Forestry B.S.
The B.S. in Forestry prepares students to be leaders in the stewardship of forest resources, from water to wildlife to wood products. Through field and classroom experiences, students gain expertise in the core biophysical and ecological processes that shape forested landscapes, and synthesize this knowledge with socio-economic principles to effectively manage, conserve, and restore natural resources.
The program uses the unique natural settings offered in Montana to give students classroom and field learning experiences with skills-based courses, independent studies, internships and research projects that lead to diverse employment opportunities.
With a degree in Forestry students can work as forest ecologists, silviculturalists, timber managers, forest planners, wildland fire specialists, inventory managers, forest rangers, or as range or soil conservationists. The Forestry degree is accredited by the Society of American Foresters and meets the requirements for qualification as Forester for the U.S. Civil Service Commission (440 series). This means student can work as a forester for federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs as well as for many state agencies and with private industry.
General Degree Requirements
To earn a baccalaureate degree, all students must complete successfully, in addition to any other requirements, the University of Montana General Education Requirements. Please refer to the General Education Requirements page for more information.
Additional requirements for graduation can be found on the Degree/Certificate Requirements for Graduation page.
Unless otherwise noted in individual program requirements, a minimum grade point average of 2.00 in all work attempted at the University of Montana-Missoula is required for graduation. Please see the Academic Policies and Procedures page for information on how your GPA is calculated.
Courses taken to satisfy the requirements of a major, minor, or certificate program must be completed with a grade of C- or better unless a higher grade is noted in the program requirements.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - FORESTRY
Course Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Lower-Division Major Required Courses | ||
Complete all of the following courses: | ||
FORS 130 | Introduction to Forestry Field Skills | 2 |
FORS 202 | Forest Mensuration | 3 |
FORS 230 | Fire Management & Environmental Change | 3 |
FORS 232 | Forest Insects & Diseases | 3 |
FORS 241N | Dendrology | 3 |
FORS 250 | Intro to GIS for Forest Mgt | 3 |
NRSM 211N | Soils and Water | 2 |
NRSM 212N | Ecology, Physics and Taxonomy of Soils | 1 |
Lower-Division Outside Major Required Courses | ||
Complete all of the following courses: | ||
BIOO 105N | Introduction to Botany | 3 |
BIOB 160 | Principles of Living Systems | 3 |
CHMY 121N | Introduction to General Chemistry | 4 |
COMX 111A | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
or THTR 120A | Introduction to Acting I | |
ECNS 201S | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
FORS 201 | Forest Biometrics | 3-4 |
or STAT 216 | Introduction to Statistics | |
M 151 | Precalculus | 4-6 |
or M 121 & M 122 | College Algebra and College Trigonometry | |
Upper-Division Major Required Courses | ||
Complete all of the following courses: | ||
FORS 320 | Forest Environmental Economics | 3 |
FORS 330 | Forest Ecology | 3 |
FORS 335 | Forest Ecology Field Laboratory | 1 |
FORS 340 | Forest Product Manufacturing | 3 |
FORS 341 | Timber Harvesting & Roads | 3 |
FORS 349 | Practice of Silviculture | 3 |
FORS 440 | Forest Stand Management | 3 |
FORS 481 | Forest Planning | 3 |
NRSM 385 | Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
NRSM 422 | Natural Resource Policy and Administration | 3 |
Professional Electives | ||
Biophysical Sciences | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
General Ecology | ||
Rocky Mountain Flora | ||
Plant Physiology | ||
Fire Ecology | ||
Wood Anatomy, Properties, & ID | ||
Ecosystem Climatology | ||
Wildlife Habitat Conservation & Management | ||
Management Application | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Wildland Fuel Management | ||
Advanced Forest Roads | ||
Advaced Timber Harvesting | ||
Elements of Ecological Restoration | ||
Rangeland Management | ||
Policy and Social Science | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 3 | |
Sustainable Communities | ||
Nature and Society | ||
Ecological Perspectives in Native American Traditions | ||
Climate and Society | ||
Wildland Conservation Policy/Governance | ||
Collaborations in Natural Resource Decisions | ||
Ethics and Sustainability | ||
Water Policy | ||
Climate Policy | ||
Environment & Development | ||
Recreation Behavior | ||
Natural Resource Interpretation and Communication | ||
Recreation Administration & Leadership | ||
Tourism & Sustainability | ||
Wilderness & Protected Area Management | ||
Measurement and Analysis | ||
Complete one of the following courses: | 3-5 | |
Forestry Apps of GIS | ||
Env Remote Sensing | ||
Sampling Methods | ||
Hydrology | ||
College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory | ||
Upper-Division Writing Requirement | ||
Complete three of the following courses: | ||
Ecosystem Ecology | ||
Forest Ecology | ||
Timber Harvesting & Roads | ||
Practice of Silviculture | ||
Forest Stand Management | ||
Total Hours | 83-88 |