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University of Montana Catalog 2024-2025

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

Lower-Division Major Required Courses
Complete all of the following courses:
FORS 130Introduction to Forestry Field Skills2
FORS 202Forest Mensuration3
FORS 230Fire Management & Environmental Change3
FORS 232Forest Insects & Diseases3
FORS 241NDendrology3
FORS 250Intro to GIS for Forest Mgt3
NRSM 211NSoils and Water2
NRSM 212NEcology, Physics and Taxonomy of Soils1
Lower-Division Outside Major Required Courses
Complete all of the following courses:
BIOO 105NIntroduction to Botany3
BIOB 160Principles of Living Systems3
CHMY 121NIntroduction to General Chemistry4
COMX 111AIntroduction to Public Speaking3
or THTR 120A Introduction to Acting I
ECNS 201SPrinciples of Microeconomics3
FORS 201Forest Biometrics3-4
or STAT 216 Introduction to Statistics
M 151Precalculus4-6
or M 121
M 122
College Algebra
and College Trigonometry
Upper-Division Major Required Courses
Complete all of the following courses:
FORS 320Forest Environmental Economics3
FORS 330Forest Ecology3
FORS 335Forest Ecology Field Laboratory1
FORS 340Forest Product Manufacturing3
FORS 341Timber Harvesting & Roads3
FORS 349Practice of Silviculture3
FORS 440Forest Stand Management3
FORS 481Forest Planning3
NRSM 385Watershed Hydrology3
NRSM 422Natural Resource Policy and Administration3
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 Hours83-88
 

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