Other Schools Worth a Look

Water Science, B.Sc. (joint: Biology, Chemistry, School of the Environment)

Why it fits her: A dedicated freshwater-systems degree — not a concentration — spanning biology, chemistry, and environmental science, built around limnology (lakes, rivers, streams, water quality). It's interdisciplinary and field-oriented rather than pre-med, and freshwater by definition means no open-ocean boat work. The water-facing biology courses (Limnology, River and Stream Biology, Fish Ecology) are non-dissection, and the one dissection course on the books (Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy) is an upper-year elective, not a requirement — though the full required-course list sits behind Trent's gated calendar, so it's worth confirming directly with the program.

Standout draw: Trent holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Change of Freshwater Ecosystems (Dr. Marguerite Xenopoulos) — an outsized freshwater-research identity for a small university, with field access to the Otonabee River right on campus.

Faculty to know: Paul C. Frost (freshwater ecology and nutrient cycling in lake/river food webs, from algae to zooplankton); Marguerite A. Xenopoulos (whole-ecosystem freshwater ecology — how land use and climate change alter carbon and nutrient cycling in lakes and rivers).

Rough cost for her: ~CAD $16,300/yr all-in as a Canadian citizen paying Ontario-domestic tuition (≈$61,100 over 4 yrs) · Program page ↗

Wildlife Sciences, B.S. (Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Sciences, College of Natural Resources)

Why it fits her: A field/ecology-first program on inland Idaho lakes, rivers, forests and wilderness, with zero ocean or boat exposure — the geography and freshwater fit are excellent. One honest caveat: the required Techniques Lab includes mandatory live-animal trapping sessions, and the required "pick two" taxonomy courses (from Mammalogy, Herpetology, Ichthyology, Ornithology) couldn't be confirmed as dissection-free from official sources. She can steer toward Ornithology plus one other and skip Ichthyology, and should email the department directly about trapping/specimen-handling accommodations before counting on this one for her no-dissection rule.

Standout draw: The McCall Field Campus on Payette Lake and the Taylor Wilderness Research Station deep inside the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness — rare undergrad access to the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 (though Taylor itself is fly-in or a 35-mile hike, not a drop-in lab).

Faculty to know: Frank M. Wilhelm (lake ecology/limnology — nutrient budgets, algal blooms, nearshore sediment dynamics); Janet L. Rachlow (terrestrial wildlife ecology — pygmy rabbits and moose habitat selection in sagebrush country).

Rough cost for her: WUE rate ~$13,538/yr tuition & fees for WA residents, ~$34,472/yr total cost of attendance (≈$137,900 over 4 yrs) · Program page ↗

Botany, B.S. (with Freshwater Fisheries and Wildlife programs alongside)

Why it fits her: A dedicated plant-only major — vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, fungi, algae — housed apart from Zoology, so the required core is structurally plant-focused with no animal-dissection course by default. Field-heavy from day one through the "Among Giants" first-year community across redwood forest, dune, marsh and mountain habitats. The exact syllabus-level confirmation of "zero dissection" wasn't reachable (Humboldt's course catalog is bot-blocked), so it's worth a direct email to the department to confirm the intro-biology sequence has no vertebrate lab component.

Standout draw: The best botanical collections in the CSU system, direct access to redwood forests and the 780-acre Arcata Community Forest, and — if she ever wants freshwater fish on the side — Humboldt is the only CSU with a Fisheries Biology degree and a Freshwater concentration on the same campus.

Faculty to know: Erik Jules (plant population and community ecology, fire ecology, habitat fragmentation); Oscar Vargas (plant biodiversity, evolution, and taxonomy, including the California Floristic Province); Jeffrey White (plant biogeography and rare-plant systematics); Terry Henkel (mycology and fungal ecology).

Rough cost for her: WUE rate ~$12,708/yr tuition & fees, ~$33,312/yr total cost of attendance (≈$137,900 over 4 yrs) · Program page ↗

Wildlife Biology, B.S. — Terrestrial or Aquatic option (W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation)

Why it fits her: The only mandatory organismal courses are General Ecology and a botany course, so plants are core and the animal-specimen courses (Mammalogy, Ornithology, Fishes) are electives she can pick two of three from — routing around dissection-style anatomy is structurally possible. The Aquatic option is explicitly freshwater and inland: fish, amphibians and invertebrates in Montana's streams and lakes, studied through snorkeling, stream sampling and radio telemetry rather than dissection. Worth confirming with an advisor that fisheries-techniques coursework doesn't require handling preserved specimens, but the overall structure clearly allows a dissection-free path.

