Rangeland Management Degree at Sheridan College

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Overview

Do you enjoy working in the outdoors and researching in the field? Are you interested in ranching, agriculture, or land management? Our Associate of Science degree in Rangeland Management is rooted in applied management and ecology and features a hands-on, outdoor-focused curriculum. As a student in the Rangeland Management program, you will learn from award-winning faculty and leading industry professionals, preparing you for a career in natural resources.

The Sheridan College Rangeland Management Program prepares students to pursue careers or higher degrees in areas that involve the management of our natural resources. This comprehensive program is hands-on and teaches students how to accomplish management goals such as managing sustainable and productive livestock forage, ensuring clean and adequate water supplies, beautifying recreational scenery, and improving wildlife habitat. Students participating in this degree program will frequently pursue careers in rangeland ecology and management, rangeland stewardship, wildlife management, restoration ecology, and environmental consulting.

You will take courses such as rangeland ecosystems, field ecology, and intro to soil science. You will also have the opportunity to compete in the Wyoming Society for Range Management’s student competitions. Our students have also competed on the national level, excelling at the Society for Range Management conference, traveling to California, Florida, Minnesota, and more.

Sheridan College’s Associate of Science in Rangeland Management Program allows students to immediately join the workforce as field technicians or transfer to four-year universities, including the University of Wyoming, to pursue bachelor’s degrees.

Why Sheridan College?

Our program emphasizes outdoor learning. Students spend valuable field time with professionals, learning from real-world experiences.
The Rangeland Management Program includes a capstone project where students design their own research project, land management plan, or shadow a natural resources agency to complete a final project.
We partner with USDA Forest Service, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Wyoming Game and Fish, Sheridan County Conservation District, and more to give our students professional experience.

The faculty is probably one of my favorite things about the program here. They’re just phenomenal. I feel welcome to go up to any faculty, and ask for what I need and what opportunities are out there for me.
Madison Clarke
- Hometown: Clark, WY
- Major: Rangeland Management
What is it like to be a Rangeland Ecology and Management student?
- Hometown:
- Major:

World-Class Facilities

The Mars Agriculture Center is a 16,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art building with top-notch learning environments for a variety of disciplines within the Sheridan College Ag Department. It also encompasses outdoor learning spaces such as the field lab, livestock barn, farrier barn, and greenhouses.

This is your rangeland classroom: the outdoors! We have the best field trips (but we might be a little biased!). Our students get out into the environments that we’re studying and get their hands in the dirt. Trips along creeks and rivers, as well as up to the highest passes in the Bighorns; you won’t just read about rangelands, you’ll experience them firsthand!

Rangeland Management class in the field in the bighorn mountains

Over 2.5 acres of field lab space, featuring hop vines, orchard, vineyard, and rangeland plant spaces as well as free range chickens. The hops are harvested every year in collaboration with our local Black Tooth Brewing Company.

Drone photo looking down at the over two and a half acre field lab located just outside the Mars Agricultural Center.

The livestock barn is a 4,000 sq ft learning space that houses the colleges livestock. It includes 8 pens that allow livestock to access both the inside and outside. Pens are adjustable allowing for animals to be housed in one larger pen when they first arrive providing comfort or housed in individual pens which is necessary when students conduct feeding trials to calculate feed efficiency.

Students working with Sheridan College steers in the livestock barn

The Sheridan College Agriculture program as four professional teaching greenhouses in addition to the outdoor field lab space.

Students working in one of the greenhouses at Sheridan College with colorful magenta flowers dominating the foreground.

The Herbarium houses over 2500 preserved, pressed plant specimens for plant ID and plant research activities.

Student watering plants in the herbarium at Sheridan College

The new science labs support small laboratory classes in plant science sciences, soil science, animal science, and genetics. They are equipped with a variety of modern technological tools used in these areas of science.

Students and their instructor working at a table in the plant science lab at Sheridan College, dressed in white coats and wearing blue latex gloves.

Careers & Industry Outlook

From the shrub-lands of Wyoming to the wetlands and grasslands of states like Florida, there are more than 700 million acres of rangelands in the U.S., according to the Forest Service. With the wide variety of rangelands from deserts, woodlands, and tundra, rangeland managers and ecologists hold several job titles in the public and private sectors.

Industry Projections

There are estimated 3,000 predicted job openings for conservation scientists and foresters each year from 2024 to 2032 says US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Job Types

Sheridan College’s Associate of Science in Rangeland Management will provide the foundation of knowledge and skills for you to pursue further education and ultimately, jobs across numerous fields. A degree in Rangeland Management can lead you to a career like:

Rangeland Conservationist

Field Botanist

Restoration Coordinator

Natural Resources Specialist

Field Technician

Wildland Fire Specialist

Ranch Manager

Mining Reclamation

Ecologist

Wildlife Management

Environmental Consultant

Curriculum & Program Outcomes

Associate of Science

Explore the variety of coursework you’ll have in the Rangeland Management program.

Course Catalog

Program Outcomes

Compare rangeland ecosystems and how they respond to environmental and human disturbances.
Differentiate rangeland plants according to their characteristics and function.
Demonstrate decision making based on appropriate rangeland data collection.
Develop management recommendations by conducting research to address natural resource issues while using a systems approach.

Scholarships

We make it easy. $3.7 million in scholarships awarded annually.

Discover Scholarships

Financial Aid

Let us help you navigate the numerous financial aid opportunities available.

Explore Aid

Faculty

Our Agriculture Department faculty are enthusiastic and approachable. They will make sure you learn the foundational skills to further your education or find a job following graduation. Sheridan College’s strong relationships with local and national industries in rangeland management, wildlife management, and agriculture present students with unique opportunities to expand their college experiences.