Forestry career choices help determine your best graduate degree program.
Your career choice will help determine what forestry graduate degree best suits your needs. While most jobs in the field just require an undergraduate forestry degree and two-thirds of foresters work for the federal government, a graduate degree can make a candidate attractive for a management position. Some programs incorporate years of job-related experience into the degree requirements. A forestry graduate degree may also be required for research and teaching positions.
Master of Forestry
The master of forestry (MF) is a professional degree that prepares students for state licensing and certification by the Society of American Foresters. Some programs, such as the one at the Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, tailor this non-thesis program for working professionals with at least five years of experience who want to pursue a management position. Others, like the program at North Carolina State University (NC State), provide an opportunity for those who majored in something else as an undergraduate to position themselves for a forestry career. NC State's MF program can be completed more quickly by students who have completed a semester of chemistry and ecology as well as a semester of either anatomy, physiology or plant biology. Also needed are two semesters of math or statistics.
Master of Forestry Science
The master of forestry science (MFS) degree requires a thesis and a minor at NC State, where students can prepare for a career in scientific inquiry as well as in applied management. The MFS can be the first step toward a Ph.D., or it can position graduates for jobs with public or private environmental agencies. At the department of forest and wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin --- Madison, for example, the MFS degree introduces students to doctoral-level research and requires a final oral examination to defend the original research of the thesis. At NC State, the MFS degree can also work as a terminal degree for students wanting to join the workforce. NC State's interdisciplinary program with the department of biology and the college of veterinary medicine trains students in a variety of specializations.
Joint Master of International Relations and Forestry Science
Students wanting to take an international approach to forestry science can pursue a joint master of international relations and forestry science. The program, offered at Yale University, allows graduate students to match a master of arts degree in international relations with a MF or MFS degree, as well as with either a master of environmental management or science degree. Students must also demonstrate proficiency in a modern language that complements their research interests. The Yale program keeps enrollment low so students will receive the kind of mentoring they need to tailor individual interdisciplinary programs. Candidates must apply to Yale's schools of international relations and forestry and environmental studies.
Ph.D. in Forestry
A Ph.D. in forestry, with its required coursework, qualifying examination, dissertation and final oral examination, prepares students for teaching and critical analysis of academic research in biological fields such as functional genomics. At Michigan Tech, for example, students can pursue forest molecular genetics and biotechnology research in their massive laboratory and greenhouse space. Michigan Tech also boasts an 100 percent job placement rate. Like Michigan Tech, NC State offers Ph.D. programs specializing in biotechnology as well as those in urban forestry or forest management and economics.
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