Master of Forestry

Forests are managed for a broad variety of goods and services, in an increasingly complicated context of changing climate, land use pressures, global markets, and conflicting cultural values. Our aim is to train foresters to work effectively on the emerging frontiers in forest management, with a skill set grounded in practical field skills and augmented by cutting-edge tools for geospatial analysis, multi-resource assessment, and finance. CURRICULUM As accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF, the curriculum for the MF includes coursework toward five core competencies: forest ecology and biology, measurement of forest resources, forest management, forest policy and administration, and professional ethics. Within these categories, students customize their course selections to emphasize particular resources (e.g., forest hydrology, wildlife) or analytic approaches (e.g., geospatial analysis, finance). Field trips are an essential element of the curriculum, especially featuring the Duke Forest adjacent to campus. YOUR FUTURE Students graduating with the MF degree work in a variety of sectors: private/industrial forestry, state and federal agencies, nonprofits such as land trusts that steward working forests, and in private consulting. Joint-degree students who complement the MF with a MEM degree are especially competitive in the job market. The Master’s of Forestry integrates forest ecology and management within an educational program that also emphasizes related environmental fields. GOALS The Master of Forestry aims to provide: A knowledge base with breadth in the ecology and management of forest resources and depth in biology and physical sciences, silviculture, forest measurement, and resource policy, economics and administration. Quantitative and analytical skills of statistics and forest measurement, and a choice among geospatial tools, applied mathematics and quantitative modeling, and decision analysis. Management skills for effective stewardship and planning of forest resources, as well as the ability to work effectively in cross-disciplinary settings with a high degree of professional ethics in the government, non-profit and business sectors. Oral and written skills to communicate management prescriptions and plans to a wide audience and the ability to critically evaluate opposing viewpoints.