Standout draw: A wildlife program repeatedly cited as #1 in North America for research productivity, with hands-on field work — and a required internship — built in from freshman year.

Faculty to know: Lisa Eby (freshwater/aquatic ecology from genes to ecosystems, cutthroat trout conservation, teaches Fish Biology & Management); Andrew Whiteley (fisheries and conservation genomics for Montana's native freshwater species).

Rough cost for her: WUE rate ~$13,774/yr tuition & fees (competitive, not automatic), ~$39,334/yr total cost of attendance if awarded; ~$58,612/yr total if not (≈$157,300 over 4 yrs at the WUE rate) · Program page ↗

Restoration Ecology, B.S. (Warner College of Natural Resources, Dept. of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship)

Why it fits her: The required core is entirely plant- and soil-focused — Plant Biology, Plant Identification, Plant Physiology, Plant Ecology or Stream Biology, Soil Science — with no general zoology, comparative anatomy, or vertebrate lab anywhere in the requirements. It's one of the few majors in the country literally named "Restoration Ecology" rather than restoration buried inside a generic environmental-science degree. Worth noting honestly: this is a landlocked, plant/freshwater/wetland-restoration program with zero coastal or marine exposure — a feature given her preferences, not a gap.

Standout draw: A required summer field course at CSU's Mountain Campus in the Colorado high country — guaranteed hands-on field time built into the degree itself, not left to an optional elective.

Faculty to know: Mark Paschke (restoration ecology of disturbed ecosystems, revegetation science, plant-microbe interactions — holds the endowed chair in the field); Jeremy Sueltenfuss (wetland ecology, ecohydrology, floodplain restoration); David Cooper (wetland and riparian ecosystem science); Troy Ocheltree (plant ecophysiology and drought tolerance).

Rough cost for her: ~$61,026/yr total cost of attendance as a nonresident (≈$196,300 over 4 yrs); WUE may reduce this substantially and is worth checking · Program page ↗

Wildlife Ecology, B.S. (Dept. of Forest & Wildlife Ecology) + optional Freshwater & Marine Sciences Certificate

Why it fits her: The Center for Limnology gives this program a genuine freshwater/inland research identity, with land-based field stations at Trout Lake and the Hasler Lab on Lake Mendota, and the certificate's only marine/boat course is optional so she can complete it shore- and lab-based. The honest flag: the required core course Terrestrial Vertebrates uses specimen-based instruction (skins, skeletons, fluid-preserved vertebrates) from the university's zoological museum, with no documented opt-out — this is a real risk against her no-dissection rule and should be confirmed with the department directly, not assumed away.

Standout draw: The Center for Limnology is the oldest freshwater-research institution in North America, with undergrad fieldwork possible at Trout Lake Station and the Hasler Lab on Lake Mendota.

Faculty to know: Benjamin Zuckerberg (climate-change ecology of birds and small mammals — entirely land-based, camera traps and remote sensing); Anna Pidgeon (avian and landscape ecology, habitat effects of human land-use change).

Rough cost for her: ~$65,120/yr total cost of attendance as a nonresident — no WA reciprocity and no Canadian-citizenship discount (≈$260,500 over 4 yrs) · Program page ↗

Aquatic Ecology and Management, B.S. (Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife)

Why it fits her: An exact-name match to her niche — a dedicated major on lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater with a water-quality emphasis, centered on the inland Great Lakes rather than open ocean. None of the required core courses is a comparative-anatomy, dissection, or animal-physiology course; the honest caveat is that aquatic field-technique and fish-biology electives may involve handling live or preserved fish, so she should confirm specific elective content and any opt-out policy with the department before locking in her course plan.

Standout draw: One of very few U.S. undergrad degrees with "Aquatic Ecology" literally in the title, at a land-grant powerhouse with strong placement into state and federal water-quality and fisheries agencies.

Faculty to know: Patricia A. Soranno (landscape limnology and macrosystems ecology of freshwater lakes, water quality, co-directs the LAGOS multi-lake database); Dana M. Infante (landscape ecology of rivers and streams, national stream-condition assessment with USGS).

Rough cost for her: ~$45,700/yr nonresident tuition & fees, ~$62,000–$64,000/yr total cost of attendance — no WA reciprocity (≈$264,400 over 4 yrs) · Program page ↗