort.

“It was interesting because, generally, there's an established curriculum when you apply to a program. You sort of know what you’re going to do before you go in, but this was very open to how I wanted to shape it,” Kavanagh says. Kavanagh and her advisors constructed her degree plan—a mix of classes covering a broad array of science and policy, including courses like economics and public contracts.

Kavanagh enjoyed augmenting her technical science undergraduate work with the MPSA’s focus on writing and policy and then figuring out how seemingly unrelated disciplines connect in conservation.

A Capstone Made for Monarchs

Rather than a traditional thesis, Kavanagh’s master’s program required all students to complete a capstone project. Kavanagh was selected to join a team of students co-led by Barboza as they worked on a multiple-year project about wildlife values.

The project explored how different value orientations—attitudes toward wildlife management—influence the next generation of landowners' decision-making and willingness to participate in conservation programs, such as habitat restoration for pollinators like monarch butterflies. The researchers found that women were more likely to participate in conservation programs than men and that agricultural landowners were most likely to participate. 

Barboza said the team also found that about 60 percent of survey respondents were pluralists, meaning they are open to multiple land uses and may be more interested in the purpose behind a specific project. The research took the team a year to complete. 

“It was a very rigorous and fairly stressful project. We all took it seriously and wanted to make a good deliverable. [Kavanagh] handled herself really well in that,” says Hunter Parker, Kavanagh’s former classmate and Boone and Crockett Fellow. Parker served as the capstone’s project manager. 

“Erin has an extremely hard work ethic. She’s very detail-oriented,” Parker says. “She worked really well with others.” He adds that Kavanagh’s trustworthiness made her an excellent project partner, while her dynamic background means she’s able to connect concepts from different fields. “She was really good at helping keep things moving,” he says. “She was a good leader of herself and others.”

Meet Me in St. Louis

The researchers, including Kavanagh, are currently working on publishing the study's results in a peer-reviewed journal. However, Kavanagh and other Fellows presented the initial results at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in St. Louis.

Through its Fellows program, the Boone and Crockett Club’s University Programs supports graduate students in wildlife conservation and related fields. It helped fund Kavanagh’s capstone research and professional development opportunities like the conference. Barboza says that the support is a win for both Kavanagh and the Club. “The big thing with Erin was that she had live interactions with people with whom she will be networking,” says Barboza. “For the Club, [they] get to see the people they are investing in.”

“It can be easy to kind of dismiss student work,” Kavanagh says. “For the Boone and Crockett Club to invite us to present…I found that personally really supportive. To have people engage with me and support us meant a lot.”

Boots on the Ground 

Texas has little public land, so Kavanagh was not exposed to much federal public land management until the 3+2 program. The more she learned, the more interested she became. In the middle of her master’s program, Kavanagh was selected as a congressional intern for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. She spent her summer serving the constituents of her Texas district—an experience she calls incredible—and credits the internship with fostering her interest in natural resource policy. 

While it’s difficult to determine exactly where she plans to be in five years, Kavanagh says she knows she wants to help shape policy. 

That might eventually warrant a move back to D.C., but it means working in the field for now. Kavanagh says she wants to gain hands-on experience before entering policy work. “I believe that the best policy is created by the people who have lived it,” Kavanagh says.

Until recently, Kavanagh worked as a rangeland management specialist for the U.S. Forest Service in Utah. She managed grazing leases there, helping ensure that the forest and cattle thrived. Her position was eliminated as part of the Department of Government Efficiency cuts. 

For students looking to carve out their place in a joint degree program, Kavanagh offers this.
“My biggest piece of advice would be to take courses on things you don’t know if you're interested in,” Kavanagh says. “So much of conservation happens in grants and agreements and partnerships. It’s valuable to understand how that works. Take classes, and get to know people who challenge your views to get a broader worldview.”

Boone and Crockett Fellows Program

Through its Fellows Program, the Boone and Crockett Wildlife Conservation Program supports graduate students in wildlife conservation and related fields. A Boone and Crockett Fellow is an undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral student supported by Boone and Crockett funding and/or advised by a Boone and Crockett professor or professional member. In addition to displaying academic excellence, Boone and Crockett Fellows are committed to scholarship that:

1. Promotes effective conservation policy through dedication to research, education, outreach, and service.

2. Exhibits leadership in wildlife conservation.

3. Helps others understand the mission of the Boone and Crockett Club and the evolution of conservation in America.

4. Recognizes and appreciates the values of hunting and fishing and the principles of Fair Chase.

For more information about Boone and Crockett Club Fellows or its University Programs, please contact Luke Coccoli, Director of Conservation Research and Education, at [email protected]. 

Learn More about the Univserity Program

Boone and Crockett Chair in Wildlife Conservation and Policy

Dr. Perry Barboza