Forestry Major (B.S.F.)

https://colsa.unh.edu/natural-resources-environment/program/bsf/forestry-major

Forestry is an interdisciplinary profession, embracing the sustainable management of forest ecosystems for productivity, biodiversity, and health.  The Forestry program’s goals are to provide a solid professional preparation with a strong field component, founded in a broad general education, and with the flexibility to allow students to pursue special abilities and interests.  The Bachelor of Science in Forestry (B.S.F.) degree is accredited by the Society of American Foresters.

Forestry graduates help manage and conserve public and private forests, addressing major environmental challenges including climate change, biodiversity protection, and sustainable resource management.  They use science, planning, and geospatial technology to protect and restore forest ecosystems, ensure a sustainable forest product industry, provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, and conserve soils and watersheds.

Program Mission, Goals and Objectives

The mission of UNH’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, of which the Forestry Program is an integral part, is to serve as an educational center for the scholarly study of environmental and social sciences, and their application to the policy and management of natural resources from local to global scales.  This is accomplished through education, research and outreach.  This mission reflects UNH’s larger mission to provide comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate programs and graduate programs of distinction, including a strong commitment to serving the public good and promoting the excitement of discovery among faculty and students.

The goal of the Forestry Program is to train natural resource professionals to sustainably manage forested landscapes for diverse objectives and in ways that balance changing social, cultural, economic, and environmental interests and priorities.

Our educational objectives are to:

1. Develop a strong knowledge base about the ecology and dynamics of forest ecosystems, including interactions between trees, wildlife, insects, soils, water, humans, and other ecosystem components.
2. Understand how different policies and management decisions affect forest dynamics over short to long time scales, and on different spatial scales.
3. Cultivate the necessary skills to manage forests for diverse objectives and to assess, respect, and balance the interests of different groups to achieve societal benefits.
4. Be able to critically evaluate scientific information and integrate this with professional experience and changing societal values to support adaptive management of forest resources.

Sample Course Sequence for Forestry

All forestry majors must satisfy the B.S.F. requirements and all Discovery Program requirements. Students must satisfy the Inquiry requirement of the Discovery Program by completing an Inquiry or Inquiry-attribute course. Seniors must also satisfy the capstone experience requirement of the Discovery Program. The capstone explores areas of interest based on the integration of prior learning. The capstone requirement may be satisfied through a course (NR 745 Forest Management), created work or product, or some form of experiential learning (e.g., honors thesis, mentored research project, and other special student activity). Departments are responsible for certifying that graduating seniors have met the capstone requirement for their majors.